Customer Reviews

Confessions

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Kicking off the album with Fire On The Inside and Whatever it Takes the album starts off as you would expect from Pillar. They are both decent hard rock songs which really get things moving for the album. Secrets and Regrets shows a more matured version of Pillar, a slight change that happens with each of their releases. Not Without A Fight and Call To Action are excellent Christian-soldier/anti-complacency anthems with a similar theme to Frontline, Fireproof, and For the Love of the Game, except these songs don't start with the letter "F". There are three ballads on this ten track album, but they are arguably Pillar's best ballads to date. The lyrics, although they don't necessarily suffer from any clichés, are not the best in the genre, but they get their point across with a positive message. This time around Rob flexes his vocal abilities a little bit more, and his aggressive screams are brief and well placed. The Collective Soul cover of Shine is well done, and although true to the original, it cranks up the volume with some excellent guitar and drum work from Noah and the new drummer. Kalel and Lester are both missed, but they are replaced by Taylor Carroll on drums and Rich Gilliand on Bass. Both replacements are obviously very skilled and fit in nicely with Pillars sound. This album is not groundbreaking, nor will it stand the test of time, but if there is one thing about Pillar it is that they can rock with a positive message and deliver a plate full of delicious tracks.

I love my rock and roll but on a recent road trip I let my kids play the dj with my 200+ cds. They would hand me one of my rock cds and I'd have to tell them they couldn't listen to it because the group had lyrics I didn't particularly feel appropriate for my kids. On a personal level I was also getting tired of everything being dirty and explicit. I was browsing music on my phone and came across the band Day of Fire. I really liked this group's sound. Obviously they couldn't be the only group like that so I started researching. Pillar is one of my very favorite groups to listen to. This cd is a GREAT workout cd and I've been more excited to get out and work out because I have great music. My kids love it too and I don't have to edit it or worry about what the lyrics contain. I WANT them to hear this message.

I was given this Cd by my son for Christmas. I have taken this long to review it because I haven't put it down. I must "confess" The CD is safe and in my Cd storage unit but my iPod is another story. The entire album is on there an I listen to it when I am happy, sad, or any other emotion that just needs a spiritual lift.
I would recommend this album or any Pillar Album to anyone of any age who loves good music. You don't have to be Christian to enjoy them, you will be when you are done ... ;o)
I wouldn't trade the gift they give with there music for anything. They reinforce my beliefs daily and I would like to thank them for that.

I am a longtime Pillar Fan. I became a Christian in 2000 and found their first album Above and it really helped me understand that Christian Music wasn't just lame. It could rock, and I needed it to at that time of my life. Since then Pillar has been through a few transformations, and a few albums. Their strongest album to date in my opinion, one that I can put in and just never get tired of, is their First album with Lester on the drums, "Where Do We Go From Here". It is quickly apparrant that they figured it out quickly. That album is truly AMAZING. It showed Noah really letting go and just tearing it up and this was Lester's first time in the Studio. Pillar is an amazing band. Don't get me wrong, I am not upset about this release. It is a good disc. I just don't believe it is their strongest album. I like "Secrets and Regrets", "Better off Now", "Will you be there" and "Lose it All". However, the first track on the album is one of the worst Pillar tracks yet. It starts off terrible, and goes from bad to worse. It is a simple riff, with just a terrible sound. It is just noisy, with nothing really there as substance. Especially when the Chorus comes in. Then they did a cover of Collective Soul's "Shine". Why?? That is the worst cover they have done.

All in all, the album is a decent one, but one where the harder rock tunes don't do so well, and the ballads shine. I am a hardcore Pillar fan and I will support them, until they start playing tunes that sound like Insane Clown Posse. Then I am out. I hold high hopes for the second album from this new foursome.

Pillar have always been a great band for me. They were one of the first Christian rock bands I had ever listened to along with P.O.D. and Skillet. The first album I ever picked up was "Fireproof". I love my rock heavy and hard and "Fireproof" was exactly that BUT they weren't just a rip off of Slipknot or any other band that were doing something similar at the time. Pillar is a positive group that anyone of any age would enjoy. They don't preach to you kicking you down saying that you are in the wrong or anything like that like churches do today. Pillar sung about God, of course, but they also sang about keeping strong, about being positive about life. They sung about things that lift your spirits. "Where Do We Go From Here" was another great album from the band with a similar style both musically and lyrically.

The band took a turn into more of a Hard Rock type of sound with "The Reckoning". They had less rap this time around and had more singing. In my opinion it was a great sound for the band, I really liked that album. They later came out with "For the Love of the Game" which sounded like a mix between the 2 earlier albums I had mentioned and "The Reckoning". This gave the band new colors and new life and sounded refreshing and lively. Unlike "The Reckoning" which carried a more serious tone, "The Love of the Game" brought back the rapping and the fast drumming and guitar playing. It had positive and uplifting lyrics.

The band then lost 2 of its members. Lester Estelle II: drums and Michael Wittig (AKA Kalel): bass. At first I thought "Hmm... I don't think these guys leaving would effect the band to much", but as it turned out, I was wrong. I can't say too much about Kalel but Lester leaving the band was pretty noticeable. The new drummer doesn't sound unique like Lester did. The new guy just sounds like every other drummer out there. This may not be his fault though because the drummer of the band RED was actually the one who wrote the drum parts for this album. So unfortunately we are not hearing the full potential and skill of Taylor Caroll. We are really hearing Taylor play what Joe Rickard has written. It might as well be Joe playing those drums so I will hold on Taylors skill and sound for now.

