In mid-2010, the band started a hiatus due to frontman Burnley's recurring illnesses and inability to tour. Further complications arose in August 2011 when Mark Klepaski and Aaron Fink were fired from the band.
In April 2013, Burnley announced he would press forward with the band name in the future without any of the other previous members, as drummer Chad Szeliga announced his departure from the band.
Formation (1998–2001)
In 1998, Burnley, guitarist Aaron Fink, Nick Hoover and Chris Lightcap formed Breaking Benjamin. Burnley later moved to California to experiment musically. When he moved back to Pennsylvania, he started a band called "Plan 9", playing guitar and singing alongside drummer Jeremy Hummel and bassist, Andy Seal, which was subsequently replaced by Jason Davoli in 2000, and Jonathan "Bug" Price in 2001. Plan 9 occasionally opened for Lifer at home shows. During one show, Burnley said, “Thank you, we’re Breaking Benjamin”, reclaiming the name from earlier in 1998.Saturate (2002–2003)
Its first single, "Polyamorous", received moderate radio play but failed to reach mainstream audiences. Three versions of a video for "Polyamorous" were released: one purely live-action footage, one with footage of the video game Run Like Hell and one a variation of the second, but with the Run Like Hell scenes replaced by scenes of people in flirtatious acts. This song was featured on the game WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw and also featured on WWE Day of Reckoning.
The second single was "Skin", which fared worse than "Polyamorous". Burnley has stated his disdain for the song during performances, and encourages the crowd to sing while the band plays. The disdain is because Hollywood Records chose it as the main single instead of the band's choice, "Medicate".
They planned on releasing a studio version of their cover of "Enjoy the Silence" (along with "Lady Bug") on the European version of Saturate, but this version was never released. "Lady Bug" was later released on the So Cold EP, and on the Japanese version of We Are Not Alone.
"Wish I May" is played during the closing credits of the 2003 horror film, Wrong Turn.
We Are Not Alone (2004–2005)
Breaking Benjamin released their second album, We Are Not Alone, on June 29, 2004. It featured the lead single "So Cold", which reached #2 on the United States Billboard Mainstream Rock chart. Two music videos were made for "So Cold", one a promotional video for the movie Hellboy. "So Cold" spent 37 weeks in the Top 20 of the Billboard charts.Other singles from the album were "Sooner or Later" and a re-recorded, full band version of "Rain" (only on later pressings of the album). "Sooner or Later" received significant radio play, reaching #2 on the Mainstream Rock Charts. A music video for the song was released. The song was performed live on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno".
The songs "Rain", "Forget It" and "Follow" were co-written by The Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan and Burnley over six days in December 2003. Burnley stated he was initially nervous about working with Corgan, but later felt comfortable. He called the experience one of the highlights of his career.
Jeremy Hummel temporarily left the band in August 2004 to spend time with his newborn child, and was replaced by Kevin Soffera, who played with the band on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Last Call with Carson Daly. He performed the songs "Away" and "Breakdown" on the So Cold EP. Hummel returned to the band in September 2004 and was later fired. On September 28, 2005, Hummel filed a federal lawsuit against Breaking Benjamin and its management, claiming he was owed money for songs he helped write. The suit sought over $8 million in damages. Hummel did not receive any money for We Are Not Alone, which he co-authored. The band took Ben "B.C." Vaught as its new drummer, until early 2005, when he was replaced by Chad Szeliga.
The song "Firefly" was featured in the WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw video game, released November 2004.
The song "Blow Me Away" was written for and featured in the game Halo 2, released in November 2004. It was later on Halo 2 Original Soundtrack Volume 1, and on the So Cold EP.
We Are Not Alone went platinum in mid-2005. A "platinum edition" of We Are Not Alone was then released, including the full-band version of "Rain".
Phobia (2006–2009)
Breaking Benjamin released Phobia on August 8, 2006, leading with the single "The Diary of Jane", which made it to #4 on the U.S. Modern Rock Charts.On February 11, 2007, HDNet aired a one-hour Breaking Benjamin concert from Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. This concert was included on the re-released Phobia DVD in April 2007, billed as "The Homecoming". The band had their first #1 hit on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks with "Breath". The music video for "Breath" was made of footage from the song's performance at the Stabler Arena show.
They co-headlined a tour of the United States with Three Days Grace, with Red and Puddle of Mudd as openers. The reissued Phobia re-entered the Billboard 100 at number 38 on May 5, 2007.
On June 29, 2007, Breaking Benjamin performed "Breath" on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. On July 6, they played the song on The Late Show with Craig Ferguson. They toured 36 venues in Fall 2007, with Three Days Grace, Seether, Skillet (first half) and Red (second half).
On October 23, 2007, Breaking Benjamin released all of their music videos on iTunes, in a set titled "Nightmares".
On May 21, 2009 Phobia went platinum.
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