FLYLEAF | FLYLEAF - Official site for alternative rock band Flyleaf. On TOUR this fall! New album BETWEEN THE STARS available now!
Music comes to life when it must. It lies dormant and then blossoms in its creator at just the right moment. For Flyleaf, that was definitely the case when they began making their fourth full-length album and first for Loud & Proud Records, Between The Stars.
You could chalk it up to serendipity, but it simply feels meant to be. Seizing that spirit, the band—Kristen May [vocals], Sameer Bhattacharya [guitar], Jared Hartmann [guitar], Pat Seals [bass], and James Culpepper [drums]—immediately thrust themselves into the creative process.
That new beginning also entailed another first for the group. They sought out the production talents of the iconic Don Gilmore [Linkin Park, Three Days Grace, Avril Lavigne], holing up in a Los Angeles studio with him for a month during the spring of 2014. With Gilmore behind the board, they captured a certain "magic" that proved both passionate and palpable.
At the same time, the lyrics and Kristen's delivery matched the heavy, hypnotic soundscapes that the band conjured up in the studio. Everything solidified into a clear and cohesive vision.
On the flip side, "Traitor" might just be the group's heaviest salvo to date. Combining a delicately destructive riff and a punch-y refrain, it immediately hits. "It's about knowing which people in your life aren't good for you," sighs the songstress.
Throughout this entire process, Flyleaf engaged its devout and diehard fan base. Launching an extensive PledgeMusic campaign, the quintet was able to crowd-fund some incredible opportunities for listeners. Fans got the chance to hang in the studio while the band worked on Between The Stars and had the opportunity to hear the music first at an exclusive listening party. That immersion will continue as they head out on the road in support of the record over the course of the next year.
Those fans have been with Flyleaf for the entire ride, beginning over a decade ago. Along the way, their self-titled debut went platinum and yielded the hit "All Around Me," which also moved over one million digital downloads. The record spent 133 weeks in the Billboard Top 200, climbing to the Top 15 of the Rock Albums and Alternative Albums charts as well. Its follow-up, Memento Mori, saw the group crack the Top 10 of the Billboard Top 200. They've touched down for shows everywhere from Afghanistan, where they played for the troops, to sold out gigs around the U.S. alongside everybody from Rage Against The Machine to Deftones to Cage The Elephant.