Jesusfreakhideout.com: Pillar, "Confessions" Review

Pillar
Confessions

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

READER RATING: Confessions

� / 5.0 (0 votes)

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

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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