MUSIC: Flyleaf will hammer out Christian metal at Magic Springs

LITTLE ROCK — Christian metal band Flyleaf will be the next concert attraction in the 2008 summer series at Timberwood Amphitheater at Magic Springs & Crystal Falls amusement park in Hot Springs.

The band will perform at 8 p.m. Saturday at the park, 1701 E. Grand Ave. (U.S. 70 East) in Hot Springs.

Admission is $45.99; $35.99 for children who are less than 52 inches tall, and for adults age 55 and older; or $49.99 for a season pass good for all 14 concerts and unlimited park admission all season.

Reserved seats are an additional $5 each. Call (501) 624-0100.

Sometimes compared to Evanescence for its inspirational message and its lineup - a female singer backed by men - Flyleaf, which formed in Belton and Temple, Texas, is now based in Dallas. The band has been content to work hard, touring constantly, while waiting for word of mouth to spread to fans of metal and Christian music, who have, over the course of nearly three years, begun to discover Flyleaf's selftitled CD. It recently reached "platinum" status for sales of more than 1 million copies.

Dave Navarro, formerly of Jane's Addiction and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, was a guest artist on the album, which includes the hit singles "I'm So Sick," "Fully Alive," "All Around Me" and "Sorrow."

In 2007, the album was reissued in a "Special Edition,"which included a second-disc DVD, featuring a complete collection of the band's music videos, while the CD added five acoustic performances. The package also includes a color locker poster and a ringtone of "All Around Me."

In the summer of 2006, Flyleaf played on the main stage of the Family Values Tour and later that year toured with Disturbed, Stone Sour and Nonpoint on the Music As a Weapon III Tour. In 2007, the group toured with Three Days Grace and then headlined the Justice & Mercy Tour with Skillet and Dropping Daylight.

Flyleaf songs or videos have appeared in the movies or on the soundtracks of Live Free or Die Hard and Resident Evil: Extinction, and the band's song, "Tina," first debuted on Guitar Hero 3. Their song, "I'm So Sick," appears in Rock Band.

Singer Lacey Mosley has spoken of how Christ helped her deal with depression and thoughts of suicide as she battled addiction to drugs and alcohol.

She started the band with guitarists Sameer Bhattacharya and Jared Hartmann and drummer James Culpepper. Bassist Pat Seals joined later.

Flyleaf played the South by Southwest festival in March in Austin, Texas, and Mosley told The Associated Press at the time about the purpose behind the band's founding.

"We wanted to do whatever God wanted us to do with our lives, with our work, with our music, just every part of our lives and I guess the miracle of this we credit to that," she said.