BREAKING BENJAMIN's BENJAMIN BURNLEY: This Is 'The Longest We've Ever Gone Without Putting Out An Album'

During a recent appearance on "Whiplash", the KLOS radio show hosted by Full Metal Jackie, BREAKING BENJAMIN founder/frontman Benjamin Burnley was asked about the musical and thematic inspiration for the band's upcoming long-awaited follow-up to 2018's "Ember" album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Yeah, it's been the longest we've ever gone without putting out an album, but the strange thing is, I don't know if it's 'cause of the pandemic or not, but it doesn't seem like it's been that long, to me anyway, but it has been a long time. I think that a lot of that is just that we have, with every album that comes out, there's just another whole album's worth of stuff. We have a lot of songs in our catalog, so it's kind of like it gets to the point of, like, we're not gonna add any more to this just to add more to it. We need to keep true to what this catalog… When I am gone off the earth, and that's all that's left of me behind, is my offspring and music is what I've left behind, I want it to be really solid."

He continued: "I really wish I could tell you what inspires me because if I knew that, I would like really try to break it down and invoke it whenever I wanted to, control it, but I don't know. It's just compulsion, to be inspired. It's just, like, 'Oh, I have this idea,' I have no idea where it came from, but I have this idea. I pull out my phone and then I record it and then I go back and I listen to it and I keep stacking and stacking and stacking on to it until it's something. And that's just kind of how I work. Before I would just grab my phone. I used to have all these little Mead notepads — you know those little ones, little mini ones, little Mead notepads. I have like a hundred of those — probably more — I used to have them in every single pocket of my jacket and my pants and a little silver mini cassette tape recorder thing. So this is before the smartphone. I don't do that anymore; I use my phone. So it's always been that process, to me, to just have something handy, something I could… I haven't written in a really long time, I mean with a pen, like wrote something down. I can't even remember the last time I wrote something down with a pen. So I use my phone and just tap it in there when it hits me, when it comes to me. It could be at the most weirdest time, most awkward time. I'll be talking to somebody and then I'll just stop and be, like, 'Sorry, I don't mean to be rude.' And I'll go in the bathroom and I'll record a little hum into the phone, and they hear me humming. They're, like, 'What the hell is up with this guy?' If I don't get it, I'm scared it'll be gone."

Regarding how spending so much time on road informs the songwriting process for new BREAKING BENJAMIN music, Benjamin said: "Well, with these guys in particular, with this lineup, the way that we write music is really natural together. Nothing is forced. There's never been — which is really weird, now that I'm thinking about it — there's never been a time when anybody has ever had to fight for an idea or push an idea or whatever. We kind of seem to think that they the same things suck, which is really important. You can like the same things, but it's more important to know what the same things that are bad are. And so I think touring — we get together, we have like a chemistry together not just as musicians but as friends and brothers. And when we're together playing, it definitely makes us more excited and motivated to record and make new music together than being apart and not playing together. So that aspect. But as far as where the creative stuff comes from, I've been doing this — thank God, and I'm very thankful for it — but I've been doing this for 22 years now, and I still, to this day, I can't tell anyone like where the songs like come from. Honestly, it's like a compulsion. Like when you're addicted to nicotine and you're like compelled to take a puff of a cigarette — it's like that. It's not like a plan. It's, like, 'I need to do this right now' thing."

He continued: "I'm very logically minded, kind of annoyingly so, actually. People find it annoying how logically minded I am. When I break things down, they're, like, 'Just go with it. You don't need to analyze everything' or whatever. But logically wise, I really wish I knew what influenced songwriting, what influenced it to happen, because then I would break that down logically and try to evoke it whenever I wanted to. I just can't, because I don't know where that compulsion comes from. So, to answer your question in the long way around, of course, I think just physically being together and playing music together sparks us to be… 'Cause when we're at home, we don't eat, sleep and breathe music. I'm a dad, most of us are dads, and so we're doing that — we're doing that stuff, the same thing that everybody else does. You kind of forget that you're a musician. You kind of forget that you're in a band. Sometimes I'll go into like a bar to get chicken wings, not to drink, mind you, but to get chicken wings, and somebody will start talking to me and I'm, like, 'Why are you talking [to me]?' And I'm, like, 'Oh, yeah, that thing,' because I'm living normal life, taking my kid to school. So being out on tour and being together as a band, it just reminds us all that we're in a band. [Laughs]"