The music doesn't sound like any of the earlier albums at all to me. They sound like every other band out there right now. They remind me of bands like Flyleaf, Fireflight, and the new Skillet (Comatose and Awake). Notice how all the bands I mentioned are in the mainstreem market. In other words, this album is VERY mainstreem, mainstreem at its finest. The mainstreem music used to be great in the 70s through the early 2000's but today, the mainstreem market is horrible. The mainstreem rock market sounds like every song was written to please kids. Songs that sound depressing with sad guitar playing and mediocre fast songs. The lyrics in the band are still positive except a few made me feel like I was suppose to feel bad for whoever the singer is singing for. The song Secrets and Regrets is about someone holding themselves back because they carry too much secrets and regrets (self explanatory). The song Fire On The Inside starts off heavy showing you the new sound the band has taken. I personally did not like this song or its sound. It reminded me of a band called Sevendust. The way that Rob sings in this song sounds exactly like how the singer sings in the song Praise. Don't believe me? Look up Sevendust Praise and compare the singing pattern.

The song Better Off Now sounds like something from Papa Roach in their new cds. The song Not Without a Fight I enjoyed though. I thought it was a rocking track from the band in this CD. That is one song I would put on my mp3 player but unfortunately, the CD is not worth just this song. The song Call to Action is another rocker and is actually a Copper cover. People who like the mainstreem market and its artists will enjoy this band hands down. If you are into the mainstreem market then I recommend this product for you because it sounds very similar to everyone else that you might already be listening to. I would comment on more of the tracks but I disliked the album so much that I would rather not listen to it again. I can't say if Christians would like this album since there are a lot better rock/metal bands out there with more powerful lyrics like, P.O.D., Narnia, Audiovision, Rob Rock, HB, Stryper, Barron Cross, Whitecross, and Holy Soldier to name a few.

Don't let my opinion stop you from checking out the cd though. I think it is worth a listen because one guys opinion differs from millions of others opinions. So you might really enjoy it. I hope people find this review helpful and have a great Holiday. Merry Christmas and God Bless everyone! Seeya in the next review!

This may come as a shocker to all of you, but I find this to be stronger than Where Do We Go From Here and Fireproof. This is Pillar's best work yet, easily passing For the Love of the Game. My favorite song is Better Off Now, which is reminiscent of the song Blurry from Puddle of Mudd. And I like everything else on this record as well. This is one of those good records where I liked every track, including the singles. I recommend this "confession" album.

Rating: 5 stars/5 stars

I don't love this CD, but it's pretty good. I love the song "Fire On The Inside" the most. Not to impressed with the screaming in it.

"Where Do We Go From Here" was the first CD I ever liked. Pillar was the first band I ever liked. I don't know why, but it wasn't until I was 11 years old that I started to take an interest in music, and Pillar was the band that got me interested. To say they are one of my favorite bands is an understatement. After the incredible "For The Love Of The Game", I was eagerly excited for "Confessions". However, it didn't take me long to make the confession that this CD is a letdown.

If you are new to Pillar, this is not the CD you want (the aforementioned "Where Do We Go From Here" is worth it). If you are a diehard Pillar fan, then you're going to buy this anyway (like I did). To a casual Pillar fan, pass this one up.

Having listened to Pillar's albums too many times to count, and having learned songs like "Everything and Frontline" on my electric guitar, I have to say that this is NOT a hard CD. This is easily the softest Pillar CD to date, and even songs like "Whatever It Takes" and the cliched (something old Pillar never was) "Down Without A Fight" would be labeled soft if released under "WDWGFM" or "The Reckoning". The fact that there are three ballads in ten songs isn't a bad thing, but when "Better Off Now" sounds like RED's "Start Again" or the guitar for the bridge of "You Are Not The End" sounds EXACTLY like any RED song...to say that this album is VERY similar to a RED album isn't farfetched. Rob Graves, the genius behind RED (another one of my favorite bands), produced "Confessions", while the previous producer, Travis Wyrick, stepped aside by Rob Beckley's (Pillar's lead singer) request.

The entire album isn't bad though. Having memorized the lyrics to the majority of Pillar's tunes, I can say that "Secrets and Regrets" is probably the most spiritually mature Pillar song to date, on top of being one of the best songs the CD provides in turns of music. "Fire on the Inside" is probably the song that best captures old-school Pillar, and "Call to Action" is the newest song in the line of "Soldier up Christian" battle songs (despite the RED style riffing in the end.) I personally enjoyed "Shine", but doing a cover for such an old song on a 10 track CD wasn't a smart move in my opinion.

While I am so pleased with the "Confession Booths" offered in Pillar's tour, this album doesn't really make a great concept album. "For The Love Of The Game" was an excellent concept album, with most of the songs encouraging Christians to get off their butts and do something with their faith. "Secrets and Regrets" is probably the only song that nails the concept of "Confessions", and while some other songs hold some elements retaining to "Confession", this album seems to be all over the place lyrically.

I really wanted to like this album. I stil love Pillar and I have high hopes for them. However, their streak of excellent, top notch albums ended with this album.

Anyone who loves rock music but still likes to hear a positive message then Pillar is one of the groups you should check out. These Christian guys rock!

Pillar has once again outdone themselves with an awesome new album. Rob Graves (producer for double grammy nominations for RED's "End of Silence" and "Innocence and Instinct") is on to produce, and has once again marked his geniusness on this record. I absolutely love Pillar's cover of "Shine" because it's of course their take it on it with a harder edge. Great songs about seeking redemption and dealing with guilt. I highly recommend this album to any rock fan!!