Flyleaf: Small Band from the Big South

Pretend Amy Lee from Evanescence went hardcore with more meaning lyrics. This is Flyleaf in the most basic of elements. Hard rockers from Texas have made their way into hard rock with their self titled album "Flyleaf". Now they have toured with big names like Skillet, Staind and Disturbed in the music industry. Their name is big and yet has potential to grow immensely. The band says the music is written about deep wounds and broken hearts from past experiences. And certainly the tone of the album is about mistakes and how hard life can be. But with that tone the music is slow, fast, hard and soft in the most beautiful of ways. This band takes music and plays it most any way possible with the addition of distortion in their lead guitar.

Songs like Cassie, Fully Alive and I'm So Sick open with a strong guitar solo and then blaze with powerful lyrics and vocals. The lead vocalist Lacey Mosley has a beautiful voice to match the music of the band. Since there are so few female lead bands people tend to compare her to Ame Lee and dislike the two. However, comparing the two bands is like comparing apples and oranges. Yes the two are rock bands but aside from that they are two completely different bands. Lacey's voice is not as operatic as Amy's but Lacey can cross the field of play. From screamo to slow lounge singing she can do it all. This is something you don't see very often in a female lead singer, but Lacey can pull it off with little effort it would appear.

Flyleaf takes a mixture of hardcore, screamo, and punk rock and throws it all together in their album. But what really makes this album worthwhile is the repeatability. Some albums you can play a few times and they get old, but with Flyleaf you can listen for a few months and put the album down. Then a few months later come back to the album like you just bought it. Another thing about the album I absolutely love is the words make you think. Cassie is a song about a girl who died in the Columbine shooting. The song comes from what her eyes might have seen during the tragedy. Not many bands take such a sad and taboo subject and make a beautiful song out of it.

I would suggest this album for any hardcore or rock fan's collection. Not everyone like their sound or style but for those of you who do I highly suggest it. Also check out their website www.flyleaf.com their track list plays in high quality audio on the website. You can also find tour dates and bios of the band.