Breaking Benjamin isn’t a band like the Rolling Stones or AC/DC, who have both been around for more than 50 years. But, believe it or not, the post-grunge genre is about 30 years old at this point, and Breaking Benjamin has been together since the late-1990s, so they’re also coming up on their 30th anniversary in a few years.
When a band has been around for as long as Breaking Benjamin has, it’s obvious that their sound has to evolve, at least a little bit. While the post-grunge style has remained pretty consistent over the years, the bands in the genre have changed and explored new sounds and aesthetics for their music.
Breaking Benjamin, Then and Now
The beauty of Breaking Benjamin is that the band’s major evolution really happened early in their career, and then, they kind of stuck with the sound that fans grew to know and love. Listening to the band’s catalog from their , Breaking Benjamin’s sound really evolved, going from a more grungy and raw sound to a polished, radio-friendly post-grunge style that would fit alongside Shinedown and Seether. Then, from 2006 to now, they have stuck to a similar sound.
As the , “While their early albums had a heavier, alternative rock sound, the band has gradually incorporated elements of post-grunge, nu-metal, and even symphonic rock into their music. This evolution has allowed the band to explore new sonic territories and appeal to a wider audience.”
In 2015, Breaking Benjamin lead vocalist Benjamin Burnley talked about how he didn’t want to change the band’s sound too much. Speaking with the , he said that he wasn’t “interested in changing the stable sound of the band or my writing process, or anything like that at all,” And that he hates it “when bands change their sound that’s become beloved to me, so I don’t want to do that with my own band.”
What’s interesting is that Burnley started out in a different band called Breaking Benjamin that he said didn’t sound anything like the current band. He tells the Music Times they they played Weezer and Beatles covers and softer music. But, he kept the name when he created his new, much heavier band.
So, Breaking Benjamin is really a band that has that happy medium between not evolving at all and evolving too much. Today, they’re still one of the most successful bands in the post-grunge genre, so it’s working for them.
