August 27, 2002 - Breaking Benjamin and Saturate

A day after my last release we have a triple album release day! The first of the three albums is a new addition to the library when Breaking Benjamin released their debut album "Saturate" on August 27, 2002. But who is Breaking Benjamin? They are a four-piece alternative hard rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania consisting of lead singer and rhythm guitarist Benjamin Burnley, lead guitarist Aaron Fink, bassist Mark James Klepaski and drummer Jeremy Hummel. Breaking Benjamin plays a pretty accessible style of hard rock that definitely has it's headbanging parts, but also has some lighter, more pop-y parts at times. Let's see what Breaking Benjamin is all about!

The album kicks off with "Wish I May" and they dive right into a simple but loud and heavy main riff that sounds solid. Burnley sings in a unique voice that has a bit of the post-grunge, Creed-like vibes, but he also borders on screaming with some nice loud yelling at times. They don't stray far from the main drag, but it's a pretty catchy and solid main drag that is interesting the whole way through. Burnley breaks through at the end with a couple nice screams as well! The next three songs were all singles, but this one titled "Medicate" was not very popular. It's got a decent main riff with some catchy rhythm guitar by Burnley and he sings a nice low verse overtop. Fink adds some louder lead guitar in the chorus, but it's a fairly pop-y and simple chorus. They try to ramp up the intensity at one point, but all they really do is increase the volume and play the same riff. It's okay, but I'm not shocked this wasn't a succesful single. Track 3 on the other hand was their big hit off the album and it's called "Polyamorous". The kick right into a nice hard rock main riff with Fink playing some pretty cool guitar, then things nicely quiet down for an epic verse as Burnley sounds pretty good holding some nice long notes overtop the catchy guitars. The chorus hits nice and hard as Burnley yells nicely overtop some cool heavy guitars and this easily the best song so far, there's just so much energy the whole time! Fink gets a chance to show off a bit, and he doesn't fully solo, but he plays some cool stuff before they nicely slam back to the main riff to finish things off. Cool song! The next track was also a not very succesful single titled "Skin" and Fink and Burnley sync up for a stop-and-start main riff that sounds pretty good and Burnley sings another solid verse in his interesting voice. This one makes sense as a single as it's got a pretty catchy verse and chorus by Burnley and some catchy guitars throughout. Fink plays some nice fast stuff at one point, then it's right back for a predictable but solid finish. Pretty cool tune! Track 5 is "Natural Life" and the rhythm section nicely starts this song off with some cool bass by Klepaski and some pretty cool drums by Hummel leading the way. The guitars finally add some cool stuff overtop and Burnley sings a pretty great verse to complete a pretty sweet main riff! The chorus is a little pop-y and simpler, but the verse has great contributions from everyone. After a couple rounds they do a really cool part that actually reminds me a bit of Tool, which is obviously a wonderful comparison! It's a great part with distorted guitars, catchy drums and some nice yelling by Burnley to boot! They wrap it up with a final pop-y chorus, but aside from the chorus the rest of this song was really great! Up next is "Next To Nothing" and Burnley plays an acoustic guitar riff for our first lighter vibe and Hummel adds some cool light drums. Burnley sings a light but solid verse and then they ramp nicely into a louder chorus that is pretty damn catchy! They stick to the main drag once again, but it's pretty catchy and upbeat and I was headbanging the whole way through. Track 7 is "Water" and it's got a super catchy main riff that is nice and bouncy but played with a nice heavy guitar tone. Burnley sings an epic verse to nicely match the mood and things speed up in a solid chorus with Burnley continuing to sound really epic and good. Fink plays some pretty cool guitar throughout the whole song and this is easily one of my favourites, solid every step of the way. The next track is "Home" and Fink leads the way with a cool distorted guitar riff that everyone else builds nicely around. Burnley sings a pretty smooth and catchy verse and all the lyrics are about the Wizard of Oz! He yells "there's no place like home" in the chorus and it's a smooth and accessible chorus for the most part, with Burnley adding a few nice yells at the end! After a couple solid rounds Burnley very clearly yells a final chorus that sounds pretty cool, and this was a pretty cool song! Track 9 is "Phase" and Hummel starts us off with a cool drum beat, Klepaski adds some decent bass, Burnley comes in with a fast and cool rhythm guitar riff then Fink plays some slowe, epic lead guitar overtop. They build it up really nicely to a loud and catchy chorus riff, then slow it down again for the first verse with Burnley sounding pretty good the whole time. It's a pretty groovy and catchy tune and Fink still doesn't quite solo, but he gives us his closest thing to a solo with some solid guitar midway through. Burnley ends the song by screaming a short verse and his scream sounds awesome, he should be doing it more! Up next is "No Games" and they dive right into a melodic main riff that sounds slow and smooth with both guitarists playing some good stuff. Things smoothly shift into a louder version of this same riff which sets the stage for a loud but fairly simple chorus. Burnley sounds solid in both the verse and chorus and after a couple rounds we hear a strings section which adds some epicness to the this quiet part, then they nicely slam into a heavy new riff led by some cool guitar by Fink. Aside from a slightly bland chorus, this was another pretty cool tune! Track 11 is "Sugarcoat" and it's driven by a catchy stop-and-start main riff with all the guitars syncing up for some loud and heavy stuff. The verse turns out to be acoustic, which is a drastic dropoff, but Burnley leads a smooth acoustic verse on guitar and vocals, then they ramp nicely back into the heavy chorus and Burnley is screaming once again, and I think it's a pretty awesome chorus! The contrast between the acoustic verse and the super heavy chorus sounds really great and this is definitely a cool song! The next track is "Shallow Bay" and they kick right into yet another catchy and solid hard rock chorus riff. Burnley leads another lighter but solid verse and then his commanding voice carries the catchy chorus, and I love the closing line "I don't think you wanna fuck with me!" After a couple solid rounds things slow right down and the strings section is back to provide an epic finale to this song. The final song on the album is "Forever" and Burnley plays a slow, catchy acoustic guitar riff, and Fink adds another acoustic guitar riff as they play off each other nicely for a light but interesting main riff. Burnley sings in a soft pop-y voice that is not his best in my opinion, but it does fit the mood. After a soft first round the strings section is back again to make things sound even sappier, until they finally ramp into a hard rock version of the same riff and finally things sound pretty solid, but then the song is over!

That is the end of "Saturate" and I thought it was a solid debut album by Breaking Benjamin. Their mix of smooth and catchy riffs mixed with hard rock and heavy ones sounds pretty good to me and Benjamin Burnley is certainly an interesting vocalist, and I really like his heavier parts! I'm very intrigued to see where Breaking Benjamin will go from here!