Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin is an alternative metal band from Wilkes-Barre, United States. It forms in 1999 and remains active, with its lineup changing over time around vocalist Benjamin Burnley. The group’s members include Burnley, drummer Jeremy Hummel, guitarists Aaron Fink, Jasen Rauch and Keith Wallen, bassist Mark James Klepaski and Aaron Bruch, and drummers Chad Szeliga and Shaun Foist.

Early years and name

The band begins with Burnley and Hummel, and it briefly uses the name Plan 9 before changing back to Breaking Benjamin in late 2000. The name comes from an incident at an open-mic performance in which Burnley breaks a borrowed microphone, prompting the owner to remark on “Benjamin” breaking it.

Recordings and releases

Breaking Benjamin signs to Hollywood Records in 2001 after the independent release of a self-titled EP that sells its full run of 2,000 copies. Its major-label debut, Saturate, arrives in 2002 and includes the singles “Polyamorous,” “Skin” and “Medicate.” “Polyamorous” receives radio play and two video versions, while “Skin” also appears as a live performance on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Saturate later sells more than 300,000 copies.

The second album, We Are Not Alone, is released in 2004. Its lead single “So Cold” reaches number two on the US Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and helps the album achieve platinum status in late 2005. The album also yields “Sooner or Later” and a re-recorded version of “Rain”. Around the same period, the band releases the So Cold EP, which includes live versions of songs from the album and studio tracks “Blow Me Away” and “Lady Bug”. “Blow Me Away” later appears in Bungie’s Halo 2.

Phobia follows in 2006, and Dear Agony arrives in 2009. “I Will Not Bow,” from Dear Agony, appears in the film Surrogates, and “Give Me a Sign” follows as another single. Some tracks on Dear Agony are co-written by Jasen Rauch, who later joins the band. The album also has an alternate video version of “I Will Not Bow” without film footage, and a Best Buy edition includes a bonus DVD with the band’s music videos.

Hiatus, legal dispute and return

In 2010 the band announces an indefinite hiatus because of Burnley’s recurring illness. During this period Fink and Klepaski return to Lifer, while Szeliga tours with OurAfter. A remixed version of “Blow Me Away” featuring Valora is released in 2011, along with a greatests hits collection, Shallow Bay: The Best of Breaking Benjamin, in standard and deluxe editions. Burnley objects to the release and disputes the use of the band name. He later wins the right to the name, and Szeliga leaves in 2013.

Reformation and later albums

The band reforms in 2014 as a quintet with Burnley, Rauch, Keith Wallen, Aaron Bruch and Shaun Foist. Rauch, Wallen, Bruch and Foist become the new members, with Rauch having previously worked with the band on Dear Agony. Dark Before Dawn is released in 2015 and is the first album on which Burnley is credited as producer. It reaches number one on the Billboard 200 and becomes the group’s most successful sales week to that point. The album is followed by a joint US tour with Shinedown and appearances outside the United States, including Download Festival in the UK, Rock am Ring in Germany and Nova Rock in Austria.

The sixth album, Ember, is completed in 2017 and released in 2018. Its lead single is “Red Cold River”, followed by “Feed the Wolf” as a pre-order track and the promotional releases “Blood,” “Psycho” and “Save Yourself.” Burnley remains the main writer, but he says about half the album comes from the rest of the band, and the recording uses a three-guitar lineup. Ember reaches number three on the Billboard 200, and “Red Cold River” reaches number two on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart and number five on the Hot Rock Songs chart.

Style

Breaking Benjamin is associated with alternative metal, alternative rock, hard rock, metal and post-grunge, and its sound is commonly described through the heavier and more melodic sides of those styles.