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Breaking Benjamin returns to Covelli Centre
By John Benson
Benjamin Burnley may be a rock star at night, but during the day he’s just a self-admitted “Star Wars” nerd.
That explains why Breaking Benjamin is currently playing Darth Vader’s “Imperial March” on its co-headlining tour with Shinedown. The bill rolls through Youngstown on Saturday for a show at Covelli Centre.
“I’m such a huge ‘Star Wars’ nerd that I actually bought tickets to two showings of the new movie,” Burnley said, laughing, calling from somewhere in Oregon (only later he realized the band was in Montana).
Considering Burnley’s recent health issues, the frontman said he relates to Vader’s life-supporting body suit.
“I can relate to that aspect, except he gets to wear a much cooler suit,” Burnley said. “Rock star is a cool job, but he has definitely a better suit. Also, ruler of the universe is a pretty killer job, too.”
It’s one step at a time for Burnley, who was arguably a ruler of the rock-radio universe a decade ago. Breaking Benjamin first emerged on the rock scene in the early 2000s, but it wasn’t until 2004’s “We Are Not Alone” and 2006’s “Phobia” that the band found its groove. Not only did both albums go platinum, but each yielded rock-radio hit songs “So Cold,” “Sooner Or Later,” “Breath,” “Diary of Jane” and “Until The End.”
The group was touring its 2009 No. 1 album, “Dear Agony,” which included hit “I Will Not Bow,” when Burnley announced he had to take a break due to muscle and joint pain.
“I took a hiatus to try to address the health issues and get to the bottom of whatever was causing my suffering,” Burnley said. “I never got any answers. The only thing that was really told to me at the end of the day was the medical community doesn’t claim to have all of the answers, so that’s pretty much them telling me I’m SOL.
“That’s pretty much where I was left. So I don’t really have any choice but to either lay around and die, or get back on my feet and push through whatever is happening to me and try to make the best of life. So I’ve chosen the latter, and here we are.”
Where we are is Breaking Benjamin’s second chapter, which includes a new lineup featuring guitarists Jasen Rauch (RED) and Keith Wallen (Adelitas Way) along with bassist Aaron Bruch and drummer Shaun Foist (Picture Me Broken.)
When Burnley decided to record again under the moniker of Breaking Benjamin, he returned to the same formula that helped the band become a staple at rock radio in the first place. At the turn of the century, the singer said he eschewed the nu-metal trend and instead concentrated on writing songs that wouldn’t be time stamped.
Fans will be happy to hear that’s the approach heard all over the group’s most recent release, “Dark Before Dawn,” which debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top 200 album chart.
“I don’t think anybody in the band expected that or had any sort of preconceived notion as far as what it was going to be,” Burnley said. “We knew there was going to be some fan support through Facebook and other social media.
“We were just really excited for that more than anything. So to get No. 1 on Billboard and then to get No. 1 singles with ‘Failure’ and ‘Angels Fall’ made it that much more incredible. It’s just cool that our sound, all of these years later, is still relevant.”
Perhaps the biggest question for followers of Breaking Benjamin is whether the outfit is back for good.
“I can say 100 percent that this is what the band is going to be, and we’re the best we’ve ever been,” Burnley said. “We’re absolutely not going anywhere. We’ll be around forever, as long as the fans want us to be.”