Every so often, I come across an album that excites me more and more as I listen to each song for the first time and leaves a smile on my face when it's over. This is one of those albums.

"Memento Mori" is a concept album that explores light and dark and reminds the listener to live while being mindful of death. It should come as no surprise then, given knowledge of the band members' faiths, that the lyrics have a strong Christian theme running through them. While Flyleaf's debut had its share of Christian references, they are much more pronounced and in abundance on this album. The lyrics are meaningful, deep, honest, and blunt. You won't find them in the CD booklet. Instead, the booklet contains a series of journal entries (one for each song) that give insight into the meanings behind the songs, written from the point of view of the commander of an army.

The album is full of original, infectious melodies that have enough variety to carry it through from beginning to end without it becoming boring. There is a nice balance of heavier and lighter rock. The songs are arranged well, starting with an upbeat anthem and ending with a hopeful and haunting closer. Lacey pours her soul into every song she sings. It's clear that the band put a lot of effort into the album, and it paid off.

Although I purchased the deluxe edition of the album, I decided to base my rating only on the main album so I wouldn't have to deduct any stars from the final score for the mini-CD. The extra four-song CD isn't bad, but it's nothing special. It lacks the creativity and diversity of the main album, and doesn't really warrant the hassle of having to pop it into the CD player after the main album is finished. It sounds more like a mini b-sides album with its somewhat forgettable melodies. I was also unable to download the songs from it into my iTunes library (though I did not deduct any stars because of this, since I don't know whose fault this is). Unless you are a serious fan of the band, I would recommend the regular version of "Memento Mori" over the deluxe version.

Four years after the release of their highly successful self-titled album, the most prominent Christian rock band from Texas -- Flyleaf -- have reunited with producer Howard Benson to dish out their long-awaited sophomore effort, "Memento Mori." While the first album had more of a garage band edge to it, the follow-up finds the band shedding away some of their punkier second-rate Nirvana influences in favor for a much more polished and radio-ready sound. This should come as no surprise though, as Flyleaf are one of those rare rock bands nowadays who can sell a record and since their debut was a bit raw and immature.

Touring heavily with the likes of Korn and Disturbed has done little to soften the band's strong Christian themes. In fact, on "Memento Mori," such moments are much clearer than ever. For some this could be a turn-off, but for the (ahem) faithful followers, it may be a plus. Put plain and simple, Lacey loves Jesus and wants to make sure you know all about it. Putting that aside, though, the album is certainly a notch above the first as far as musicianship goes. While the band has yet to establish a distinctive style, they back up Lacey's broad themes and unique voice well, and Benson's improved production only serves to give the whole affair more bombast and sonic improvements. Put simply, this is the same Flyleaf you know already, just marginally improved and perfected.

If "Memento Mori" has one fatal flaw, though, it's that the songs tend to blend into one another without a single moment sticking out. While there isn't necessarily a bad song to be found, it can be an overall taxing album to listen to and certainly begs the question of whether or not it will continue Flyleaf's string of success. At the end of the day, their second effort improves on almost all fronts, leaving memorable song-writing on the back-burner. Chalk it up to a burnt-out producer (seriously, what album HASN'T Howard Benson produced this year?) and a slightly immature band. Hopefully album number three irons out some of the wrinkles, but in the meantime, this will suffice.

I'll be the first to admit that I had all but written off Flyleaf by the time they announced the release date for their new CD, Memento Mori. However, I remember how much I liked them at one point so I gave it a chance and rushed out on the release date and picked it up.

It hasn't left my CD player since.

Now I know this is a different beast than their original was, but I think that's what makes it all the more sweeter, it isn't what I expected. There is still the moments of all out hard rock (Beautiful Bride, Again, The Kind) but now we see Flyleaf flirting more with melody and actual singing than before (In The Dark, Set Apart This Dream, Treasure) and it works in their favor for the most part. I'll be honest, the only song I skip over is Missing and I wouldn't necessarily call that a bad song even. I'm not oblivious to the fact that this CD isn't perfect though. I understand it's not, but it's as close as Flyleaf was gonna get after a four year absence.

There's been a lot of gripe about the lyrics this time around. I can't really understand why, Flyleaf is open in admitting they are a CHRISTIAN band (go to a concert of theirs, that'll prove it), hence the blatant religious lyrics in a lot of songs. As for the others, Lacey hasn't been shy about talking about how she got married during Flyleaf's abscence, hence the songs like Treasure and so on. I accepted those facts before hearing Memento Mori, maybe that's why I still enjoy this CD so much. What aids their case also is the liner notes in the booklet. I opened it anticipating reading the lyrics, but no. Instead you're greeted with a story of sorts about a girl leaving one (bad) 'army' to join the other (good) army. It's obvious they're talking about the constant fight between good and evil, but it was something that helped me make sense of some songs.

All in all, this is still Flyleaf. If you liked their EP or full length debut, you'll find something to love about Memento Mori. For others, don't expect the world and you should come out impressed.

Best songs: Beautiful Bride, Again, The Kind, Swept Away, Treasure, Circle, and (especially) Arise.

Four years after the release of their highly successful self-titled album, the most prominent Christian rock band from Texas -- Flyleaf -- have reunited with producer Howard Benson to dish out their long-awaited sophomore effort, "Memento Mori." While the first album had more of a garage band edge to it, the follow-up finds the band shedding away some of their punkier second-rate Nirvana influences in favor for a much more polished and radio-ready sound. This should come as no surprise though, as Flyleaf are one of those rare rock bands nowadays who can sell a record and since their debut was a bit raw and immature.

Touring heavily with the likes of Korn and Disturbed has done little to soften the band's strong Christian themes. In fact, on "Memento Mori," such moments are much clearer than ever. For some this could be a turn-off, but for the (ahem) faithful followers, it may be a plus. Put plain and simple, Lacey loves Jesus and wants to make sure you know all about it. Putting that aside, though, the album is certainly a notch above the first as far as musicianship goes. While the band has yet to establish a distinctive style, they back up Lacey's broad themes and unique voice well, and Benson's improved production only serves to give the whole affair more bombast and sonic improvements. Put simply, this is the same Flyleaf you know already, just marginally improved and perfected.

If "Memento Mori" has one fatal flaw, though, it's that the songs tend to blend into one another without a single moment sticking out. While there isn't necessarily a bad song to be found, it can be an overall taxing album to listen to and certainly begs the question of whether or not it will continue Flyleaf's string of success. At the end of the day, their second effort improves on almost all fronts, leaving memorable song-writing on the back-burner. Chalk it up to a burnt-out producer (seriously, what album HASN'T Howard Benson produced this year?) and a slightly immature band. Hopefully album number three irons out some of the wrinkles, but in the meantime, this will suffice.

The deluxe edition features four bonus tracks: "Break Your Knees," "Enemy," "Have We Lost" and "Who Am I". "Break Your Knees" and "Have We Lost" sound like it would fit right in with the first album, while "Enemy" meanders along rather blandly. "Who Am I," on the other hand, sticks out and would probably make a good single -- if it weren't for the fact that it is so short. These tracks are worth owning for the fans who can't get enough of the band, but don't neccessarily improve the album as a whole. Take 'em or leave 'em.

This album is reallllly good. the songs get stuck in your head! If you look up the lyrics to the songs they really make you think as well.