With their radio-friendly post-grunge approach, Breaking Benjamin has heated up the airwaves and warmed the hearts of millions of their growing legions of enthusiastic fans. The group formed in 2000 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, when guitarist Aaron
Fink and bassist Mark James Klepaski joined forces with singer Ben Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The band derived their name from an incident when Burnley was covering a
Nirvana song during an open mic night at a club when he dropped the microphone to the ground, breaking it. The person who owned the microphone ca
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me on stage and said, "Thanks to Benjamin for breaking my fucking mic.” The group’s local gigs caught the attention of a Wilkes-Barre DJ who put one of their songs into rotation. The exposure led to a record deal with Hollywood Records and the release of the band’s debut album, Saturate, in 2002. The album peaked at number 2 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers Chart and at 136 on the Billboard Top 200. Breaking Benjamin released their second album, We Are Not Alone in June 2004. The album climbed into the top 20 of The Billboard 200 chart and spawned "So Cold" which broke into the top 3 on both Mainstream and Modern Rock Tracks charts and also appeared on The Billboard Hot 100; the follow-up single, "
Sooner Or Later", peaked at #2 on the Active Rock chart and at #7 on The Modern Rock airplay list; the band spent the remainder of 2004 on the road opening for
Evanescence and
Seether, broadening their fan base considerably.
Breaking Benjamin released their third album, Phobia, in August 2006 before heading out on nationwide headlining tour with
Evans Blue and Dropping Daylight in tow. The album featured new drummer Chad Szeliga and was spearheaded by the single "The Diary of Jane," which quickly heated up airwaves and helped the album debut at number 2 on the Billboard charts. Phobia was reissued that fall with additional bonus tracks, while the band continued touring alongside Godsmack. In June of 2008, Breaking Benjamin entered the studio to begin recording their 4th album. With no sign of a slowdown in sight, BB’s many fans are getting exactly what they had hoped from this talented alternative metal outfit.
