Flyleaf – New Horizons

After three years and their last album “Memento Mori” in 2009, the the U.S. rockers are releasing their new album called “New Horizons“. It was a bit dissapointing and sad that some weeks before the release Flyleaf‘s frontwoman announced that she was leaving the band. It maybe feels a bit like a betrayal, recording an album with a band and then leave. But what other choice is there? You can either sit back and complain, saying that I’ll never listen to the album or you can press play and enjoy Lacey‘s final (for the foreseeable future) perfomance.

Musically, in “New Horizons” Flyleaf maintains its signature heavy sound mixed with experimentation of effects. The band does great in keeping “New Horizons” very interesting for listeners. The album features heavy songs like “Fire Fire“, “Freedom“, and “Green Heart“, and in-your-face songs like “Call You Out“, to lighter songs like the title track and “Broken Wings” (a track that the band wrote way back in the Passerby days before they changed their name). As it is their last album with Lacey Sturm, it is a good album to remember her by.

“New Horizons” is the first album to not only feature lead singer Lacey Sturm’s vocals, but also the vocals of guitarist Sameer Bhattacharya and bassist Pat Seals. Sturm’s vocals sound great, with catchy melodies. Bhattacharya and Seal’s vocals, featured on songs like “New Horizons” and “Saving Grace“, make a cool contrast, although I think the band could have been more creative with the guys’ vocals. The lyrics are well written. The album features songs like “Fire Fire”, which I think is written about a father’s abuse; “Cage On The Ground” deals with a performer feeling trapped in the “machine”; “Bury Your Heart“, written about a rich businessman, and is along the lines of the Biblical “Why gain the world and lose your soul” passage.

“New Horizons” is in my opinion a good album and has much emotion but also has some heavy guitar riffing, also it hasn’t any fillers in it so it is definitely worth checking it out!!!