Rockers Flyleaf recently returned home from their first tour for U.S. troops overseas. The band’s diverse itinerary took them from Bagram Air Field in Afghanistan – where they performed before nearly 1,000 hard rocking soldiers – to the distant Forward Operating Base Baylough in southern Afghanistan, near the Pakistan border. Because they were unable to fly to Baylough with their requisite gear, the band entertained their closely assembled audience with a rare acoustic/a cappella set. “It was one of the most humbling and powerful experiences, as far as helping me appreciate life and appreciate what those men and women do for us all,” says vocalist Lacey Mosley. The band is also readying for the release of their sophomore album, Memento Mori, due out October 27. The first single from the album, “Again,” debuts August 25.Though song contributions on the new album come from every member of the band, Memento Mori features a lyrical theme that started out as a kind of urgent and hopeful personal message from Lacey to her teenaged sister. “I feel like the new songs began as a kind of open letter to my little sister, saying, ‘Please don’t make the mistakes that I have made,'” explains the thoughtful and reflective Lacey. “When I’m on stage and look out into the crowd, I see my sister in so many faces. With the title Memento Mori we took that feeling a step further so that it now encompasses meaning for the rest of the band as well; essentially to make the most of the time we’ve all been given. Memento Mori is universal. Belton, Texas-based quintet Flyleaf – openly Christian and wildly popular in mainstream – saw their self-titled debut album spend 133 weeks on Billboard’s Top 200, spawning three top-charted Rock singles – “I’m So Sick,” “Fully Alive,” and the RIAA gold smash “All Around Me”.Flyleaf is currently on tour with special guests, Paper Tongue. You can learn more about Flyleaf on their website.Click here to subscribe to Gospel Soundcheck by email and have the Gospel Soundcheck headlines delivered daily to your email inbox. And don’t forget to follow me on Twitter!