"Amazing. Really cool. We're really proud."

That's how Evanescence described the honor of topping the Oct. 29 Billboard 200 with its new self-titled album, its first in five years. The group chatted with Chart Beat Oct. 31 at Clear Channel's P.C. Richard & Son Theater in New York before a performance for contest winners as part of the chain's promotion for its iHeartRadio app.

"We worked really hard on the record," said Evanescence lead singer Amy Lee. "It means that after all that hard work, it's paid off. People are hearing it and receiving it and listening to it. That's what matters."

"It's the ultimate payoff," added Terry Balsamo, flanked, along with Lee, by bandmates Will Hunt, Tim McCord and Troy McLawhorn.

The new album bowed on the survey with 127,000 copies sold, according to Nielsen SoundScan, to become the group's second Billboard 200 No. 1. "The Open Door" swung in at the summit on the Oct. 21, 2006, chart and has sold 2.1 million to-date. "Fallen" (No. 3, 2003) has sold 7.6 million and the CD/DVD "Anywhere But Home" (No. 39, 2004), 687,000.

"What You Want," the lead single from the band's new set, bullets this week at No. 14 on Alternative Songs and has sold 112,000 downloads.

Evanescence noted to Chart Beat how the world in which it had last released an album was devoid of such now-ubiquitous fan-reaching platforms as Facebook and Twitter:

The group additionally explained that its extremes in sounds, from the crunchy "Want" and breakthrough hit "Bring Me to Life" to such ballads as "My Immortal," add a diversity to its catalog and live performances:

Before heading to the stage, members of the band signed the Oct. 29 Billboard issue in which Evanescence ruled the Billboard 200.

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