Breaking Benjamin’s upcoming new album.
The rock band Breaking Benjamin has recently enhanced their return to the music scene by giving fans previews of their upcoming album “Ember.”
“Ember” is not scheduled to be released until this coming April, but Breaking Benjamin has been releasing new singles and music videos from the album since January. Although only knowing some of the band’s older and more popular songs, such as “Give Me A Sign” and “Dear Agony,” I was intrigued to see how the band had developed from then to now.
The first video I listened to was an unofficial lyric video for the song “Red Cold River.” Within the first twenty seconds, I found myself captivated by the sound. The atmosphere of the song is haunting and dark, beginning with a simple minor guitar riff and quiet vocals.
This lowkey opening quickly transforms into a song that features a rougher guitar sound with grating vocals. The frontman, Benjamin Burnley, aggressively screams the word “run” here, heightening the song’s feeling of desperation before launching into the chorus.
After one listen, I was so entranced that I played o it on repeat until the music video came out. The video was not something I would have expected. It involves a missing child, performance shots and the implementation of witchcraft all in one. The narrative was intriguing and aligned almost perfectly with the song overall.
I was especially moved by the dialogue at the beginning, which showed a father whose child had gone missing. The actor states, in a voice roughened by misery, that “She’s gone, taken from me. This world is cold without love. I will fix this, I’ll make this right.” The visuals towards the conclusion of the video were also poignantly beautiful, and they lent more insight to the song’s lyrics.
The next single off of “Ember” is “Feed the Wolf” and the audio was uploaded on the band’s official VEVO channel. After listening to the song, I was almost comforted by how the band has not seemed to stray from their original sound. Unlike “Red Cold River,” “Feed the Wolf” begins with a harsh guitar riff that is perpetuated for the next few minutes. Burnley also masterfully switches between clean and rough vocals throughout the entirety of the song.
“Feed the Wolf” does not provide any reprieve from the powerful riffs and vocal screams, but is made unique by the spoken interlude in the bridge. This section of the song echoes with the words “It is no longer a human, it is a beast…” and this idea extends into a brief monologue. Although Breaking Benjamin has stayed consistent with their style throughout the years, they possess the art of always providing something new, like this interlude, for audiences to relish in.
The dark themes and tones of “Ember” are shown even more clearly with the band’s recent release of their tracklist. The potential tracklist includes songs with names like “Tourniquet,” “Psycho,” and “Save Yourself,” which hint at bleak imagery and allude to a distorted form of healing.
With the poetic lyrics, epic harmonies and chilling concepts, I am definitely excited for the release of “Ember.” Even though I am changing every day, these album teasers from a band I have listened to since middle school have shown me that some things will still stay the same.
