Predictable and unimaginative fare
Breaking Benjamin have just released their first album in six years, Dark before Dawn. While the album seemed to promise something different considering lead vocalist Benjamin Burnley has had the entire band replaced in the interim, the album still feels like a rehashed version of all their previous albums.
It’s predictable to the core, but that should come as no surprise with a track list that has titles like Angels Fall, Defeated or Ashes of Eden. Textbook references to falling angels, demons dragging you to the ground, heaven and hell abound as metaphors for the agonies of a defeated man. As the title suggests though, its dark motifs are underscored by a promise of hope, but even so, it’s too onthe-nose even by the standards of the rock scene of a decade ago, and not likely to stand ground with the more nuanced melancholia that has become characteristic of alt-rock of recent times. Close to Heaven, Angels Fall and Defeated are interesting tracks, harnessing the Breaking Benjamin signature grueling voice and pounding drums — reminiscent of some of their earlier music like Give Me a Sign or Crawl.
It would be redundant to comment on the music because there’s little to distinguish it from previous efforts. Burnley still wields a voice always verging on a growl, punctuated by yowling exclamations of agony and mournfully melodic strains. Predictably again, there’s a melodious acoustic and vocally- driven ballad towards the end called Ashes of Eden. Here, he’s at his nuanced best, but that’s not saying much considering how he’s not exactly known for his lyricism.
The album is anything but original, there’s no denying that. But that’s okay because it doesn’t make any such pretensions either. They work towards the same formula that made them popular a decade ago. The aim is not to rope in a new fan base, but to give existing fans a great trip down memory lane. And the album succeeds in that regard; at least it got me revisiting their older albums over a weekend nostalgia trip. That’s the impact their return is likely to have on most fans, but that’s all there is to it.