Breaking Benjamin back in the limelight

published in The Daily Item, www.dailyitem.com, Thursday, August 27, 2009. Pages D1 & D2. Photo provided by Slight of Hand Photography.

A popular band with ties to the area has released a new single which will be featured on a major motion picture soundtrack, and is slated to release its highly anticipated fourth studio album in September.

Alternative rock band Breaking Benjamin, whose lead singer Benjamin Burnley and guitarist Aaron Fink graduated from Selinsgrove High School, have released a new single and re-entered the studio after a three-year gap between albums. The band also features bassist Mark James and drummer Chad Szeliga, who both also reside in Pennsylvania.

The band streamed their long-awaited new single, “I Will Not Bow,” exclusively on MySpace on Aug. 11.

By early last week, the song had already received more than 181,000 plays on MySpace and has been played on several radio stations across the country with most stations adding it into rotation last week, according to the official Breaking Benjamin MySpace blog.

“I Will Not Bow” will be available for purchase on Sept. 1 on iTunes and will also be on the soundtrack for the new Disney movie “Surrogates,” which stars Bruce Willis and hits theaters Sept. 25. It will be featured in the movie’s trailers and will be played in full during the end credits on the big screen.

The song was not written specifically for the movie, but according to Szeliga, “Ben sent a few songs to our record label, Hollywood Records,” which is owned by Disney, who then decided they “wanted a Breaking Benjamin song for this movie.”

Two music videos are in production for “I Will Not Bow.” The band filmed their portion of the videos in New York City. Szeliga explained that “one video is going to be the band only and the second video is going be us and 20 percent of the movie.” It was released Aug. 21 on MySpace.com/breakingbenjamin.

The band is also in the studio recording the follow-up album to 2006’s platinum album “Phobia.” The album will be titled “Dear Agony” and according to the band’s MySpace, will be released on Sept. 29.

In addition to “I Will Not Bow” there will be 10 other songs on “Dear Agony.” The songs were primarily written by Burnley.

“Ben wrote the majority of the album but Jasen Rauch from (the band) Red helped write four songs,” Szeliga said.

David Bendeth is producing “Dear Agony.” He produced the band’s previous two albums, “We Are Not Alone” and “Phobia,” which both went platinum.

Bendeth described the feel of the album compared to their last release, “Phobia,” on the band’s official internet message board at www.ShallowBay.com. He explained that the “musical style is tighter, harder, more melodic and darker. (The) attitude is hungrier, more serious, natural, simpler and confident.”

When asked why Breaking Benjamin keeps returning to Bendeth’s House of Loud recording studio, Szeliga said the band “looks at it as an ‘if it’s not broken, don’t fix it’ kind of thing. We went platinum twice so I guess it doesn’t hurt to have [Bendeth] do it again.

“We have a family-based environment with the producer and engineers (at Bendeth’s House of Loud),” he added.

Recording for “Dear Agony” is wrapping up (the band’s deadline from the label was Aug. 20, according to Szeliga).

Bendeth announced early last week on the official message board that “mixing (is) in progress (and a) track listing (is) coming shortly from label.”

Along with new music comes a chance to see Breaking Benjamin live. They have not played a live show since their York Fair concert with Seether last September.

There are plans to do a “couple of shows in September or October, [with shows] a little close by (to Pennsylvania),” said Szeliga.

The band is also “talking about doing some big radio festivals and then really (touring) hard in 2010,” he added.