With an awakened hunger and passion, Pillar delivers messages of unity and commitment with the release of their sixth studio album, Confessions. More than just creating great music, their ambition is to revolutionize lives and bring their fans to a place of complete surrender to God. In an era saturated with new bands, Pillar continues to stand out as a leader in Christian rock. Produced by Dove Award-winning Rob Graves (Red).
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A Mixed Bag For Me| Posted September 09, 2009
I must say that I was very impressed with lead CHR single, "Secrets and Regrets" from Pillar. Having heard the entire album, it remains my favorite off of it. Lead Rock single "Fire On The Inside" is a pumping rock track that should satisfy fans of Pillar's harder rock side.
When I read this quote,"Confessions is the kind of album that will make CHR radio listeners fans of rock music," I must say, I was even more intrigued. But I must say, the album doesn't really live up to this name.
CHR music fans will have plenty to love here, as the track listing is about split evenly between softer and harder songs. However, I wouldn't say this album will make them fans of Rock music. Perhaps this would've been accurately had not nearly every single Rock track be weighed down with screams. The melodies were good enough and likely could have made that claim about the album true, but alas, "Call To Action," is the closest they get to a hard rock track that is scream-free, and even it sneaks a small one in there at literally the very last second. I'm sure Pillar's fans will love that, but hooking CHR fans? I am not so sure those tracks will do it.
That's not to say that the softer tracks are negligible. Quite the contrary, they are very well done. Secrets and Regrets, is, as I said, a very good song. It's a nice crossover song. There are even a few orchestrated ballads in here in the form of "Better Off Now"(another album highlight), "Will You Be There," and "Lose It All." I could easily recommend CHR fans to hit up iTunes or Amazon for these tracks, but unless you like some scream in your rock(and if you do, you're probably not the ones referred to in the quote about making CHR listens fans of Rock), you might want to pass on the other tracks.
But if you do like some scream in your rock, you'll likely find this album satisfying enough. The lyrics may be a bit cliche in parts("Call To Action," gee, I wonder what this one is about), but I didn't find them overly bad.
Ultimately, I give this 3 stars, cause I am being nice. Most of the songs had some high enjoyability to them, even the rockers(you know, when they weren't screaming), and the softer songs are definitely enjoyable. I like Rock music already, but not the screaming kind, and unfortunately, Pillar's "Confessions" did not do much to change that.
I Confess -This is Great !!| Posted October 13, 2009
I have been patiently waiting for the "new" Pillar to release their CD. Let me tell you,it was well worth it. "Confessions" is a must have for devoted Pillar fans.The CD opens with a brief Intro leading in to a fine song,"Fire on the Inside".I love the way Pillar puts out a great rockin' beat with lyrics that speak of God's love for us and other spirit filled messages.In My opinion, there is not a bad song on this CD. My favorites are "Whatever it Takes", "Secrets and Regrets" and "Lose it All". They have 2 great ballads on the CD, "Better Off Now" and "Will You be There". The best song on the CD I have saved for last - "Shine". I love this song !! I am sure this song will be #1 on Christian rock radio in the not too distant future.
I love Pillar !! The new additions to the band are great. I cannot wait to see them on tour with this CD. I know it will be an awesome show.
My take| Posted November 13, 2009
Some of the songs were ruined by the screams. But I like "Secrets and Regrets" a lot. It's a great album you'll really enjoy. You may need to read the booklet to get all the lyrics.
Best hard rock album of the year| Posted October 01, 2009
As with Hawk Nelson's latest release I am surprised that Pillar also threw out another album 18 months after their last one. This one is like a continuation of For The Love Of The Game with the same hard rock formula even with the addition of two new members and the leaving of two core members. The only disappointment I have with this album is out of 10 songs on the album, only 8 of them are new. The other 2 songs are covers. Their cover of Collective Soul's Shine is quite possibly the best cover song I have heard yet. I only hope that on their next album they would have more than 10 songs and that they would be all new.
