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1[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/breakbenlineup2019.png]]
2[floatboxright:
3Influences:
4+ Music/BlackSabbath, Music/{{Nirvana}}, Music/AliceInChains, Music/{{Tool}}, Music/{{Metallica}}, Music/ThePixies, Music/NineInchNails, Music/{{Queen}}, Music/{{Melvins}}
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8[[http://breakingbenjamin.com Breaking Benjamin]] is an American HardRock and AlternativeMetal band formed in 1998.
9
10Current members: Benjamin Burnley (vocals/guitar), Keith Wallen (guitar/vocals), Jasen Rauch (guitars), Aaron Bruch (bass/vocals) and Shaun Foist (drums)
11
12Former members, Aaron Fincke (lead guitar), Mark Klepaski (bass), Jeremy Hummel (drums), Chad Szeliga (drums)
13
14The band has released six albums to date and were considered one of the major AlternativeMetal successes of the [[TurnOfTheMillennium 2000s]], led by lead singer Ben Burnley's emotive tenor. In the summer of 2010, they went on hiatus so Ben could address his health. In August 2011, it was revealed that Ben fired Fincke and Klepaski over the planned release of a remix for "Blow Me Away" to be included on a greatest hits album. In 2013, Benjamin Burnley won a lawsuit against Fincke and Klepaski and gained the rights to the "Breaking Benjamin" moniker. The band returned with a completely new lineup and released their fifth record ''Dark Before Dawn'' on June 23, 2015, and the sixth, ''Ember'', in early 2018.
15
16!!Studio Albums:
17* ''Saturate'' (2002)
18* ''We Are Not Alone'' (2004)
19* ''Phobia'' (2006)
20* ''Dear Agony'' (2009)
21* ''Dark Before Dawn'' (2015)
22* ''Ember'' (2018)
23* ''Aurora'' (2020)
24
25----
26!!Diary of Tropes:
27* AlbumTitleDrop:
28** The first song "Wish I May" off the first album Saturate drops it on the second verse.
29--->I can see you suffocate\
30I can find no other way\
31Try to make you ''saturate''
32** "Failure" drops the title of the album it's on in a verse.
33--->Drive the cloud away\
34We will fall from last to none\
35The ''dark before the dawn''
36** "Psycho" from ''Ember'' does it in the chorus.
37--->I am the ''ember'' fading
38* AlliterativeName: The band ''and'' the lead singer (Benjamin Burnley).
39* AlternativeMetal: Their primary genre, along with PostGrunge. Being a part of this genre, they have been called NuMetal before, but they generally aren't considered to be part of that scene, Although their song "Sugarcoat" from their debut album seems to have drawn influence from the waning nu metal scene.
40* AndYourLittleDogToo: The song ''Home'' refers to the Wizard of Oz and includes the line: "cause I’m gonna get you and your little dog too".
41* TheAntiNihilist: The narrator of "Until the End":
42-->Why give up? Why give in?\
43It's not enough, it never is\
44So I will go on until the end
45* AppropriatedAppellation: Apparently, the band got its name from an incident at an open mic night where Ben Burnley was covering a {{Music/Nirvana}} song and knocked over the microphone he had borrowed, cracking it. After the song was finished, the owner of the microphone came up on stage and said, [[DeadpanSnarker "I'd like to thank Benjamin for breaking my fucking mic."]]
46* TheAtoner: The soldier in "Blow Me Away" ("I will stay in the mess I made").
47%%* BadassBoast: "Lights Out" is this.
48* BathtubScene: How the eponymous Jane is introduced in the "Diary of Jane" music video.
49%%* TheBerserker: From both the title and the lyrics, one could interpret "Unknown Soldier" being about one of these
50%%* BloodKnight: From both the title and the lyrics, one could interpret "Unknown Soldier" being about one of these
51* CarefulWithThatAxe: Ben Burnley whips out the axe every so often; perhaps the most notable example is during "Until The End", at the very quietest part of the song where he's very nearly whispering:
52-->Living is hard enough\
53Without you [[PrecisionFStrike fu...cking]]... '''[[MetalScream UUUUUUUUUUP!]]'''
54* ClusterFBomb: When Ben's talking between songs during concerts, he uses the F-bomb like a comma.
55* ContinuityPorn: The music video of "Torn in Two" is a sequel to "Red Cold River" but also references their previous music videos.
56* CoverVersion:
57** Music/{{Queen}}'s "Who Wants To Live Forever" and Music/DepecheMode's "Enjoy the Silence" on ''Shallow Bay''.
58** Music/GooGooDolls' "Iris" with DIAMANTE.
59** They performed Music/{{Godsmack}}'s "Awake," "Greed," and "Whatever" and Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time."
60* DarkerAndEdgier: Thanks to fan demand, ''Ember'' is, sonically, heavier than their previous albums, a direction the band was happy to move into anyway.
61* DeadAllAlong: The eponymous Jane in the music video for "Diary of Jane."
