Flyleaf: Between The Stars

Turning over a new ‘leaf...

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There are times here when you can’t help but think of other bands. Opener Set Me On Fire has the same quirkiness as Just A Girl from No Doubt’s Tragic Kingdom, while Head Underwater could sit comfortably on a mid-70s Fleetwood Mac album.

New vocalist Kristen May’s high-pitched, passionate voice rides through on the cascading Sober Serenade, the introspective Thread or the more upbeat City Kids. And the rest of the band prove their worth with some clever musicianship on the heavy Traitor and the chiming kinks of Marionette.

The only problem is that the album is too long. By the time you reach Ship Of Fools, it’s clear you could scythe four songs off and actually make it a more cohesive, all-round experience. But, if you leave the quantity situation aside, Between The Stars is perhaps Flyleaf’s most complete album to date./o:p

Malcolm Dome
Malcolm Dome

Malcolm Dome had an illustrious and celebrated career which stretched back to working for Record Mirror magazine in the late 70s and Metal Fury in the early 80s before joining Kerrang! at its launch in 1981. His first book, Encyclopedia Metallica, published in 1981, may have been the inspiration for the name of a certain band formed that same year. Dome is also credited with inventing the term "thrash metal" while writing about the Anthrax song Metal Thrashing Mad in 1984. With the launch of Classic Rock magazine in 1998 he became involved with that title, sister magazine Metal Hammer, and was a contributor to Prog magazine since its inception in 2009. He died in 2021.