Guitarist Ben Moody and David Hodges share songwriting credits on the song, which features guest vocals from Paul McCoy of the band 12 Stones.

One of Evanescence's most commercially successful songs, "Bring Me to Life" was certified triple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America in 2019.

[4] It expressed a "cry for help", while "Going Under", which she wrote after "Bring Me to Life", was the next stage of her "coming to the realization that I was going to stand up for myself and make a change.

A 22-piece string section was recorded by Mark Curry in Seattle, and mixed at the Newman Scoring Stage and Bolero Studios in Los Angeles.

[12][13][14] In order to market it, the label forced them to add the male rapping vocal, which Lee did not want, or the song and album would not be released.

[22] Rolling Stone's Kirk Miller said that the song is stylistically a "case of mistaken identity", dooming the band to Linkin Park comparisons "thanks to [its] digital beats, clean metal-guitar riffs, scattered piano lines and all-too-familiar mix of rapping and singing.

[24] Ann Powers from the Los Angeles Times said that "with its lyrical drama and crunchy guitars, [the song] branded the band as overdone nu-metal.

[28] Nick Catucci of The Village Voice wrote that "piano tinkles, Lee's breathless keen, dramatic pauses, guitars like clouds of locusts, [and] McCoy's passing-12-kidney-stones guest vocals" characterize the song, which "sounds like church-burning, brain-eating European dark metal.

"[29] Vik Bansal of MusicOMH said the track contains "Lee's temptress vocals, pseudo-electronic beats à la Linkin Park, understated but menacing metallic riffs in the background, and a ripping, radio-friendly rock chorus.

"[30] MTV described it as "an unrelenting paean that begins as hauntingly delicate before piling on crumpled guitar lines and a rap" while "Lee's vocals soar above the whole sludgy mixture".

[33][34][35] After the song was released on the Daredevil soundtrack, listeners began requesting air play for it, compelling radio stations to reconsider Evanescence.

[4] On its international success, she stated: "Since we released [the song] on Daredevil it went all over the world, whether they wanted it to or not, so we had fans in countries we had never been to because they had the soundtrack and they heard it on the radio.

[41] Kelefa Sanneh of The New York Times said that "Bring Me to Life" "floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee and then hits like a brick.

"[42] Writing for the Los Angeles Times, Ann Powers wrote that it is a "mix of voluptuous singing and metallic guitar (the latter enhanced by McCoy's rap-rock declamations)".

[25] Joe D'Angelo of MTV said the song is an "unrelenting paean that begins as hauntingly delicate before piling on crumpled guitar lines and a rap" and Lee's "vocals soar above the whole sludgy mixture to keep it from sinking into tired mediocrity.

"[6] Adrien Bengrad from PopMatters called it a "quality single" although hearing it more led him to find it "nothing more than a bombastic distraction from the usual dreck" despite "the refreshing dose of melody".

[43] Christopher Gray of The Austin Chronicle deemed it "one of the more curious offerings to be had on the airwaves right now and lingers in the memory like the remnants of a particularly vivid nightmare".

[10] Nick Catucci of The Village Voice deemed it a "fabulous breakthrough single" that sounds like "church-burning, brain-eating European dark metal.

[45] John Hood of the Miami New Times said it is a "huge, heavy, and mightily histrionic" track that pits Lee's "soaring voice both with and against the rap-infused gruff of McCoy".

The song initially peaked within the Christian rock charts as well, because its lyrics were interpreted as a call for new life in Jesus Christ by several listeners.

"[70]According to Joe D'Angelo of MTV News, Lee's "teetering on a ledge" in the video shows a "distressed and emotionally wrought heroine.

"[71] Ann Powers from the Los Angeles Times wrote: "You might not immediately recognize Amy Lee's name, but you would know her if she plummeted past you from the top floor of a tenement building.

"[25] Corey Moss of MTV felt that "as intense as a superhero movie, the sequence also gives a nice visual to the song's most memorable lyric, 'Save me.

'"[70] John Hood of Miami New Times wrote that the video's "gothopolis backdrop" would "make Tim Burton green with envy".

Several critics described its new arrangement as "dramatic", with Billboard's Sadie Bell deeming it "just as rich" as the original and Rolling Stone's Brittany Spanos calling it a "cinematic take".