Texas-bred outfit Flyleaf broke onto the hard rock circuit in the late 2000s with potent anthems that grappled with the struggle between despair and hope. Though their lyrics sometimes hinted at their faith-based backgrounds, the messages were universal, delivered with howls, screams, and the soaring vocals of Lacey Sturm. Into the 2010s, their albums dominated the U.S. alternative, hard rock, and Christian charts, with their 2005 debut Flyleaf earning platinum certification. After the release of their third set, 2012's New Horizons, Sturm left the group to focus on family and a brief solo career, with Kristen May taking vocal duties for just one album, 2014's Between the Stars. In 2022, after an extended hiatus, Flyleaf returned with Sturm in tow, issuing a deluxe edition of their hit debut and charting a series of reunion shows. The band formed in 2000 in Belton, Texas when Sturm (née Mosley) played a string of the dark, hard-edged songs she wrote as a teen for drummer James Culpepper. After a brief period of playing together, they recruited guitarists Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann, members of a local outfit that had recently called it quits. In 2002, bassist Pat Seals joined, and the band, initially known as Passerby, was born. The road to Flyleaf's 2005 self-titled debut on Octone Records was dotted with more green lights than red: the band played wherever they were invited around their home state at first, gradually building the kind of fan base that allowed them to open for acts such as Bowling for Soup, Fishbone, and Riddlin' Kids. By 2003, with word of Mosley's arsenic-laced lyrics and blowtorch-style delivery spreading through Texas and beyond, Flyleaf earned a spot at the annual South by Southwest Music Conference. A contract from Octone was rushed into the signing stages by 2004. An EP, issued in early 2005 and also called Flyleaf, benefited from the production team of Rick Parashar (Pearl Jam, Blind Melon) and Brad Cook (Foo Fighters, Queens of the Stone Age). Key tracks such as the roiling "Cassie" and the emo-tinged "Breathe Today," both of which appear on the full-length, furthered Flyleaf's reputation, as did raging live shows alongside Saliva, Breaking Benjamin, 3 Doors Down, and Staind. For the late 2005 full-length release, producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Papa Roach, the All-American Rejects) joined Flyleaf in Los Angeles. A batch of 20 songs was winnowed down to 12, with Mosley's searing vocals and Bhattacharya's and Hartmann's storming guitars offsetting each other to affect a sound by turns morose, compassionate, hopeful, and bitter. Following the release of Flyleaf, the band toured heavily on the festival circuit. They hit the main stage on Korn's 2006 and 2007 Family Values Tour, as well as the Soundwave Festival and Disturbed's Music as a Weapon III tour. They also made a jump to the world of video games when their breakthrough single "I'm So Sick" -- also a hit on MTV -- was put in the first installment of the Rock Band series and their single, "Tina," debuted in Guitar Hero 3. Meanwhile, "All Around Me" was certified platinum and remains their lone song to chart on the Hot 100 to date. After taking some time out of their hectic touring schedule to record, Flyleaf released their sophomore album, Memento Mori, in 2009. The LP topped the Alternative, Hard Rock, and Christian charts in the U.S. and entered the Top Ten on the Billboard 200; singles "Again," "Chasm," and "Arise" all topped the Christian singles chart. The following year, Flyleaf delivered the EP Remember to Live, featuring stripped-down, reworked versions of some of the group's early songs. In 2012 the band released its third studio album, the Howard Benson-produced New Horizons, after which Sturm and the band amicably parted ways. Kristen May, former lead singer for the band Vedora, was recruited as vocalist, and the May-fronted version of Flyleaf recorded a single, "Something Better," for their 2013 EP Who We Are. Between the Stars, the band's fourth long-player and first outing for Loud & Proud Records, arrived the following year. It would be May's lone full-length with the group; after four years with the band, she announced her departure in August 2016. Without a vocalist, Flyleaf went on an extended hiatus, with the individual bandmembers pursuing other musical ventures. Five years passed before anything was heard from the crew, but the wait was worth it for longtime fans. Hinting at the return of Sturm, Flyleaf officially announced their reunion in 2022. In addition to the release of a deluxe version of their debut -- which included B-sides and acoustic versions of their big singles -- they also revealed plans for a return to the live circuit, billed as "Flyleaf with Lacey Sturm." ~ Neil Z. Yeung & Tammy La Gorce

Flyleaf, The Agonist

Flyleaf

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