Last year, hardcore band Confide made their label debut with their album Shout The Truth. It was a good album, but suffered slightly from some of the vocal work. September 8, 2009, saw the band re-releasing the album with a few extra songs on it. However, they didn't just do a typical re-release where you have to buy the whole album all over again just for some new songs. Yes, all the songs from the original are there, in the same order as before, but the band actually went in and re-recorded all of them as well.

As I said, Shout The Truth was a good album, it was just mainly the vocals that could've used some work. And listening to the re-recorded songs, it's obvious that they took some time on the vocals. There were times where Ross Kenyon yelled some of the lyrics, as opposed to screaming or singing them, and it was almost like nails on a chalkboard. In the new Shout The Truth, some of these instances were given a harmony makeover. Not every time, though, as in the intro to "If We Were A Sinking Ship" (when Kenyon says "The great wall that stands between, the lost and the seen, and the lies we let sink in"), but it sounds a lot better in the pre-chorus of "Millstone," when, instead of yelling, Kenyon sings "Will You still love me when I am selfish and I never seem to show You my face?" So there's definitely some improvement to be found as far as the non-screaming vocals go. The screaming was always powerful and didn't really need work, and they still sound great here. Improvement wasn't really necessary for the music either. It was written and performed very well, and complemented the vocals almost perfectly. It sounded great then, and still sounds great this time around too.

The 2009 Shout The Truth has three brand new tracks on it. The first of the three is a cover of The Postal Service's smash hit "Such Great Heights." Originally an electronic song, the track is transformed into a beautiful metalcore take on the song (and one of the best cover songs of the year). The verses are essentially big breakdowns until the chorus comes along. Props to Confide for the killer rendition that stays as true to the song as possible given the dramatic genre change. "Role Reversal" would've fit in very well if it were released with the original version of Shout The Truth, and "I Never Saw It Coming" sounds a little different for the band. It's still loud metalcore with Kenyon's weak-at-times vocals, but it also has a fast-paced beat through the first half of the song. Not a huge difference, but enough to make me think it was a b-side, as it doesn't quite fit with the rest.

Confide definitely has potential. They released a good album last year, and released a better version of it this year. If they keep refining themselves, as they no doubt seem to be doing, they could definitely be one of the top names in Christian hardcore. They even stepped it up on the album artwork, which uses some clever symbolism for the temptation and fall of man. If you have, or have heard, the original Shout The Truth and liked it, you'll want to check out this re-release. The differences of the re-recordings may not be enough for me to tell you to buy this copy, but you should at least listen to it and decide for yourself.

- Review date: 11/7/09, written by Scott Fryberger of Jesusfreakhideout.com