In a separate interview with Josh Klinger of Chicago's Rock 95.5 radio station, Burnley was asked when fans can expect to hear BREAKING BENJAMIN's next studio album. He responded: "Well, we're working on it… It's the same thing as before. Back in the day, we were on a climb, we wanted things, and now we're all just so blessed to be here, period. And so there isn't necessarily, I wouldn't say like a climb, but there's definitely like a maintenance to stay where we are. But that being said, when there's a climb, you're really rushing yourself, you're hungry, you wanna get it. And we are still hungry and we do wanna get stuff too. But I think it's a little more relaxed now where we really only work on stuff when we're genuinely inspired to. And I feel like that's like — when I listen to the songs that are rushed from back in those days, when I listen to stuff now, I have more peace of mind listening to the newer stuff, because I know that nothing, not any part of it exists because it was rushed. It's all intentional. It's all done in a great setting and in a great mindset. And so that's kind of what takes a while, 'cause you can't like just take a pill and and be inspired. So that's what we're doing. And the record, we have the bones for the whole thing. And it's just a matter of when we're feeling it, 'cause that's going to be the best result anyway, is when you're feeling that, and so that when those moments come by, we work on it. And then when they go away, we don't."

Earlier in the month, BREAKING BENJAMIN released a new single, "Awaken". You can now check it out below.

BREAKING BENJAMIN's first new music since 2018 is being made available via the band's new global recordings agreement with BMG. The partnership with BMG also marks the group's first new label home since releasing their debut album over 20 years ago.

BREAKING BENJAMIN guitarist Jasen Rauch said about "Awaken": "Working on this song has been something new and exciting for all of us, I believe. We've been able to explore more of who we are traditionally while at the same time push boundaries and try things we haven't done in the past. Musically we've tried hard to stay true to what BREAKING BENJAMIN is, but offer a new take as well."

BREAKING BENJAMIN have consistently dominated the rock charts since their debut album in 2002, "Saturate". With 10 No. 1 hits, platinum albums, 8.5 billion streams globally, and a social following of over 6.5 million, they've solidified their global influence and a strong devoted fan base. Their last release, "Aurora", earned them their tenth No. 1 rock radio hit with "Far Away" (featuring Scooter Ward).

Their previous album, "Ember", debuted at number three on the Billboard 200, marking their fourth Top 5 debut. Their track record includes No. 1 hits like "Red Cold River" and "Torn In Two". Both "Aurora" and "Ember" achieved Top 10 status in multiple countries, and No. 1 spots across various charts, including Billboard's Top Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums, Top Hard Rock Albums and Top Digital Albums.

In a statement, the band said: "Working on these new songs has been a fresh experience for all of us. We've stayed true to the core of who BREAKING BENJAMIN is, but we've also pushed ourselves creatively, exploring new sounds and ideas that we haven't tapped into before. It's been about striking that balance between honoring our roots while introducing a fresh take on what our music can be."

Sean Heydorn, SVP, head of rock and Rise Records, said: "BREAKING BENJAMIN has consistently pushed the boundaries of rock music with their raw energy, powerful songwriting, and a connection with fans that's both intense and enduring. We're incredibly proud to support them as they embark on their next chapter with us at BMG."

Over the course of the group's career, BREAKING BENJAMIN have earned three platinum albums, two gold albums, one four-times-platinum single, one three-times-platinum single, one two-times-platinum single, three platinum singles, and six gold singles, making them one of rock music's most highly anticipated torch bearers of new music.

Photo credit: Dominique D'Costa (courtesy of BMG)