Biography breaking benjamin
Breaking Benjamin is an American rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999. The band was founded by lead vocalist and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. Its current lineup includes Burnley, bassist Aaron Bruch, guitarist Keith Wallen, guitarist Jasen Rauch, and drummer Shaun Foist.
History[]
Formation and early years (1999–2002)[]
The band was established in 1999, with its initial lineup comprising Benjamin Burnley, Jeremy Hummel, Aaron Fink, and Mark James Klepaski. Breaking Benjamin signed with Hollywood Records in 2002 and released their debut studio album, Saturate, later that year.
Commercial success and lineup changes (2003–2010)[]
Their second studio album, We Are Not Alone (2004), expanded the band’s success, featuring several singles that received significant radio airplay. In 2005, Hummel departed and was replaced by drummer Chad Szeliga. The band released Phobia in 2006 and Dear Agony in 2009. Both albums achieved commercial success, with Phobia debuting at number two on the Billboard 200 chart.
In early 2010, Breaking Benjamin went on hiatus due to Burnley's health issues.
Legal disputes and reformation (2011–2014)[]
During the hiatus, a compilation album, Shallow Bay: The Best of Breaking Benjamin (2011), was released without Burnley’s authorization, leading to internal legal disputes. As a result, Fink and Klepaski were dismissed from the band. Szeliga departed in 2013, citing creative differences.
In 2014, Burnley reformed the band with a new lineup, including Bruch, Wallen, Rauch, and Foist.
Recent years and continued activity (2015–present)[]
The reformed lineup released Dark Before Dawn in 2015, which debuted at number one on the Billboard 200. Their next studio album, Ember (2018), reached number three on the same chart. In 2020, Breaking Benjamin released Aurora, a collection of reimagined acoustic versions of their earlier songs, along with one new track.
Musical styl SPIRIT OF METAL
In late 2000, guitarist Aaron Fink and bassist Mark James Klepaski made a surprising and unexpected decision: they left Lifer, an alternative metal band that was signed to Universal and was gaining commercial acceptance. Fink and Klepaski departed Lifer (which was originally called Strangers With Candy) so that they could join forces with singer Ben Burnley and drummer JeremyHummel and form Breaking Benjamin. Why would Fink and Klepaski leave a band that had a contract with Universal to form a new alternative rock band that, at the time, was unsigned? According to Breaking Benjamin's press releases, the ex-members of Lifer had so much faith in Burnley's songwriting talents that they were willing to take a gamble and uproot themselves. So in late 2000, Breaking Benjamingot started with a four-man lineup that consisted of Burnley on lead vocals and rhythm guitar, Fink on lead guitar, Klepaski on bass and Hummel on drums. Breaking Benjaminwasn't the first time that Fink had worked with Burnley; he had known the singer since high school. All four members of the band are from Wilkes-Barre, a small town in northeastern Pennsylvania. (Philadelphia and its suburbs are considered southeastern Pennsylvania.)
When Breaking Benjaminstarted playing around Wilkes-Barre, they were far from a carbon copy of Lifer--instead, they favored a radio-friendly post-grunge approach that was aggressive and forceful yet melodic. The band's various influences include, among others, Live, Bush, Pearl Jam, the Stone Temple Pilotsand Nirvana. Burnley has been quoted as saying that at age 14, he taught himself to play guitar by listening to Nirvana's seminal 1991 release Nevermind over and over. Kornand Toolhave also been cited as influences, but unlike Korn, Breaking Benjamindoesn't have strong hip-hop leanings and isn't quite alternative metal--hard alternative rock, certainly, but not quite alternative metal. Howev Breaking Benjamin is an alternative metal band Formed in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA in 1998 by vocalist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel, Breaking Benjamin quickly garnered a strong local following.
