Since the band dubbed 2008's For the Love of the Game as "100 percent old-school Pillar," it implies that their next effort takes them in a new direction.
And indeed, Confessions finds Pillar not just going through the motions but rather carving out a surprisingly intimate niche for themselves in the melodic rock world.
The songwriting core of lead singer Rob Beckley and guitarist Noah Henson collaborated for the first time with writers outside of the band, including Copper's Keith Wallen, Red's Jasen Rauch, Building 429's Jason Roy, Chris Stevens (tobyMac, Sanctus Real), and Skidd Mills (Saving Abel, Skillet).
Lyrically, the album focuses on admitting to and dealing with our most personal struggles.
The album's first few tracks do so in a made-for-radio rock format, exploring the feelings that typically come from diving deep into one's self.
With such a loud, muscular edge, it's surprising how melodic tunes like "Fire on the Inside" and "Secrets and Regrets" come off.
Other highlights are the unquenchable riffs of "Whatever It Takes" and the true-to-form cover of Collective Soul's "Shine.".
| Title/Composers | Performer | Listen | Time | Size | Size | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fire on the InsideRob Beckley, Noah Henson, Jason Roy, Chris Stevens | Pillar | Play | 03:12 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 2 | Whatever It TakesRob Beckley, Jasen Rauch | Pillar | Play | 03:52 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 3 | Secrets and RegretsRob Beckley, Skidd Mills | Pillar | Play | 04:44 | 10 MB | 33 MB |
| 4 | Better Off NowRob Beckley, Jasen Rauch | Pillar | Play | 03:26 | 7 MB | 25 MB |
| 5 | Not Without a FightRob Beckley, Noah Henson | Pillar | Play | 03:08 | 7 MB | 23 MB |
| 6 | Will You Be ThereRob Beckley, Noah Henson | Pillar | Play | 03:53 | 8 MB | 25 MB |
| 7 | ShineEd Roland | Pillar | Play | 04:38 | 10 MB | 35 MB |
| 8 | Call to ActionB. Reynolds, Keith Wallen, Travis Wyrick | Pillar | Play | 03:48 | 8 MB | 29 MB |
| 9 | Lose It AllRob Beckley, Noah Henson, Keith Wallen | Pillar | Play | 03:29 | 7 MB | 26 MB |
| 10 | You Are Not the EndRob Beckley, Noah Henson | Pillar | Play | 03:35 | 8 MB | 26 MB |
| 11 | Intro: Confessions | Pillar | Play | 00:10 | 0 MB | 1 MB |
| 37 mins | 87 MB | |||||
| 37 mins | 280 MB | |||||
| Artist | Job | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | David Angell | Violin |
| 2 | Monisa Angell | Viola |
| 3 | Tom Baker | Mastering |
| 4 | Blaine Barcus | A&R |
| 5 | Rob Beckley | Composer |
| 6 | John Catchings | Cello |
| 7 | David Davidson | Violin |
| 8 | Jason Fowler | Management |
| 9 | Noah Henson | Composer, Programming |
| 10 | Heather Hetzler | A&R |
| 11 | The Love Sponge Strings | Strings |
| 12 | Andrew Mayer | Digital Editing, Engineer |
| 13 | Skidd Mills | Composer |
| 14 | Tony Palacios | Mixing |
| 15 | Fred Paragano | Drum Engineering |
| 16 | Tim Parker | Art Direction, Design |
| 17 | Pillar | Primary Artist |
| 18 | Jasen Rauch | Composer, Programming |
| 19 | B. Reynolds | Composer |
| 20 | Joe Rickard | Drums |
| 21 | Ed Roland | Composer |
| 22 | Jason Roy | Composer |
| 23 | Baeho "Bobby" Shin | Engineer |
| 24 | Rachel Sikkenga | Engineer, Vocals (Background) |
| 25 | Chris Stevens | Composer |
| 26 | Sarah Vorhees | Digital Editing |
| 27 | Keith Wallen | Composer |
| 28 | Travis Wyrick | Composer |
| Quality | Format | Encoding | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | MP3 | 320kps 44.1kHz | MP3 is an audio coding format which uses a form of lossy data compression. The highest bitrate of this format is 320kbps (kbit/s). MP3 Digital audio takes less amount of space (up to 90% reduction in size) and the quality is not as good as the original one. |
| CD Quality | FLAC | 16bit 44.1kHz | FLAC is an audio coding format which uses lossless compression. Digital audio in FLAC format has a smaller size and retains the same quality of the original Compact Disc (CD). |