Breaking Benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an American rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink and bassist Mark James Klepaski. This lineup released two albums, Saturate and We Are Not Alone, before Hummel was replaced by Chad Szeliga in 2005. The band released two more studio albums, Phobia and Dear Agony, before entering an extended hiatus in early 2010 due to Burnley's recurring illnesses.
Amid the hiatus, the release of a compilation album, Shallow Bay: The Best of Breaking Benjamin, unauthorized by Burnley, brought about legal trouble within the band resulting in the dismissal of Fink and Klepaski. Szeliga later announced his departure in 2013 citing creative differences. Burnley remained the sole member of the band until late 2014, when the current lineup was announced, including bassist and backing vocalist Aaron Bruch, guitarist and backing vocalist Keith Wallen, guitarist Jasen Rauch, and drummer Shaun Foist. The band afterward released Dark Before Dawn and Ember, which debuted at number one and three on the Billboard 200, respectively. Following these albums, the band released another compilation, Aurora, featuring reworked acoustic versions of past songs along with one original new song.
Despite significant lineup changes, the band's musical style and lyrical content have remained consistent, with Burnley serving as the primary composer and lead vocalist since the band's inception. The band has commonly been noted for its formulaic hard rock tendencies with angst-heavy lyrics, swelling choruses, and "crunching" guitars. In the United States alone, the band has sold more than 19 million units and yielded three RIAA-certified platinum records, two gold records, and several certified singles, including three multi-platinum, three platinum, and six gold.
History
Formation and ''Saturate'' (1998–2003)
Benjamin Burnley was originally in a band named Breaking Benjamin in 1998, that played "softer music", such as Weezer and the Beatles covers, and was "nothing like" subsequent lineups. The name originates from an incident in which Burnley broke a borrowed microphone, prompting its owner to retort, "Thanks to Benjamin for breaking my fucking mic". This band included guitarist Aaron Fink, bassist Nick Hoover, and drummer Chris Lightcap, but soon broke up when Burnley moved to California. After returning to Pennsylvania with drummer Jeremy Hummel, Burnley formed Plan 9, which also included bassist Jason Davoli. Plan 9, a reference to Plan 9 from Outer Space, was continually misnamed as "Planet 9". Therefore, the group reclaimed the name Breaking Benjamin from the previous band, as Burnley still had promotional stickers with that name.The three-piece first gained attention when Freddie Fabbri, a DJ for active rock radio station WBSX, put the group's track "Polyamorous" in rotation. After it became the number one requested track on the station, Fabbri financed the recording of the group's eponymous EP, which sold all 2,000 copies that were printed in 2001. Jonathan "Bug" Price was credited on bass, replacing Davoli. After growing dissatisfied with their previous band Lifer, former bandmate Aaron Fink and bassist Mark James Klepaski joined Breaking Benjamin. In early 2002, over a dozen record companies visited a two-night showcase where Breaking Benjamin was playing, and the group subsequently signed with Hollywood Records. Shortly afterward, Breaking Benjamin began recording their first full-length major-label record, Saturate, which was released on August 7, 2002, and produced by Ulrich Wild. It peaked at No. 136 on the Billboard 200, and was later certified gold on September 25, 2015. In early 2003, Breaking Benjamin participated in the Jägermeister Music Tour, then toured as a supporting act for Godsmack.
Out of the little media coverage received, Saturate garnered positive reception, with Jason Taylor from AllMusic stating that the album "has serious potential to become one of 2002's most successful debuts", feeling that "although it is repetitive and generic, it is undeniably addictive", ultimately scoring the album 2.5 out of 5. The disc received a favorable review from Schwegweb's Vin Cherubino, who noted, "The music has just as much quality as any popular artist in the same genre. Influences from bands such as Tool can be heard, making the music seem all so familiar and palatable."
''We Are Not Alone'' (2003–2005)
Breaking Benjamin returned to the studio in October 2003 with producer David Bendeth for their second album We Are Not Alone. Burnley also worked with The Smashing Pumpkins front man Billy Corgan over the course of six days in December 2003 to write the songs "Rain", "Forget It", and "Follow". Despite initially being nervous, Burnley felt it was one of the highlights of his career.The album was released on June 29, 2004, and sold 48,000 copies in its first week, peaking at No. 20 on the Billboard 200. It was later certified gold on October 21, 2004, then platinum on June 13, 2005. It was also certified gold in New Zealand on August 29, 2005. The record features singles such as "So Cold" and "Sooner or Later", both of which peaked at No. 2 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart. "So Cold" became a platinum single on September 25, 2015. MTV writer Jon Wiederhorn writes that the initial commercial success of the album can be attributed to a tour two weeks prior to the album's debut which "generated prerelease buzz". They later co-headlined a tour with Evanescence, Seether, and Three Days Grace.
