Breaking Benjamin

Breaking Benjamin is an American Post-Grunge band formed in 1998.

Current members: Benjamin Burnley (lead vocals/rhythm guitar), Chad Szeliga (drums)

Former members:, Aaron Fincke (lead guitar), Mark Klepaski (bass), Jeremy Hummel (drums)

The band had released four albums to date and were considered one of the major Post Grunge successes of the 2000s. In the summer of 2010, they went on hiatus so Ben could address his health. In August 2011, it was revealed that Ben fired Fincke and Klepaski over the planned release of a remix for "Blow Me Away" to be included on a greatest hits album. In September 2011, Szeliga was hired as the drummer for Black Label Society; whether or not he continues with Breaking Benjamin is not certain.

Tropes that apply to Breaking Benjamin include:
"Rain, rain, go away...
 * The Alcoholic: Ben Burnley was one early in the band's career.
 * Alliterative Name: The band and the lead singer (Ben Burnley).
 * The Atoner: The soldier in "Blow Me Away" ("I will stay in the mess I made")
 * Breakaway Pop Hit: "Blow Me Away" from the Halo 2 soundtrack.
 * Creator Breakdown: Dear Agony was written during the time that Ben Burnley began to suffer from numerous health issues. The title track was written about his ailments.
 * Dead All Along: The music video for "Diary of Jane."
 * Determinator: "Until The End" and "I Will Not Bow" are pretty good examples.
 * "Until the End" is arguably a subversion of this: the character has actually given up, yet continues on because he doesn't know how to stop.
 * Arguably Ben himself. He and the band continued to tour in '08 and '09 despite Ben's laundry list of health problems, one of them a lung infection.
 * It Always Rains At Funerals: Heavily implied in "Rain" if you pay attention to the lyrics:

Come again another day...

All the world is waiting for the sun...

To lie here, under you...

Was all that I could ever do..."

"You must be out of your mind
 * Meaningful Name: The name of the album Phobia is a reference to Benjamin Burnley's numerous clinical phobias.
 * Mohs Scale of Rock and Metal Hardness: A fairly solid 6 overall, while their heavier songs border on 7 or a low 8. Some of their songs go as low as 3 or 4.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Benjamin: A literal version of this trope. Apparently, the band got its present name from an incident at an open mic night where Ben Burnley was covering a Nirvana song and knocked over the microphone he had borrowed, cracking it. After the song was finished, the owner of the microphone came up on stage and said, "I'd like to thank Benjamin for breaking my fucking mic."
 * May count as an Appropriated Appellation.
 * One of Us: At a concert they even asked their fans if they were excited for Halo 3.
 * Precision F-Strike: As far as hard rock bands go, Breaking Benjamin's music is relatively clean. But they'll get a couple of these in every album. Notable is "Simple Design" on We Are Not Alone:

This was a simple design

You fuck it up every time

How could you leave me behind?"


 * Rain, Rain, Go Away: "Rain."
 * Shout Out: "Home" is a song about The Wizard of Oz.
 * Surprisingly Gentle Song: "Forget It" and "Rain" from We Are Not Alone.
 * What Have I Become?: Actually said (or, rather, screamed) word for word in "Diary of Jane."
 * World Half Empty: Played with on a few of their songs.