62* DealWithTheDevil: Heavily implied in the "Red Cold River" music video. A MagicalNativeAmerican helps the protagonist with finding who raped and killed his daughter, but in exchange, he transforms into a monstrous looking individual and is taken to Hell afterwards.
63* DeathSeeker: From both the title and the lyrics, one could interpret "Unknown Soldier" being about one of these:
64-->Borderline, dead inside...\
65Show me what it's like\
66To dream [[BlackAndWhiteInsanity in black and white]]\
67So I can leave this world tonight.
68* {{Determinator}}: The protagonist of "I Will Not Bow".
69-->I will not bow\
70I will not break\
71I will shut the world away\
72I will not fall\
73I will not fade\
74I will take your breath away
75* DeterminedDefeatist: "Until The End."
76-->I've lost my way, but I will go on until the end
77* DraggedOffToHell: The main plot of the "Torn in Two" music video.
78* DueToTheDead: "Anthem of the Angels."
79* DyingAlone: One of the three protagonists of the "Never Again" music video chooses to do this as atonement for hurting his friend after said friend discovered that he duped them and their other friend over the remaining waters from a FountainOfYouth they've been getting.
80* EarlyInstallmentWeirdness‎: Benjamin used to have his tongue pierced. That's why he sounds a bit off in the first album.
81* EgocentricTeamNaming: The band is named after the lead singer.
82* EtherealWhiteDress: The eponymous Jane in the "Diary of Jane" music video is wearing white. She's DeadAllAlong.
83* FaceDeathWithDignity: The protagonists of the "Never Again" music video do this once they find out that the waters they took from the FountainOfYouth ran out.
84* FountainOfYouth: The "Never Again" music video has a tree which has water in its roots that restores youth for a certain amount of time. The main conflict of the video is when one of the three friends became greedy over it.
85* GameBreakingInjury: Ben Burnley's Wernicke's Encephalitis (aka Wet Brain Syndrome) combined with his lung infection became one for the band. Without Ben being forced to go on hiatus, it's very unlikely that he would have eventually parted ways with the rest of his band members.
86* TheGrimReaper: The subject of "Evil Angel."
87* HappyEndingOverride: "Red Cold River" had a BittersweetEnding by showing the ghost of the protagonist's daughter stopping her father from killing her rapist and murderer. However, the ImmediateSequel music video "Torn in Two" shows that it's not really the ghost of the daughter and proceeded to [[DraggedOffToHell drag the protagonist to Hell]].
88* TheHeroDies: The protagonists of their music videos do not have great mortality rates.
89** The eponymous Jane in "Diary of Jane" is DeadAllAlong.
90** The protagonist of the "So Cold" music video drowns himself.
91** The protagonists of "Ashes of Eden" die as they fall to Earth, though this is migated by their ReincarnationRomance.
92** The protagonists of "Never Again" all die when the waters they took from a FountainOfYouth finally ran out.
93** The protagonist of "Red Cold River", "Torn in Two", and "Tourniquet" gets DraggedOffToHell, which is essentially this trope.
94* HugeGuyTinyGirl: When paired with [[Music/FlyLeaf Lacey Sturm]] for the Aurora version of [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x9hZFyoqp7Q "Dear Agony"]], with Benjamin being 6'4'' and Lacey standing at only 4'11''.
95* IAmTheBand: Since 2011, Ben Burnley is the only original member left.
96* IntentionallyAwkwardTitle: Burnley jokingly stated that ''Ember'' was originally supposed to be titled ''Ass-End'', a [[{{Pun}} purposeful play-on-words of the word "ascend"]], but the record label expressed displeasure with his idea.
97* ItAlwaysRainsAtFunerals: Heavily implied in "Rain" if you pay attention to the lyrics:
98-->Rain, rain, go away...\
99Come again another day...\
100All the world is waiting for the sun...\
101To lie here, under you...\
102Was all that I could ever do...
103* LighterAndSofter:
104** Their first two albums were more influenced by HeavyMetal, and as such the more alt rock influenced ''Phobia'' and ''Dear Agony'' are slightly softer in the music department, despite darker lyrics. ''Dark Before Dawn'' continues this, with ''Ember'' showcasing their metal side more once again.
105** The acoustic renditions on ''Aurora'' are softer, making songs like "Failure" sound [[LyricalDissonance oddly tranquil]].
106* LingerieScene: The eponymous Jane in the "Diary of Jane" music video is wearing a negligee.
107* MagicalNativeAmerican: Appears in the "Red Cold River" music video, helping the protagonist with finding who raped and murdered his daughter.
108* MeaningfulName: The name of the album ''Phobia'' is a reference to Benjamin Burnley's numerous clinical phobias.
109* MetalScream: Ben occasionally gives off a psuedo DeathGrowl. The choruses of "Sugarcoat" and "Believe" were performed in this manner.
110* MissingChild: The whole point of the "Red Cold River" music video. It shows a father searching for his missing daughter, who unbeknownst to him, was raped and murdered by a pedophile.