1st Studio Album (2002) - Saturate
The band signed to Hollywood Records in 2001 after the success of an independently-released, self-titled EP, which sold all 2,000 copies that were manufactured. Hollywood Records released their full-length, major-label debut, Saturate, on August 27, 2002. The album's first single, "Polyamorous", received a fair amount of radio play, although it failed to reach mainstream audiences. A video was released in two different versions for Polyamorous: one that had all live-action footage, and one that had footage of the video game Run Like Hell. The following single "Skin" was also released from Saturate, although it fared worse than "Polyamorous" and received even less airplay. "Skin" was also performed live on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show. "Medicate" was also released as a single, to little commercial success and airplay. Saturate has gone on to sell over 300,000 copies.
2nd Studio Album (2004) - We Are Not Alone
Breaking Benjamin released their second album, We Are Not Alone, on June 29, 2004. The album featured the lead off single "So Cold", which reached number two on the United States Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The band had two music videos made for the song, one of which was a promotional video made for the movie Hellboy. The commercial success of "So Cold" led to We Are Not Alone achieving platinum status in late 2005. Also released as singles from the album were "Sooner or Later" and a re- recorded version of "Rain", which was featured on later pressings of the album. While the former again got the band as high as number two on the Mainstream Rock chart and featured a music video, the latter garnered little radio
Breaking Benjamin
American rock band
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 (2002) and We Are Not Alone (2004), before Hummel was replaced by Chad Szeliga in 2005. The band released two more studio albums, Phobia (2006) and Dear Agony (2009), 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 (2011), 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 (2015) and Ember (2018), which debuted at number one and three on the Billboard 200, respectively. Following these albums, the band released another compilation, Aurora (2020), 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 certifi
Breaking benjamin singer dead wikipedia Benjamin burnley
SPIRIT OF METAL
When Breaking Benjaminstarted playing around Wilkes-Barre, they were far from a carbon copy of Lifer--instead, they favored a radio-friendly post-grunge approach that was aggressive and forceful yet melodic. The band's various influences include, among others, Live, Bush, Pearl Jam, the Stone Temple Pilotsand Nirvana. Burnley has been quoted as saying that at age 14, he taught himself to play guitar by listening to Nirvana's seminal 1991 release Nevermind over and over. Kornand Toolhave also been cited as influences, but unlike Korn, Breaking Benjamindoesn't have strong hip-hop leanings and isn't quite alternative metal--hard alternative rock, certainly, but not quite alternative metal. Howev
Breaking Benjamin is an alternative metal band Formed in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA in 1998 by vocalist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel, Breaking Benjamin quickly garnered a strong local following.
1st Studio Album (2002) - Saturate
The band signed to Hollywood Records in 2001 after the success of an independently-released, self-titled EP, which sold all 2,000 copies that were manufactured. Hollywood Records released their full-length, major-label debut, Saturate, on August 27, 2002. The album's first single, "Polyamorous", received a fair amount of radio play, although it failed to reach mainstream audiences. A video was released in two different versions for Polyamorous: one that had all live-action footage, and one that had footage of the video game Run Like Hell. The following single "Skin" was also released from Saturate, although it fared worse than "Polyamorous" and received even less airplay. "Skin" was also performed live on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show. "Medicate" was also released as a single, to little commercial success and airplay. Saturate has gone on to sell over 300,000 copies.
2nd Studio Album (2004) - We Are Not Alone
Breaking Benjamin released their second album, We Are Not Alone, on June 29, 2004. The album featured the lead off single "So Cold", which reached number two on the United States Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. The band had two music videos made for the song, one of which was a promotional video made for the movie Hellboy. The commercial success of "So Cold" led to We Are Not Alone achieving platinum status in late 2005. Also released as singles from the album were "Sooner or Later" and a re- recorded version of "Rain", which was featured on later pressings of the album. While the former again got the band as high as number two on the Mainstream Rock chart and featured a music video, the latter garnered little radio
Breaking Benjamin
American rock band
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 (2002) and We Are Not Alone (2004), before Hummel was replaced by Chad Szeliga in 2005. The band released two more studio albums, Phobia (2006) and Dear Agony (2009), 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 (2011), 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 (2015) and Ember (2018), which debuted at number one and three on the Billboard 200, respectively. Following these albums, the band released another compilation, Aurora (2020), 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 certifi