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Breaking Benjamin breaking the bank |
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Written by Glenn BurnSilver
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Thursday, 15 February 2007 |
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For NEXTnc
Breaking Benjamin is, from left, Mark James, bass; Ben Burnley, vocals and guitar; Aaron Fink, guitar; and Chad Szeliga, percussion.
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It’s music’s big new catchphrase that wraps in everything from driving emo bands to pop punk look-a-likes and alternative rock. It also includes Breaking Benjamin, who breaks the mold, if only slightly, with occasional alt-metal riffs, chunka-chunka guitar breaks and edgy screamo-lite vocals.
It works, and it’s easy to see why. Band namesake Ben Burnley’s sweeping vocals and emotional lyrics drive the songs that, thanks to high production values, sound bigger-than-life and are packed full of catchy hooks with just the right amount of edge.
“We’re a band that touches on every emotion,” bassist Mark James explained by phone from Lynchburg, Va., where the band was opening its current tour. “We always keep a balance, a yin-yang type thing. If the song is a heavier song, we’ll combine a major sounding riff, which would give the song a happy vibe, with angst-filled lyrics. .... It’s a very eclectic blend of music.”
It’s a pattern that has worked for the band since its early days in Wilkes-Barre, Pa. Its first album, 2002’s alt-metal hard rocker “Saturate,” didn’t have any major hits but proved strong enough to warrant a second. “We Are Not Alone” subsequently spawned several hit singles and eventually platinum sales, while Breaking Benjamin’s third album, “Phobia,” has already hit gold status and looks to keep right on rolling from there.
“I think we have stayed pretty consistent as far as having a well-balanced sound,” James said. “In the beginning you’re still trying to figure out your niche. But just doing it over and over … we’ve figured out who Breaking Benjamin is and what we’re supposed to sound like. We know what works best for us.”
Maintaining that niche includes using producer David Bendeth, who worked on “We Are Not Alone.” Going into the studio again with Bendeth, the band already had someone familiar with its sound — someone who helped shape its platinum sound, in fact — and knew its latest album would be similar to the last, thus ensuring a winning product.
“There are always two ways of looking at that. Without a doubt it was easier (than trying something new),” James said. “There was never that awkward feeling out process of figuring each other out. … We just picked up right where we left off."
That idea certainly epitomizes the more-of-the-same-is-good approach to today’s music. But for Breaking Benjamin, that steady flow of melodic hard rock works … all the way to the bank.
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TO GO TO THE SHOW
Breaking Benjamin
Doors 8 p.m.; Show 9 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 17
Aggie Theatre, 204 S. College Ave., Fort Collins
$25. Call 482.8300 for information. Go to www.aggietheatre.com or call ABCDs at 484.2223 or Rockin’ Robins at 221.9977 for tickets. With Burden Brothers and Leo
hollywoodrecords.go.com/breakingbenjamin, www.myspace.com/breakingbenjamin
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NO PRESSURE
While many bands crumble under the weight of previous success and struggle to duplicate it, Breaking Benjamin’s Mark James said there was actually less pressure making “Phobia” than “We Are Not Alone.”
“There is always pressure, but having gotten over the so-to-speak sophomore slump from the second record, having that behind us, that kind of eliminated a lot of that anxiety,” James said. “They say you have your whole life to make your first record because you’ve played the songs a million times. The second record you are basically thrown into the fire. Make a record right now. We knew what to expect when making the third record. We knew how to prepare for it. The second record was where we experienced that (anxiety) the most.”
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"THIS IS WHAT I'M IN FOR?"
James’ first day on tour was full of hard-hitting action long before the band even got on stage. Opening the band’s refrigerator on the tour bus for the first time, James was smacked in the face by the freezer door.
“I went to open the bottom door and my head was lined up with the freezer door,” he recalled. “When I opened it both doors came flying open and I smashed myself right in the face. I almost knocked myself out with the freezer door. I thought, ‘This is what I’m in for?’”
Glenn BurnSilver | Only registered users can write comments.
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