Review Summary: Overall this album is just a terrible attempt, Hopefully they won't try again.
When I heard the news that Confide was getting back together to create a third record I was over enthusiastic and couldn't even bare to think of how long I'll have to wait for the new music to release, and now the time has come and I'm not going to let my ears listen to the detrimental melodies this record has produced. After listening to the first couple of tracks, I was aware that this was not the album I was aspiring for this band to create. Just to let you guys know, I was a huge fan of their last album "Recover." In my perspective, 'Recover' is one of the most terrific Post-Hardcore/Pop/Metalcore albums put together that's grouped with other stand out acts like Memphis May Fire, Blessthefall, and The Word Alive. Unfortunately, this album takes them to a new group that's not smiled upon by anybody that has a decent sense of musical taste.
The opening track "Rise Up" is a very stale track but it does set a great tone for the album with some emotional lyrics and it gives off a sense that rest of the album is going to be a heartfelt ride. Shortly followed is the first single off the album "Sooner or Later" which is a track I really enjoy. It is the most memorable track on the album, with an amusing chorus and the whole structure of the song is solid. It feels like the whole band collaborated perfectly when creating the track. Then after those two tracks is where you will find that the album spirals into a maze of bizarre experimentation. To be completely honest, this album has some really good parts but are shattered by Joel Piper's musical direction. Yes, I'm saying that Joel Piper single-handedly destroyed this album. (maybe not..) I guess the other members had to all agree on making the album, but it's clear that Joel Piper left his mark all over this album. If you never heard Piper's solo act then you're blessed. Piper likes to use very mediocre melodies and turn his voice into something that sounds like a defective robot, and his new video "Through The Night" gives Rebecca Black a run for her money. Maybe Piper accidentally slipped his upcoming solo record into the new Confide demos and after it was mixed and mastered he said: "what the?! OH NO! Wait a minute, this doesn't sound too bad.." I don't want to give Joel a too hard of a time, but he kinda deserves it from ruining of what could of been a great album.
The album actually has some great hooks and most of the songs are fast and exciting but when the chorus materializes, Joel Piper sings it painfully slow and disrupts the flow of the whole song, and that happens during almost every track. The band also added some electronic synths, which is not a bad idea to mix their sound up a little bit, but the synths are so elementary, it just makes their music awkward to listen to; a perfect example would be the track "Days Are Gone." It's not all Joel Piper's fault, the guitars are painful to listen to. With constant chugging throughout the whole album, which really makes me scratch my head because their second album contributed vast riffs, ranging from punk-rock styled during choruses to placid melodic riffs, and decent metalcore riffs during breakdowns. There are some enjoyable parts scattered throughout the album, Ross Kenyon show-cases a great screaming performance from start to finish and you will hear some enjoyable break-downs, but it's just not worth listening to the whole album to find those parts when it's infused with ill-advised clean vocals and electronic tones that's no different from sounds you can hear from a Gameboy Color.
Overall this album is just a terrible attempt, Hopefully they won't try again. I feel bad for the band members who did a great job on the record (mainly Ross Kenyon.) I feel bad for the fans who contributed money for this record, even if they did enjoyed it. This album simply has no heart, no sense of direction, and no skill. Confide has let down a decent proportion of their fans and haphazardly became part of a chain that is gradually killing and dis-honoring their genre of music.