111* MsFanservice:
112** The "Polyamorous" music video shows several women who are either in revealing clothes or topless.
113** The eponymous Jane in the "Diary of Jane" music video is introduced in a BathtubScene (showing ShouldersupNudity) and then wears a [[LingerieScene negligee for the rest of the video]].
114* NonAppearingTitle: "No Games", "Topless" and "Unknown Soldier" never use the title in lyrics. "Lights Out" downplays this as the chorus says "After the ''lights go out'' on you".
115** Subverted with their GreatestHitsAlbum ''Shallow Bay: The Best of Breaking Benjamin''. It is named after their song ''Shallow Bay'', an album track from ''Saturate'', which does have the name in the it's lyrics. However, because the album is focused on their singles, Shallow Bay is not on this album.
116* OffToSeeTheWizard: The song ''Home'' is basically a wholesale reference to The Wizard of Oz.
117* PostGrunge: Often considered to be one of the best of this genre.
118* PrecisionFStrike: As far as hard rock bands go, Breaking Benjamin's music is relatively clean, but they'll get a couple of these in every album.
119** Notable is "Simple Design" on ''We Are Not Alone'':
120--->You must be out of your mind\
121This was a simple design\
122You '''fuck''' it up every time\
123How could you leave me behind?
124** From the same album, "Firefly":
125--->'''Fuck''' you, firefly\
126Have you lost your light\
127Now I hate your ways\
128'Cause they're just like mine\
129So you've lost my friend\
130Such a sorry end\
131And I don't know why\
132So I choke and smile (smile)
133* RainRainGoAway: Quoted in "[[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Rain]]".
134-->Rain, rain, go away...\
135Come again another day...\
136All the world is waiting for the sun...\
137To lie here, under you...\
138Was all that I could ever do...
139* ReincarnationRomance: The music video of "Ashes of Eden" has a couple of AncientAstronauts who fall to Earth then find each other again in modern times.
140* ShoutOut: To promote ''Dear Agony'', Breaking Benjamin released a flash game on their website based on ''VideoGame/AlteredBeast1988'' called ''Altered Benjamin'', starring the lead singer as the player character. It can be played [[http://starvingeyes.com/archive/games/alteredbenjamin/ here]].
141* SingingVoiceDissonance: Ben has a deep, growly voice when singing, but is fairly soft spoken in interviews.
142* SpaceOpera: The "Ashes of Eden" music video begins in outer space.
143* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Keith and Aaron regularly perform lead vocals for certain songs during live shows.
144** {{Enforced|Trope}} by Ben, who cited this ability in Keith and Aaron as a primary reason that he picked them for the band's new lineup.
145* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "Forever" from ''Saturate'', "Forget It" and "Rain" from ''We Are Not Alone'', "Ashes of Eden" from ''Dark Before Dawn'', "The Dark of You" from ''Ember''.
146* TakeThat: Ben delivered one to ''VideoGame/StarWarsBattlefront2015'' on his Instagram account. He claims he was supposed to promote the game in return for payment, but decided to violate the agreement because of how terrible he found the game.
147* TearsOfBlood:
148** The protagonists of the "Ashes of Eden" music video when they're about to die ([[ReincarnationRomance they got better]]).
149** The PapaWolf protagonist of the "Red Cold River" after seeing the supposed ghost of his deceased daughter.
150* TheresNoPlaceLikeHome: The line is featured in and one of the major themes of "Home", a song that is basically a wholesale reference to ''Literature/TheWizardOfOz''.
151* TogetherInDeath:
152** The lovers in the "Ashes of Eden" music video, though thankfully they have a ReincarnationRomance.
153** Two of the three protagonists of the "Never Again" music video. The remaining protagonist chooses to [[DyingAlone die alone]] for atonement.
154** The conclusion of the "Red Cold River", "Torn in Two", and "Tourniquet" music videos feature the deceased father and daughter together in the afterlife.
155* TwoGuysAndAGirl: The main characters of the "Never Again" music video.
156* VideoFullOfFilmClips: The videoclip ''I will Not Bow'' promoted the movie ''Surrogates'' but shows many key scenes and the ending.
157* VillainSong: "Failure", if you consider the lyrics from a certain perspective.
158--> ''Tired of feeling lost, tired of letting go. Tear the whole world down, tear the whole world down...''
159* WhatHaveIBecome: Actually said (or, rather, [[MetalScream screamed]]) word for word in "Diary of Jane."
160* WhoWantsToLiveForever: The music video of "Never Again" shows the negative side of immortality, namely duping your TrueCompanions for waters from a FountainOfYouth.
161* WhyDidItHaveToBeSnakes: The title of their third album, ''Phobia'', is a reference to Ben Burnley's many phobias. The most notable of which is his fear of flying as it is the reason why the band didn't tour outside the United States and Canada for a very long time.
162%%ZCE* WorldHalfEmpty: Played with on a few of their songs.

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