It’s January, 2016. I’m sat in my room, listening to Avenged Sevenfold – my favourite band at the time – revising for post-Christmas uni exams. One of my housemates, a metalhead himself, comes in and from nowhere suggests to me: ‘You fancy going to Download festival this year? Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath and Rammstein are headlining.’ I thought, ‘why not?’ I’d never been a proper festival before and Download seemed like the prime choice for my music taste.
Fast forward to the summer of 2016. Me and my housemate are stood in the queue at Donington, with no idea of the stampede about to occur once they open the gates. It was like that scene from the Lion King. Someone yells ‘Hold the door!’ on the way (too soon!) and by pure chance I look to my right to see a childhood friend from home on his way in too. I knew this was going to be a good weekend.
But the thing that really made that festival for me wasn’t Ozzy Osbourne, and it wasn’t Bruce Dickinson. And it wasn’t those crazy Germans. That weekend I discovered a band with a sound I’ll never forget until the day I die.
The final day rolls around. We planned to go to the second stage to watch Don Broco, a band that I’d already gone to see in Leeds a few months before. They were on at 5, but we’d turned up at 3:30 to get some food and see who was playing at the time. Shinedown and Disturbed were the next two bands on the main stage but I fancied something different. So we stayed at the second stage to check out who was on at 4.
Breaking Benjamin.
I’d heard the name but hadn’t ever given them a listen. Honestly, the only reason I decided to watch them was because the name was kind of similar to Breaking Bad which I’d finished watching recently. And it was a decision I wouldn’t regret.
Benjamin and his comrades graced the stage and opened with So Cold. It was an unusually haunting song but I was intrigued right from the first note. They played a couple more songs, and I found myself moving to the front of the crowd. Their sound was so entrancing, it was literally pulling me closer to the stage.
Then they played the song that instantly cemented me as a fan. A song so majestic and memorable that it rang in my head for the rest of the festival. I don’t know exactly what it was about Blow Me Away but the combination of the powerful opening riff, Ben’s passionate lyrics, and the breathtaking chorus melody was all it took for me to remember them.
For the rest of the show I already felt like I was a hardcore fan. They played new album tracks, a cover of Smells Like Teen Spirit and ended off with the song that everyone who knows BB knows – The Diary of Jane. Once they finished and left the stage, I stood in awe of what I’d just witnessed. I’d never, ever listened to a new band or artist and clicked within mere seconds. We stayed to watch Don Broco and they put on a good show as usual, but for me nothing could beat Breaking Benjamin’s set that weekend.
The first thing I did when I got home was get on Spotify and listen to them. I started off with the album Phobia which Diary of Jane belonged to, and their sound was no different to what I’d heard in Donington. There was just something about the pure power and heaviness of their songs I couldn’t shake. I listened to their newest album at the time, Dark Before Dawn, and although not very progressive it still kept their signature sound. It was around that time that I also started learning about the band’s troubled history, especially Ben’s health issues and the dismissal of everyone in the band but Ben before DBD that led to a lawsuit and a subsequent hiatus. Later on I listened to their first album Saturate, and you can tell that the band has matured and come a long way. That said, their original outing isn’t any less fun to listen to.
For the next couple of years I’d listen to their albums on repeat and they would rise to become my second favourite band. During my year abroad in Canada in 2018, they played in Hamilton supporting A7X and of course I was on it in a heartbeat. Mere metres from the stage, I watched Avenged deliver the best looking show I’d ever seen. But more importantly, I got the chance to see Breaking Benjamin again. And this time it had meaning. This time I was a true fan. I felt like I was back on that muddy field in Donington 2 years ago. This time instead of taking in the new songs, I was singing along to them at the top of my lungs.
And to top it off, 4 days later they officially announced their new album, Ember.
That confirmed them as my favourite band. My god that album is phenomenal.
I feel like I joined the Breaking Benjamin bandwagon at the perfect time. The first album of the band in its current lineup, Dark Before Dawn, didn’t go down well massively well with the fans. It was decent, but the long-time fans thought it was a disappointing comeback. They had no issue with Ember though, and neither do I. Feed The Wolf and Tourniquet are two of my favourite songs of all time – Ben’s vocal range is beyond belief at some points. Whenever I need perking up, I’ll stick on Down, to remind me that I can ‘break these chains, and wash it away’. And their music videos match their album quality – Red Cold River is soaked in pure emotion.
I’ve literally got Ember on repeat as I’m writing this.
Breaking Benjamin is a band beyond belief in my opinion. Seeing this journey they’ve been on from early days all the way to now makes their music feel all the more meaningful and passionate. Walking up to that stage two years ago deciding to take a chance on an unknown band was something I will never regret.
Ben, Aaron, Shaun, Jasen, Keith; I doubt you’ll ever read this but your albums are simply on another level, and your sound is unforgettable. You said it yourself – rock’s not dead!
MADE MY PLAY 