Guitarist Aaron Fink and bassist Mark James (Klepaski) were members of Lifer, a moderately successful group – they had a recording contract with Universal Records. Fink had worked with singer-songwriter-rhythm guitarist Ben Burnley and had known him since high school. The experience must have made an impression. Fink convinced James to jump ship and join him in a group with Burnley. Drummer Jeremy Hummel rounded out the line-up.Playing in their native Philly burbs, an area known as Wilkes-Barre, Breaking Benjamin built a notable reputation.DJ Freddie Fabbi at Alt. Rock station WBSX-FM played Breaking Benjamin’s “Polyamorous.” He also financed the group’s self-titled ’01 EP. As a result, Breaking Benjamin signed with Hollywood Records and recorded their full-length “Saturate” with producer/engineer Ulrich Wild. Two years later, that would be ’04, Breaking Benjamin unfurled “We Are Not Alone” with contributions from none other than Billy Corgan. The album, which contained the lead single “So Cold,” was soon platinum-certified (sales over one million). Also, the ‘04 single “Blow Me Away,” which was on the “Halo 2” video game soundtrack, was officially certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) seventeen years later. Third album, “Phobia,” dropped in ’06 with first week sales of 125,000 copies to reach #2 on the Billboard 200 chart. “The goal was to make a solid, mature and cohesive record, not just a few singles and filler,” said James. David Bendeth, who produced both “We Are Not Alone” and “Phobia,” was at the controls for the group’s fourth studio effort, ’09’s “Dear Agony,” with the single “I Will Not Bow.”While the band was on a co-headlining tour with Three Days Grace and Flyleaf, “Give Me A Sign,” a Top 10 hit on the Active Rock Radio chart, was released. “Dear Agony,” topped the Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Modern Rock/Alternative Albums charts. The set peaked at #2 on the Top Rock Albums and Top Digital Albums charts, and #4 on the Billboard 200, selling 134,000 copies in its first week. Interestingly, it was the first set that Burnley wrote while completely sober. During the supporting tour, Burnley became ill and was not able to continue. With the group on hiatus there were rumors they had disbanded, which were sharply denied. But a dispute over a ‘best of’ album sealed the band’s immediate fate, with Burnley owning the name.Hollywood Records released “Shallow Bay: The Best Of Breaking Benjamin” in ’11 and it went to #1 on the Top Hard Rock Albums chart.A new line-up was announced in ’14. In addition to Burnley, there were guitarists Jasen Rauch (Red) and Keith Wallen (Adelitas Way), bassist Aaron Bruch, and drummer Shaun Foist (Picture Me Broken). This edition’s initial effort was ’15’s “Dark Before Dawn,” which went straight to #1 in the U.S., selling 144,000 copies in its first week.The album produced three #1 Rock radio tracks; “Failure,” “Angels Fall” and “Never Again.” “Ember” dropped in ’18. “People have always really liked the heavier side of the band. But we also make sure to explore our melodic and softer side too,” noted Burnley. The lead track, “Red Cold River,” garnered 2.5 million streams with the accompanying video generating over 600,000 views. “Aurora” arrived two years later. It featured reimagined versions of the band’s biggest and most popular songs with special guests including Lacey Sturm (ex-Flyleaf), Scooter Ward (COLD) and Spencer Chamberlain (Underoath).  “This album is a celebration of our incredible fans,” said Burnley. “We’ve always shared a unique emotional connection to our music with our fans, and this album attributes to those dark times and euphoric ones.” The set went to #1 on Billboard’s Rock Albums Chart.  The post Featured Artist: Breaking Benjamin appeared first on RockinTown.

On this day three years ago… COVID-19 continued to raise havoc. Just days earlier, the CDC reported the U.S. passed 36-million COVID cases with an average of a million new cases each week in August. Obviously, tours were canceled for public safety leaving fans disappointed and performers dealing with the financial repercussions. First, Shinedown vocalist Brent Smith donated $10,000 to Spiritbox (pictured above) to help cover expenses related to an aborted tour with Limp Bizkit.  A planned four-week trek was scrapped after three shows due to the pandemic leaving Spiritbox with bills but no revenue. Also, Iron Maiden vocalist Bruce Dickinson confirmed he’d tested positive for COVID-19 after being vaccinated.  He abruptly postponed a spoken-word tour when a member of his immediate household contracted the novel coronavirus.  Six weeks later, the CDC said COVID-19 had killed over 675,000 Americans, the estimated number of American deaths from the Spanish Flu in 1918. As a result, COVID-19 became the deadliest respiratory pandemic in American history. In the end, the pandemic killed nearly 1.2 million in the U.S. ### The post A Day In Rock: August 12th, 2021 appeared first on RockinTown.

from Revolver News: Harris/Walz is the most extremist, communistic political ticket in US history. Kamala, the DEI candidate, hasn’t climbed the ladder on her skills or excellence but has leveraged her gender and skin color instead. She’s the epitome of a “finger in the air” politician, shifting her positions (pun intended) with the political winds. […]

Without David Garza, a young girl might have died -- and would certainly have been a victim of a far greater crime than she already was. According to KHOU-TV, Garza is a middle school teacher and resident of an apartment complex in Houston where a young girl was walking to...

Discerning students and adult readers should prefer old books to new ones. After all, time-tested wisdom always trumps fashionable nonsense. Likewise, older interviews have enduring appeal when they happen to showcase the wisdom and kindness of a gentle giant. In a YouTube clip of a 2015 interview with journalist Graham...

When Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone stepped into the Stade de France Thursday to defend her 400m women's hurdles gold medal from the Tokyo Games, she brought her faith in God with her. God, as it turns out, was willing to do stunning things as the 2024 Paris Olympics neared their conclusions. According...

Well, this is indeed a shocker: Google admitted this past week that they were indeed censoring searches on GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump and the assassination attempt against him. But it was just an outdated algorithm, honest! In the latest improbable claim of semi-innocence in the field of election manipulation...

When will Meta pull the plug on someone representing the United States at the Paralympic Games in Paris, which start later this month? When their sport uses a gun, of course. According to a Wall Street Journal report late last month, McKenna Geer, a member of the U.S. team, will...

August 12, 2024

The 25th anniversary edition of the Woodstock Festival was supposed to revive memories of the original. It'll be remembered for mud.