Pillar is following up 2008’s  For the Love of the Game with their sixth studio album, Confessions. According to Rob Beckley (vocalist), they drew their inspiration for this album from 1 John 1:9 ‘If we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.’

The sixth time around sees many changes for Pillar. First is a new line up, new band members Rich Gilliland on bass (KJ-52) and Taylor Carroll on drums (After Edmund) join Rob Beckley and Noah Henson.  Rob and Noah also collaborated with other songwriters this time around including: Red’s guitarist, Jasen Rauch; Jason Roy of Building 429; and Keith Wallen. Another change was the direction of the music. Confessions is full of melody and catchy hooks (“Secret Regrets”) that will have you singing along instantly. Of coarse it wouldn’t be a Pillar album without some heart and fist pounding rock that Pillar has been known for, which can be heard in the albums first song “Fire On The Inside”.

All in all this is a solid album. It may be a little of a shock to the die hard ‘alt-rockers’ to hear a softer Pillar, but this album has the potential to boost the group to a new level in the CCM/CHR world.

It has been 3 years since the release of the breakthrough project Comatose.  On August 25th, Skillet released their highly anticipated follow-up and seventh studio release Awake. The album was produced by Howard Benson, producer of P.O.D. & My Chemical Romance.

The album features 12 songs, with a majority of them being rock ballads. What sets Awake apart from Comatose is the deeper/emotional feel to the songs, and most of the songs attempt to portray what they are dealing with in their own lives.  There are definitely some great anthem songs on the album including Hero, Monster, and Monster. These three songs are great they give example of why need a Hero as Jesus to save us from becoming a Monster by our constant struggle with sin.  But, through Jesus we can become Awake and Alive for Him.  I feel that in comparison to the last album “Comatose” the band didn’t quite live up to the hype of continuing to evolve as group of artists.  Don’t get me wrong there are some great songs on the album, but it seems to have reached a plateau in regards to past albums.  The one thing that this album does features is the potential of new drummer/vocals of Jen Ledger. She duets on the songs Hero and Awake and Alive and sounds remarkably similar to Flyleaf’s lead singer Lacey Mosley.  It is well produced album from a musical perspective.

Here are another 3 songs that stand out to me that keep you engaged:

One Day Too Late:  Out of all of the tracks on the album this is the song that hits home for me.  It tells us that we cannot wait to make decisions, take a different path, or love one another because you may not get another chance to say or do something that you need to in order to do what He has asked of us.  Take advantage of all opportunities no matter the circumstance.

Forgiven: This is by far the song with the most christian influence on the album.  It is not your typical forgiveness song, but it takes on the message of not to allowing your mistakes to face you in the mirror.  To stand up and repent, ask for forgiveness and seize the day for Jesus.  Press on to the future of salvation and a life for Christ.

Lucy: This song should relate to many people in the way it breaks down the role of grief and moving on in a time of turmoil.  It’s a song with sorrow but also a guide in ways to continue moving forward through the assistance of others, memories, prayer, and guidance from the Father.

In summary, this is a good album. But not great as the hype would have deemed, especially for a band that had more than a 3 year lay over from the 2006 release. I would hoped for more maturity and progression.

A little over a year ago Matt Maher graced us with the release of Empty and Beautiful. Now he is back with “Alive Again” on September 22. This is his fifth record, second since joining Essential Records.

This album shows the maturity of his writing and his growing relationship with God. He has co-written every song on the album. These songs are “not about his faith, but from his faith.” In this album he does a great job with explaining that through the salvation of Jesus we are truly Alive Again. The first two singles that have been released are the title track Alive Again and Shout of the King. Alive Again is a great song that opens your eyes and make you ask the question, What/Who are you living for? Are you truly living for Him as he asked. Do we forget the past and strain forward to what lies ahead in our new lives for Him. One of the great things about this album is that he opens up and show us that through all things God loves Us. That through trials and happiness, his mercy and grace will be sufficient and cover you as you trust in Him for your needs.

My top four songs would include Alive Again above and these listed below:

Hold Us Together: I had the pleasure to see this song performed live at Glory Revealed II show. This song is definitely a get you up off your seat song that tells us that God will hold us together with His never ending love. That no matter our situation or where we are along our journey with Him, he will not leave us alone. That we will prevail through God’s love alone.

No Greater Love:That we should know that there isn’t any greater love than God giving His only son for our salvation. That God is everywhere and we should know that He knows all and we must give praise for the love that cannot be reproduced by anyone.

Flesh and Bone:This is by far one of my favorite songs on this album. It basically breaks down how we need to place all trust in God,  and that He knows all things and will direct us in the path he has for us, even through our sin, pride, fear and torment. Here are some lyrics from the song that really caught my attention: “If we saw the world through his eyes, would it help me understand how you see through all our lies, but you still hold us In your hand. I’m dying to believe. I’m trying to just show that we are less than perfect, but more than flesh and bone.”

Even if you haven’t listened to much of his music, I feel that you will truly enjoy the great lyrics and delightful sound of this upcoming release. It will give you a new outlook on how to build that relationship with God that we desperately need in order to grow closer to Him, and allow him to change us into what He desires, not what we want. I look forward to what the future holds for Mr. Maher, as he continues to grow as an artist and in his faith.