Get Your Music on Amazon!
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

JFH Music Review


Pillar
Confessions



Artist Info: Discography
Album length: 10 tracks: 37 minutes, 54 seconds
Street Date: September 22, 2009


After over a decade now, we rock music lovers have been blessed with the band Pillar. This, their sixth full-length installment, is apparently on a musical level that has never been heard before according to front man Rob Beckley. While I can't say that I have never heard the overall sound before, I must admit that this is the best Pillar album since Fireproof in 2002. So, what are fans to expect from Confessions now that the band includes two new members and a achieves a noticeably different Pillar sound?

The album starts off by introducing us to this new style with "Fire On The Inside." It has a slightly similar feel to Where Do We Go From Here or The Reckoning, but the chords are delivered harder and Rob stretches his vocals a little more. "Not Without A Fight" and "You Are Not The End" follow the same path of the expanding musical approach we're hearing. Confessions also has a message to listeners – Confess. The acknowledgment in the spiritual sense that makes us clean before God and our peers is a message that you can't help but to take home while listening.

The release also contains your typical slower/ballad type tracks such as "Better Off Now," "Will You Be There," and "Lose It All." Again, Rob uses his vocal abilities more and the background drops in violins and piano keys all laid beneath lyrics with a wonderful message to listeners. Topping off the near-forty minute album is a remake of Collective Soul's "Shine" that comes out great and "Call To Action" which is a classic Pillar solider-style track.

After being a band that doesn't change their style a whole lot year to year, Pillar has stepped it up a little bit here. While they don't achieve a totally new sound, Pillar serves up a notable change that comes out nicely. The new band members are obviously talented and fill in for Kalel and Lester very well, and the songwriting takes listeners a little deeper to execute a more meaningful album. All in all, it's a great record and worth checking out for fans of rock music and Pillar alike.

- Review date: 9/17/09, written by Kevin Hoskins of Jesusfreakhideout.com



(JFH Sponsor Spot)

Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

 

JFH Staff's Second Opinion



Pillar is one of those bands that has sold consistently well and has maintained a faithful fanbase but has never made a lasting influence on their genre. But with a new drummer and bassist as well as promise of a "new sound," we are presented with Pillar's sixth studio album, Confessions. Soon after a somewhat promising intro track, the tracks really start to sound the same and don't exactly push any boundaries musically. With all the hype that was behind this project, it's left an air of disappointment. Confessions is a mix of Decyfer Down and Red's sounds, with maybe a little Skillet thrown in, and while to some that sounds like genius, it merely feels a little recycled and its hard to shake off the feeling that we've heard all this before somewhere. Standouts worth mentioning are the honest "Secrets and Regrets" and the fantastic Collective Soul cover "Shine"; they are by far the best tracks, but there's too many other songs that feel as cliché as their titles ("Not Without A Fight" and "Call To Action" being prime examples). To be fair, there's plenty worse that a rock fan could choose from, and you can't deny that it's a positive alternative to Pillar's questionable secular counterparts. However, Confessions is unfortunately mostly a forgettable hard rock experience. - Roger Gelwicks of Jesusfreakhideout.com

 

. Record Label: Essential Records
. Album length: 10 tracks: 37 minutes, 54 seconds
. Street Date: September 22, 2009
. Buy It: Amazon.com

  1. Fire On The Inside (3:22)
  2. Whatever It Takes (3:53)
  3. Secrets and Regrets (4:44)
  4. Better Off Now (3:26)
  5. Not Without A Fight (3:09)
  6. Will You Be There (3:53)
  7. Shine (4:38)
  8. Call To Action (3:48)
  9. Lose It All (3:29)
  10. You Are Not The End (3:36)
spacer     Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics
    Click For Song Lyrics

 

 

go to main Album review page
go to Album review archive

 

 

                 
Get the new FREE JFH MP3 compilation -- Vol. 14!

Search JFH



This Wednesday, August 13, 2025
ALBUMS
Various Artists Songs We've Been Trying To Tell You About (And Others We Haven't), Vol. 14 [JFH Music]

This Friday, August 15, 2025
ALBUMS
Mark Bishop Grandkids - EP [Sonlite]
The CCC Collective Brooklyn Culture (independent)
Equippers Worship Awe [DREAM Worship]
The Final Witness Beneath The Altar [Rottweiler]
Grammatrain Flying Collector's Edition CD [Girder]
Grammatrain Lonely House 30th Anniversary Edition CD [Girder]
Katy Nichole Honest Conversations [Centricity]
Relentless Pursuit Apocalypsis (independent)
V1 Worship Archives [DREAM]
Joel Vaughn Feel It - EP [DREAM]

SINGLES
Johan Åsgärde Coming Home - Single [Gotee]
Dave Barnes Everything But Mine - Single (independent)
Jeff Deyo There is a Fire - Single (independent)
Steven Malcolm All God - Single [Curb]
Brandon Lake, Phil Wickham, & Elevation Worship So So Good (Live) - Single [Fair Trade]

VINYL
Grammatrain Flying Vinyl [Girder]
Grammatrain Lonely House 30th Anniversary Edition Vinyl [Girder]
Newsboys Going Public Vinyl [Girder]

Next Friday, August 22, 2025
ALBUMS
Lecrae Reconstruction [Reach]
Lizzie Morgan Not My Will [Provident]
Josiah Queen MT. ZION [Capitol CMG]

SINGLES
Dust and Grace Hallelujah - Single [MTS]
Good Weather Forecast Today (feat. Elijah Thomas) - Single [DREAM]
Roxanne Grace Try Again - Single [DREAM]
Mainstream Worship Invitation - Single [DREAM Worship]
V1 Worship Been So Faithful - Single [DREAM Worship]



For all release dates, click here!
 

Join honey and save on online purchases!
Need proofreading and editing help? We've got you covered! Click here to learn more
Check out depositphotos for royalty free images