Review Summary: Breaking Benjamin breaking the mold... a bit
Before they dissolved themselves into the abyss of generic post-grunge, Breaking Benjamin was a band with something to prove. And prove themselves they did, linking up the fragments of the dissolved band Lifer and releasing "Saturate" in 2002. There was just the slightest hitch, though; the album wasn't particularly popular. In fact, beyond the release of one moderately successful single (
Polyamorous), it generally passed by the average listener of music unnoticed, charting low on the Billboard 200 and not really attracting any critical or commercial attention.
Now, your mileage may vary when it comes to your view of Breaking Benjamin's talent, but it's an unfair predicament that the rarer "Saturate" is often dismissed based on one's opinion of their last three more accessible hit albums. And that's a shame, because compared to albums like the singles-focused, shoddily written "We Are Not Alone", "Saturate" presents a band trying really hard to make a name for themselves; trying to
distinguish themselves. Don't get me wrong, this album is still undeniably rooted in mainstream rock; yet somehow, through the plethora of drop-D power chord riffs shines a band that you somehow don't feel inclined to disregard the same way you did, say, Puddle of Mudd.
To start with, Breaking Benjamin showcases from the get-go how much more instrumentally sound they are compared to their competition. From the Arabian-inspired meaty riffs of
Wish I May and
Water and the tribal drumming of
Phase and
Home, to the bass-slapping of
Polyamorous and
Natural Life, this band proves that they are above the mindless over-produced single-finger riffs of other bands who have long faded from the spotlight. Every band member knows when and where to unleash his talents; the drummer knows when a simple, pounding drumbeat must give way to a less forceful, technical, fill-laden drumbeat; the bassist knows when to stick to root notes so as to back up the guitar riffs with strength, and when to let loose and vary a bit from the guitar riffs to provide a breath of fresh air. It's evident that with this album, Breaking Benjamin was really trying; in its attempt to build up an unique identity, a different name for themselves.
What's more, Breaking Benjamin portray themselves with ease to possess the level-headed intelligence that peers like Three Days Grace lack. They know when to use power chords for brute force and when to pull the volume down and use the 3 highest strings to come up with tuneful melodies and even harmonization with the second guitar. What's even more interesting is the ease with which they reach into the other end of the spectrum in their composition of acoustic songs. Instead of, again, unconvincingly overproduced acoustic guitar and vocals, Breaking Benjamin rely on shimmering, well-constructed guitar lines in tandem to give their acoustic songs such a beautifully light, elegant feel, such as on
No Games and the graceful closer
Forever.
At the very core of this album's success, however, is that Breaking Benjamin knows best how to combine their respective strengths to, at the end of it all, make catchy music. Sure, it doesn't always work out right;
Medicate's sudden shift from brooding verse to radio-friendly chorus is distasteful to say the least, but for the most, they certainly know how to combine new ideas to form tracks that are undeniably mainstream rock, yet at the same time undeniably Breaking Benjamin. For instance, no other band could have combined a delicate little acoustic verse with a astonishingly heavy chorus with screamed vocals (
Sugarcoat) as effortlessly as they did. Yet at the same time, they know when simplicity is on their side, as seen on the overwhelmingly simple headbanger
Home, which nevertheless manages to stand out as one of Breaking Benjamin's best tracks. Before they decided to ape the good singles-bad album path to commercial success, Breaking Benjamin was undoubtedly trying to carve its own niche in the genre of post-grunge; it's a shame that they didn't achieve their success they wanted back in 2002, or maybe things could have turned out differently for the band many now love to hate.
Killer-to-Filler Ratio - 7:3
Listen to these tracks to get a taste of the album:
Polyamorous,
Home,
Forever
