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Review Summary: This album is likely to be the 'dark' before the 'dawn' It has been a grueling 6 years for Breaking Benjamin. Since the release of Dear Agony, the band has gone through what would honestly tear most groups apart. Benjamin Burnley's recurring illnesses forcing the band to cancel many many shows, then there was the lawsuit between Ben and his ex-bandmates. It felt unlikely we would hear from the group again. However, Breaking Benjamin have survived despite the turmoil, and have returned with an album that is far better than most would expect considering the circumstances.
Dark Before Dawn marks a departure for the band, despite the album sticking to the formulaic lyrical content and production values of prior albums. But bare in mind, this entire album was written before the band's current lineup was brought in. Ben has always been the bands primary composer and songwriter, so this album was bound to stay close to the band's roots. However, now that the band has four new members, it is likely we will see more experimentation in future.
The album has its highs and lows, as does any album. But in this case, the highs outweigh the lows. By far the album's standout track is 'Ashes of Eden', a slow, soft ballad that truly stands apart from the rest of the albums heavy chugging alt rock sound. Lyrically, it is nothing new. Burnley, while certainly talented, isn't the best when it comes to the songwriting. His lyrics aren't terrible, but they are often recycled album to album. The instrumentation is something to behold however, with every instrument playing its part and creating a soundscape of soft guitars, with Bens soft singing layered on top. The song is easily the most beautiful and elegant Ben has written, and is going to be the song the album is noted for.
The rest of the album is what you would expect from Breaking Benjamin; Heavy alt rock with chugging guitars, pounding drums and Burnleys vocals. Some songs like 'Failure' and 'Defeated' are so similar to songs we've had in the past (So Cold and Had Enough respectively) that it feels as though Ben didn't put much effort in. However, the songs are decent, and worth listening to for longtime fans. Tracks like 'Bury Me Alive' and 'Hollow' go for more of an alt metal sound, with heavier breakdowns, and some screamed vocals.
Dark Before Dawn will please fans of Breaking Benjamin, and is definitely worth listening to. For anyone else, there is likely to be something here for you to enjoy, but it will not change how you feel about the band. Hopefully, with the next release, we'll get something a bit more experimental.
[It is worth noting the chord progression in 'Bury me Alive' sounds similar to that in Korn's 'Justin', and with Korn being one of Benjamins influences, it is entirely possible 'Justin' was the inspiration for this track.]
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Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off
Review wasn't needed, but as a huge Breaking Benjamin fan, I had to. Any typo's are due to my laptops malfunctioning keyboard. Constructive criticism please, this review isn't my best I'll admit, but tips on how I can improve would be great, thanks 
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
"It has been a grueling 6 years for Breaking Benjamin."
5 years actually
"Ben, whilst quite a talented song writer, has never really had a way with lyrics."
poor sentence structure here and it's also kind of contradictory as well. "Burnley, while certainly talented, isn't the best when it comes to the songwriting." sounds much better.
"The rest of the album is what you would expect from Breaking Benjamin. Heavy alt rock, with chugging guitars, pounding drums and Burnleys vocals."
this should be one sentence. replace the period at the first sentence with a semicolon.
"songs we've had in the past (So Cold and Had Enough respectively) that it does feels as though Ben didn't put in much effort
made some small edits there
"It is worth noting the chord progression in 'Bury Me Alive' sounds similar to that in Korn's 'Justin', and with Korn being one of Benjamins influences, it is entirely possible 'Justin' was the inspiration for this track."
while it is interesting to know, this isn't really necessary. you could just make it a little blurb or something within the paragraph.
Review reads out more like a 3.5 or maybe a 4 imo.
Make sure you italicize albums as well. I'll give out some more feedback later.
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By far the albums standout track is 'Ashes of Eden'
'albums' needs an apostrophe
review needs some proofreading
| | | Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off
Thankyou for the feedback I'll get on those edits now
| | | Album Rating: 2.0
stop hating on it before its released, ignorant twats. I will be reviewing this as soon as it comes out, Breaking Benjamin are one of my favourite bands, and I have been waiting 6 years for this. I've pre-ordered it and everything
| | | Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off
you suck to read
| | | Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off
I know I just read it myself, any idea how I could change it?
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[It is worth noting the chord progression in 'Bury me Alive' sounds similar to that in Korn's 'Justin', and with Korn being one of Benjamins influences, it is entirely possible 'Justin' was the inspiration for this track.]
remove that, it's unnecessary to have at the end of the review. find a way to implement it into the review, or drop it altogether
Otherwise, talk more about the album, and fix up the spacing issues - those paragraphs are lacking to be honest.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off
Thanks for the help I will be sure to do that next time :D
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Great review, made me want to check this album out. However I feel like the review content doesn't match the rating.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
how did this one get flagged?
system must've went apeshit again
| | | Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off
Maybe I am the system
| | | Album Rating: 3.4
It may be 6 years since their last album & they may have 4 new members, but Pennsylvanian rockers Breaking Benjamin sound pretty much the same as ever on 5th LP 'Dark Before Dawn'. The distinctive vocals of the sole remaining founding member Benjamin Burnley return (he also produces), as does the radio-friendly post-grunge that backs him. As consistent as ever, the record is disconcertingly familiar, with recycled riffs, melodies, song structures & even lyrics apparent. Safe & formulaic it may be, but the album is practically without filler & will undoubtedly satisfy long-time fans. Recommended Tracks: Failure, Never Again, Defeated & Bury Me Alive.
| | | Album Rating: 3.0 | Sound Off
DaveyBoy very true, I didn't expect anything 'groundbreaking' with this album, and to be honest as a fan I didn't want anything 'groundbreaking', I wanted a Breaking Benjamin album, and that's what I got. Now the band has new members, hopefully we'll get more variation in sound on the next LP
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
*Whistle* good comeback!
| | | Album Rating: 1.0
What the fuck
| | | Album Rating: 3.0
I wanted to like this more, but then they stopped chugging
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
so a bunch of 1's for this just came out of nowhere
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someone's alting hard
| | | Album Rating: 3.5
i guess the stuff you resort to when you grow up without the love of your parents and need attention any way you can get
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