Disco de Breaking Benjamin: “Phobia: Collector's Edition [Edited]”

Well, just two years after "We Are Not Alone" pushed Breaking Benjamin into the mainstream, the boys are back with a new album, "Phobia." The third album in a band's career always seems to be a special one, and with Breaking Benjamin, this is no exception. Each album from these guys has been exceptional, and fellow fans will be happy to notice that the cycle hasn't been broken. Those who love the familiar Breaking Benajmin sound will love this album instantly, and those looking for a stronger effort than ever before, will be pleased as well.

I have to say that, honestly, I loved this album from the first listen. Beginning with an intro and the first single, "Diary Of Jane," fans of "We Are Not Alone" will be sucked in by the dark nature of the songs. Most of the material here is amongst Breaking Benjamin's heaviest, save for the obligatory ballad, "Here We Are." Frontman Ben Burley's voice has changed up a bit from the sound we are used to. Instead of mumbling or yelling the majority of the vocal parts, he has comfortably settled into a great singing voice, which makes these songs sound even better than much of what the band has recorded in the past. Old school fans will appreciate the inclusion of "Topless" here, but the true standout would have to be the dramatic "Dance With The Devil."

"Phobia" is an easy listen, in that it showcases a great band at their best and that each song is just as strong as the one before it. Honestly, there is not one bad thing I can say about this album. All fans of Breaking Benjamin, past, present or future, will find plenty to dig here. If you've followed the band this far and you don't like this album, there is simply something wrong with you.

This is a great album. After two great albums in "Saturate" and "We Are Not Alone" BB come back with another great album. Phobia starts off strong, then goes into a little slump but once you make it past there the album ends strong. Here is what I mean:

"The Diary of Jane" 10/10- Great song, when I heard this song first I knew this album would be good.

"Breath" 10/10- This song reminds me of something I'd sing to somebody who has turned me down 100 times.

"You" 8/10- pretty good tune, nothing too special, but good nonetheless

"Evil Angel" 8/10- Same as "You"

"Until The End" 10/10- This is a good song with a nice little guitar solo. Defently a highlight.

"Dance With The Devil" 7/10- see "You"

"Topless" 3/10- I can't get into this song. Love the riff though...

"Here We Are" 9/10- Good song.

"Unknown Soldier" 12/10- This song absolutly blew me away when I heard it. I love this song. It's my favorite of the album.

"Had Enough" 10/10- Great song. I love the chorus.

"You Fight Me" 10/10- Great way to end an album (excluding the "Outro").

Do not be afraid to buy Phobia. It is just as good, if not better, than BB other albums.

I just listened to this album earlier and I really like it. If you like their previous two albums then you will like this one too.

This is one of my favorite albums of all time...seriously. I listen to classic rock, hard rock, alternative, progressive, and some country. If you like anything around the genres of melodic hard rock or progressive rock, you'll probably love it too. It has a bit of a dark flavor to it (similar to Staind or Three Days Grace), but it moves along very smoothly without excessive gravel (there's a little here and there for effect...nicely done).

Now the DVD. First, it's very well done audiowise and visually. The camera work is nice with good editing. The audio is good. The musicianship is excellent. But, the singing is somewhat of a dissapointment. Sadly, much of it is a little flat. I would also complain just a bit about the lighting on the singer's (Ben's) face. In addition to hiding his eyes, it almost makes him seem unenthusiastic. But, for the encore songs, they made it better (as if they realized they messed up for the first 40 minutes). I'm a little suprised the group, specifically the main guy (I've heard he is very particular) was OK with releasing this with the flaws I mentioned. I still enjoyed the performance, but it could have been oh so good.

Breaking Benjamin, Phobia (Hollywood, 2006)

How do you follow up top-ten albums from 2002 and 2004? By making the best album of 2006.

I admit, I looked forward to the release of Braking Benjamin's third album, Phobia, with more than a little trepidation. What if they'd lost it? Even if they hadn't, could they produce another album without a single miss, an album as packed with excellent songs as was We Are Not Alone? Would the commercial success of the last album weigh on Ben Burnley's ability to produced the twisted, perverse gems sprinkled throughout the last two albums? Then came the first single, the awkwardly-titled "The Diary of Jane," and my optimism, at least, was restored; it had the same ambiguousness and under-the-covers twistedness of "So Cold," while boasting somewhat more accessible instrumentation. About a week before the album's actual release, the band's website started streaming tracks from it, and that was all she wrote-- Phobia was amazing.

Once again, the band have come up with an album where not a single track feels like filler. Sure, some are better than others, but there's nothing here that I skip over when the album goes into the CD player (as it does more often than any album released in 2006 except, arguably, Merzbow's Turmeric). The album continues on with the somewhat silly song titles, but the work that lies beneath the titles is pristine-- "Evil Angel," showcases vocalist/lyricist Burnley at what may be the most vulnerable we've ever seen him, while "Dance with the Devil" takes the old cliché and puts a new spin on it. "You" and "Breath" show that Burnley's personal life hasn't gotten any easier to stomach (and thank heaven for that; who wants to see Ben Burnley end up writing Aaron-Lewis-circa-Chapter-V standards?), while "Had Enough" shows that Burnley's spite hasn't stayed limited to his significant others.

But the true jewel here is "Unknown Soldier." So many bands would have taken the ideas around which this track is based and created a bland, boring piece of social-protest crap. (In point of fact, so many bands have in the past forty years I'm amazed anyone's even willing to attempt something like this any more.) Breaking Benjamin take it and make it new, treading much closer to the realms of Lucius Shepard's amazing short story "Delta Sly Honey" than to the saccharine bitterness of something like "One Tin Soldier." Listen to this song-- listen to it well-- and you will understand why it is that Breaking Benjamin are the most exciting band releasing music on a major label today. *****