Dark Before Dawn - Breaking Benjamin

Considering myself one of the biggest Breaking Benjamin fans out there, I was a little dazed by the release of a new album by the band after a 4 year hiatus, but at the same time stoked beyond belief. The crushing knowledge that I'll probably never see them live, due to Ben's phobia of flying, weighs quite heavily on me as musically and lyrically I feel like they are one of, if not, the best band out there with a style that although isn't unique, is still at the top of all the hard-rock bands for me and many others.

I recently found myself singing along to tracks on the bands latest release Dark before Dawn after a two day period of not being sure of where I stood with the album. It was strange, at first I felt a little disappointed by the album after the initial listen as I felt like it was almost a re-hashing of Dear Agony, which is probably my most listened to album, (bar Ascendancy by Trivium), ever. Although the single 'Failure' came out of nowhere and was instantly a winner, I felt like the rest of the album could have been a part two to Dear Agony due to similar song structures, a use of very distinct rhythm sections which the band recycle a great deal, and even lyrical content. For instance, I Will Not Bow is one of my favourite songs ever - but listen to the intro of that and Angel's Fall and tell me that it's not the same riff. I was, to say the least, a bit disheartened. But, and it's a big but, like I said I found myself singing along to songs a few days after my initial listen, that's how catchy the songs are.

Although most people who listen to “alternative” genres generally don't want the songs to be be catchy in the same mindless way pop is, Breaking Benjamin are probably the only band that I know that toe the line of rock and pop due to their fan base being so broad they actually inherit a great deal of listeners from such musically appreciatory backgrounds. Before anyone thinks that's a bad thing let me tell you, it's most certainly a good thing. Without a blend of heavier music into the world of the mainstream we'll be stuck with repetitive bullshit for the rest of time and that's why this album is such a winner: it doesn't try to be heavier than heavy, (I'm looking at you Black Tongue), and it doesn't try to be so mainstream that the original style the band had is so diluted you may as well throw them in a glass and swallow them down, (Maroon 5 anyone?) Having an album that tops the mainstream charts as a rock band is hardly the easiest thing to achieve so even if you don't appreciate the music, you have to respect it.

My main hesitation on judging the album was quelled by a YouTube comment, (of all things), which highlighted the fact that this album was almost intentionally written to sound like Dear Agony as well as their previous works, to encapsulate the styles of the preceding albums as if the songs were individual reflections of previous tracks. This to me could be a continuation of Ben's personal journey, to note his older work and make sure that he doesn't lose touch with it despite the lengthy hiatus and also various changes he has gone through personally. Although I haven't heard this said by Ben himself, and the fact a random comment on another website spawned me to think this, I think it's a pretty fair assumption to make due to the severity of the situation that Ben has had to encounter, but more about that shortly...

The one thing I wasn't sure of initially was if Chad Szeliga was still with the band providing the percussion that we'd grown used to on the band's previous releases Phobia and Dear Agony. To me his distinct style of drumming helped put Breaking Benjamin up with the bands who are noted for their technical ability. This has been mimicked well, but after a re-listen to the album paying attention to the drumming you can easily tell that the technical aspects of his drumming aren't present which is a shame as I always found him to be a fantastic drummer.

Lyrically the album is quite similar to the previous albums but with a great deal more religious context added. Syntax wise we still have Ben doing his thing which is nice to see as any force to alter his style would have seemed a bit lacklustre and frankly would have removed from their sound entirely (we really don't need to see speed-vocals making their way into their music any time soon). Strangely enough Ben's voice actually sounded better than it ever has on Dark Before Dawn, which is astonishing, mainly because I considered his voice to be perfection. I can't comprehend how it sounds better, but the cleans sound cleaner, the grittier sections still retain their abrasive qualities and the more metal styled vocals remain present which is welcomed by myself and I'm sure a great deal of non-believers in hard rock being truly heavy.

The most shocking thing to me about this album was reading about how harsh the medical issues are that Ben suffers with. Any fan of the band is well aware of his phobic ways, but his other issues, which have an unknown cure, sound heinous and leaves me humbled that he's come back to music at all let alone with such a strong album which retains the bands style that we were all familiar with. Also the complete overhaul of members has made this more of an achievement.

Although I could write essays about how this album is so brilliant and break down each track and discuss possible influence and all that jazz, I think I'll cut myself short. I'd like to leave on the note that this album will soon become a favourite for many and that the production quality is fantastic. It's big, juicy and I'm so glad that they didn't return to the production style of their older work. It's like they picked up right where they left off and a great deal of the album seems to have been influenced by the awareness that Ben has of his own situation and how it's relative to the bands progression and future. Long live Breaking Benjamin.