Review Summary: Solid musicmanship, tight riffs and too perfect to be true vocals create an album that will be an instant success on the radio and charts, yet can never be acclaimed due to the fact that its all too familiar territory for these guys.
This is my first review, so constructive criticism will be appreciated.
Breaking Benjamin seem to have a knack for going on very strong for years and years and album after album, but their music has not been going anywhere for a long time now. I was introduced to the band after listening to the Diary of Jane, and was instantly hooked as was I just getting out of the Linkin Park stages at that point and the song seemed to be the perfect progression. I was thus exposed to 'Phobia', and subsequently blown away by the prowess of Ben's vocals and Chad's stellar drumming and the atmosphere that Breaking Benjamin is capable of creating within every song (mainly due to lead guitarist Aaron Fink's heavy use of guitar effects). Dark, brooding and yet intensely melodic seemed to sum up 'Phobia'.
Finally 'Dear Agony' was realeased. The feeling I got most after listening to this album for the first time was frustration. It has remained that way and will never change. 'Phobia' had begun its development in the album before it, 'We Are Not Alone', and while both the albums sent the bands higher in the mainstream charts and got them a wider fan base, success is never permanent and is not a good enough reason to stagnate. And that is exactly what Breaking Benjamin have done with this release. 'Dear Agony' is essentially a Phobia encore, nothing more and nothing less.
What makes it frustrating is that objectively speaking, the music is still extremely good and worthy of many repeats and sing alongs. The production quality is definitely an improvement in this album. Being a guitarist myself, I know its no small feat to achieve the clarity of guitars that this album displays when they are downtuned so much. The riffs are still tight when they come in, still leave their mark on the songs and your mind. Ben's vocals have progressed even further on this album, which again I attribute to the production simply because he is simply singing the same things on the same scales and pitches. Chad really shines through here, and the sonic quality of his drum kit and his use of all the cymbals are really quite commendable and refreshing for a band that is now bordering on pure mainstream.
That's basically all there is in terms of progression - reinforcement. We knew from the start of Breaking Benjamin's career how good Ben's vocals can be, and Phobia showed us that Chad blows their previous drummer out of the water. Aaron's guitar and Mark's bass remain essentially the same. The song structures are exactly the same, and the atmosphere is still the same. The vibe is still the same and the lyrics are still the same. Makes one wonder whether Ben took 'Phobia's songs and just made remixes of them, music and lyrics both, for this album. It is quite possible considering the songs sound very much like 'Phobia' all over again.
They have mixed it up a bit - 'Anthem of the Angels' and 'Without You' stand out here, but only because of the layers of strings that weave seamlessly through the song. Such glimpses of progressive potential show through the album, like the guitar solos in 'I Will Not Bow' and 'Fade Away', the hints of double bass drumming in 'Hopeless' and heavily layered acoustics in 'Give Me a Sign'. Along with the aggressive 'Lights Out', these are the songs that stand out in the album. Unfortunately, the use of Breaking Benjamin's potential remains as fleeting as it was on 'Phobia' and 'We Are Not Alone'.
This album will earn a lot of play on the radio and Ipods, as it has on mine already. The feeling of frustration will always remain though. Here's to hoping Ben decides to change his horrendously depressed, vague, hopeless and recycled lyrics (I seem to recall the phrases 'there's nothing left' and 'holding on' being used on three different songs atleast) and the band decides to move forward creatively for their next effort.
A good album that can unfortunately never go past 'good' due to that fact that its the same old. Ah, the frustration!