We Are Not Alone garnered mixed reviews. It was met with high acclaim from IGNs Colin Moriarty, who felt "extremely satisfied", saying "safely and confidently" that it "might be personal favorite album of the year". He gave it a score of 9.3 out of 10. Conversely, Exclaim! writer Amber Authier said, "On first listen its simply generic sound did nothing for me." Though she later admitted, "I listened to Breaking Benjamin several times over a week and several elements of the disc started to grow on me, even appeal to me." The writer concluded, "Breaking Benjamin created a standard of quality for themselves that they simply couldn't meet on the entire disc."
On November 3, 2004, a non-album single named "Blow Me Away" was released, to commercial success, ultimately going gold on November 24, 2015. On November 23, 2004, Breaking Benjamin released the So Cold EP, which features live versions of the songs "Away" and "Breakdown", a live acoustic version of "So Cold", and studio acoustic recordings of "Blow Me Away" and "Lady Bug".
In late 2005, drummer Hummel filed a federal lawsuit against Breaking Benjamin. According to the lawsuit, Hummel requested earlier that year to take a paternity leave to be with his wife during the birth of their first child, to which all members of the band agreed and hired Kevin Soffera as a temporary substitute on drums. However, Burnley later called Hummel and terminated him, citing chemistry issues. In the lawsuit, Hummel contended wrongful termination and lack of compensation for profits accrued by We Are Not Alone and other non-album tracks that appeared in Halo 2 and National Treasure: Book of Secrets. The band's manager, Larry Mazer, asserted that the lawsuit was "totally frivolous" and his termination had "nothing to do with the paternity leave".
Mazer said the band received no payment for the Halo 2 appearance, adding that the song was included for promotional reasons and Burnley was happy to have it in the video game. The band received minimal payment for the National Treasure 2 appearance, and Mazer stated that otherwise, " is 100 per cent current". Ben "B.C." Vaught served as a sit-in drummer for the band, and they later toured with 3 Doors Down and Staind in November 2005. The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount in April 2006.
''Phobia'' (2005–2007)
After the departure of Jeremy Hummel, Breaking Benjamin auditioned fifteen drummers, of whom Chad Szeliga stood out for his ability as a stage performer and the fact that he had "serious problem-solving skills", according to Burnley. The group's next album, Phobia, was again produced by Bendeth and was the first to be recorded with Szeliga. The concept of the album is dedicated to Burnley's various phobias. The cover of the album depicts a winged man suspended over a runway, which represents Burnley's fear of flying. Burnley also suffers from death anxiety, a fear of the dark, driving anxiety, and hypochondria. Burnley cites his fear of flying as for why he did not perform overseas, saying, "I'll go as far as a boat will take me", though at the time the band's record label had not facilitated travel by boat. Phobias "Intro" and "Outro" tracks feature sound effects of an airport intercom, airplane turbulence, car doors, and crowd panic.Phobia was released on August 8, 2006, to commercial success. The album sold more than 131,000 copies in its first week of sales and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. It went gold on November 8, 2006, then platinum on May 21, 2009. Its lead single, "The Diary of Jane", peaked at No. 2 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart and was the fastest single added to radio playlists in the history of Hollywood Records, later receiving a double platinum certification on November 24, 2015. "Breath", the record's second single, spent seven weeks at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart and went platinum on November 24, 2015. The third single, "Until the End", peaked at No. 6 on the same chart and became a gold single on February 11, 2014.
In February 2007 in support of Phobia, AXS TV aired a one-hour Breaking Benjamin concert from Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. The broadcast recording was included on the re-released Phobia DVD in April, billed as "The Homecoming". A music video was created for "Breath", which was made from footage of the song's performance at the show. Breaking Benjamin followed with spring and fall tours alongside Three Days Grace, accompanied by Puddle of Mudd during the spring tour and Seether, Skillet, and Red during the fall tour.
Phobia received mixed critical reception. It received praise for general composition and musicianship but received criticism for a lack of originality. AllMusic's Corey Apar found the album "nothing if not consistent" and, while generally regarding the album with positive sentiments, noted a lack of distinction from the "rest of the post-grunge/alt-metal pack" aside from "a certain charm". IGN's Spence D. gave the disc a negative review, citing tedium and lack of vocal distinction, feeling that the group's "intersection of hard rock and emo-oriented introspection" is "not a bad thing, but also not a terribly memorable or earth-shattering one, either". However, the writer praised the musicianship of Fink, Klepaski, and Szeliga, ultimately giving the album a score of 5.7 out of 10. Entertainment Weekly graded the album C+ and noted its angst-ridden themes, saying, "As pathological angst goes, it's expertly done, with expansive choruses and epic riffs – not that that matters, when, like, we're all going to die cold and alone anyway."