Sweet!!| Posted September 27, 2009
This is a sweet album. I've been a long time fan of Pillar and their hard rock style. This album was softer than normal, but still awesome. It just goes to show that their is a softer side to hard rock. Awesome job guys!! Oh...and I loved the rendition of "Shine", it totally rocked!!!
Same old Pillar| Posted September 25, 2009
Confessions is a well-made album, and one that only Pillar could do.
Let me start of by saying that I was deeply saddened at the news of Pillar's dummer and bassist being replaced for this album. It so happened that the previous drummer is my favorite of all time. That being said, my view of this album may be somewhat clouded.
One of the things I appreciate most about Pillar is that in the first half of their career, every album had a different sound. Recently, however, the band has not given us much of anything new.
Let's take the music of Where Do We Go From Here, the vocals of The Reckoning, and the emotion of For the Love of the Game, and you have Confessions. In other words, the over all sound is new (but still similar to past sounds), but the various elements that it incorporates are elements we have heard before.
If you want to know whether or not to get this album, I would say it comes down to what you expect. Are you a Pillar fan who wants to hear the good ol' stuff fit into new songs? You've got to get this CD. Are you looking for the band to reinvent themselves again? Perhaps it would be better to pass on this one. If you are not familiar with any of their old stuff, then this would be a good album with which to sample their style, but I'd recommend Where Do We Go From Here as their best release.
Allow me to return to my statement that Pillar "has not given us MUCH of anything new." There is ONE thing that Confessions offers that is new: In their ballads "Better Off Now" and "Will You Be There", Pillar pulls out their seldom-heard acoustic guitars. In addition to that, they've thrown in some orchestral strings, which I love. Musically, this is probably their best album as far as ballads go (although they can't beat the lyrics of past ballads, especially "Rewind").
Another great part of the album is Pillar's cover of Collective Soul's "Shine". Pillar does a great job of making it their own while still keeping the spirit of the original. Plus, it's just a fun song to sing along with.
Confessions offers a great rock sound. It is not like the energetic rock of For the Love of the Game, which feels like it should be played in stadiums or commercials for sports, but it has a nice, steady, and powerful feel.
If you liked Pillar in the past, this CD surely will not disappoint.
personal opinion| Posted September 14, 2009
I'm not a big fan of Pillar. I enjoy a few of their songs and there is normally at least one song on each of their cd's that has caught my attention, but I didn't find anything intriguing in this one. This is just a personal opinion being that I'm not a big fan.
Confessions are good for the soul| Posted September 12, 2009
Confessions, the sixth studio release from Hard Rockers Pillar is going to disappoint a lot of the faithful while gathering them a brand new legion of fans. First of all the style is reminiscent of Red's Innocence and Instinct, not surprising since Red's producer, Rob Graves, produced the album. This could go either way with me, since I love Red.
More disappointing to me is the overall "pop" sound to the songs on the album. Granted, I was introduced to Pillar via Fireproof, so I miss Rob Beckley's Rapcore Style and Militant lyrics. (Echelon and Indivisible for example).
On the Other hand, I must confess to be a sucker for strings, so the string heavy ballads Will you be there and Better off Now are among my favorites, as is The Fight Inside clone Whatever it Takes.
Of the three Hard Music summer releases (Skillet, TFK, and Pillar) Confessions was deemed by various posters as the Weakest release. After listening to the stream, I have to say, it grows on you. I think you'll agree, Pillar is better off now.
Pillar, Confessions| Posted September 11, 2009
It took a little bit of time to get use to Pillar's sound, but after that you hear the repeative lyrics. I can foresee that several of these songs would be singable in our local churches.
Rockers| Posted September 09, 2009
Sounds good with a Rock Sound. I tend to prefer a little bit more mellow music but my husband that loves Creed would love this group Pillar. Would be great to have loaded onto my iPod for when I need a beat pushing me along :-) Thanks for the free preview!
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