Here's a fact that for some reason always really surprises people: I love hard rock. I mean, so hard that it's harder than adamantium steal (that was for you fellow nerdsters. For the rest of you out there, adamantium: a fictional metal alloy featured by Marvel comics character Wolverine. End of dictionary definition.) I'm barely successful as a girl. I've yet to learn how to properly curl my hair, apply makeup or watch chick flicks. My baby brother loves this genre of music called screamo, which is like someone threw every kind of metal music into a room that holds a bunch of cats tied together by the tail and recorded the result. I actually even can get into that music, which apparently wins me major points with absolutely no adults anywhere ever, but my teenage students listen up better when I can talk both Mozart and Alexisonfire. Still, I'm ever on the lookout for a hard rock band that delivers a meaningful punch with their tunes, not just a powerful one. Flyleaf always meets my hopes in a great way, so I was all over their new album New Horizons.
One thing the hard rock genre definitely lacks is a strong female force, so I love Flyleaf for having a such a dynamic female lead singer Lacey Sturm. I've loved the band since they've arrived on the scene back in 2005. "Fully Alive" remains a top favorite for me. New Horizons is a strong album for the band. The dark, hard-toned music enhance the band's powerful lyrics and manage to avoid the cliche angry headbanging sounds of so many other hard rock groups. In a strange paradoxical way, Flyleaf uses the passion of hard rock to deliver songs that somehow inspire and evoke a feeling of hope. Each song is infused with intense emotions and accomplishes a successful blend of vocals, drums, and electric guitar. Some of the outstanding tracks on the album are "Fire Fire," "Saving Grace," "Cage on the Ground."Enjoy the album, because it's Sturm's last. Just after releasing the album, she announced that she's leaving the band and has been replaced by Kristin May, formally of the band Veranda. I absolutely object to this change, but no one called to ask me my opinion. Here's their latest album as well their past hits below:
XOXO
Camie
Glad I found this. Am a musician and blogger and have felt like I haven't found many others who share the common love I have. I am not as big into "screamo" music - rage against the machine or tool were as hard as I really ever got. But I love strong female voices - always. And want to see more female leads who present themselves as strong, in charge, talented - and not just hair twirling barbie dolls!
ReplyDelete