From the outside, it would appear as though the last few years have been relatively quiet for Evanescence. But a lot has happened in the life of leader and big-voiced singer Amy Lee during that time.

Starting around 2007, she pursued some personal growth — or as she puts it, made a conscious effort to “find myself as an adult.” And in the process, Lee also expanded her musical horizons by learning the harp, which she plays on Evanescence’s new self-titled third album, which arrives Oct. 11.

“It’s really cool to be able to play another instrument,” says Lee, who learned classical piano as a youth. “It’s great. It makes you think a different way; it makes you write a different way.”

Getting a good feel for the harp was a challenge, admits Lee, “but I knew that I had a little bit of a head start because of the piano playing. It’s not completely different. It’s a grand piano upright instead of on its side. … It’s sort of like a mix between piano and guitar.”

Lee is very pleased with the outcome of the new Evanescence album. What she feels is “different … and better to me” about it is the “really strong band core — this musician feeling of a live band at the center of it all.”

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