Benjamin Jackson Burnley IV (born March 10, 1978) is an American musician and the founder and frontman of the rock band

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...

. As the sole constant and namesake of the group, Burnley has served as its principal songwriter, lead vocalist, and rhythm guitarist since its inception in 1999. Since signing with

Hollywood Records Hollywood Records is an American record label owned by the Disney Music Group which focuses on pop, rock, alternative, hip hop and country genres, also specializing in recordings for a more mature audience not suitable for the flagship Wal ...

in 2002, Burnley has composed six studio albums under the name Breaking Benjamin, three of which have reached platinum and two of which have reached gold in the United States. Burnley has also collaborated with acts such as Adam Gontier and

Red Red is the color at the long wavelength end of the visible spectrum of light, next to orange and opposite violet. It has a dominant wavelength of approximately 625–750 nanometres. It is a primary color in the RGB color model and a seconda ...

Early life and education

Burnley was born in

Atlantic City, New Jersey Atlantic City, sometimes referred to by its initials A.C., is a Jersey Shore seaside resort city (New Jersey), city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, Atlantic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Atlantic City comprises the second half of ...

, and grew up in

Ocean City, New Jersey Ocean City is a City (New Jersey), city in Cape May County, New Jersey, Cape May County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is the principal city of the Ocean City metropolitan statistical area, which encompasses all of Cape May County, and is ...

, before moving with his family at the age of 12 to Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania. At 16, after being home schooled, he passed the GED requirement.

Career

Breaking Benjamin

In 1998, Burnley and former lead guitarist Aaron Fink got together with Nick Hoover and Chris Lightcap and started the band

. Eventually, Burnley wanted to try something different and went out to California to try some new material. The other three members went on to form the band Strangers with Candy, later known as Lifer. They recruited old friend Mark Klepaski to play bass and he joined in, and shortly after, Hoover was asked to leave the band. In 1999, Burnley moved back to Pennsylvania, and started a band called "Plan 9" with drummer Jeremy Hummel. The band initially was a three-piece. The lineups consisted of Burnley on vocals and electric guitar, Jeremy on drums, and Jason Davoli on bass. Plan 9 would occasionally open for Lifer at home shows. During one show, Burnley said "Thank you, we're Breaking Benjamin," reclaiming the name from 1998. Later on, Klepaski left Lifer, and began playing bass for Breaking Benjamin. Lifer continued going through struggles, and months later, Aaron Fink sat in for a set with Benjamin. Finally, Fink left Lifer, and was offered a spot in Ben Burnley's band, and they became a four-piece.

Collaborations

Burnley has collaborated and performed with fellow alternative metal bands, including

Three Days Grace Three Days Grace is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in Asphodel–Norwood, Norwood, Ontario, in 1992 originally as Groundswell. Groundswell played in various local Norwood backyard parties and area establishments before disbanding in 1 ...

Evans Blue Evans blue may refer to: * Evans blue (dye) * Evans Blue, Canadian rock band {{disambiguation ...

, and Disturbed. He made a guest spot on a special remix of The Drama Club's single "Brand New Day." He also co-wrote the

hit song "

Shadows A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensiona ...

" and Madam Adam song "Forgotten". Burnley has collaborated with Three Days Grace singer Adam Gontier on a song titled "The End of the Day" (yet to be released).

Lyrics and vocal style

Burnley's lyrical content frequently and most recently consists of cryptic, angst-ridden themes that "waffle between being plaintive and aggressive." Burnley has the range of a dramatic tenor and occasionally utilizes

death growls The death growl, or simply growl, is an extended vocal technique usually employed in extreme styles of music, particularly in death metal and other extreme subgenres of heavy metal music. Sometimes death growl vocals are criticized for thei ...

and screams in his singing. ''

IGN ''IGN'' is an American video gaming and entertainment media website operated by IGN Entertainment Inc., a subsidiary of Ziff Davis, Inc. The company's headquarters is located in San Francisco's SoMa district and is headed by its former e ...

'' described him as having a "somewhat innocuous voice that is crystal clear... fluctuating between contemplative subjectivity and growling anger." Burnley uses baritone guitars and drop tunings to get a heavier sound in his music. (verified channel,

primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an Artifact (archaeology), artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was cre ...

Personal life

Burnley has several

phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected ...

s, a fact that inspired the title of Breaking Benjamin’s 2006 album ''

Phobia A phobia is an anxiety disorder, defined by an irrational, unrealistic, persistent and excessive fear of an object or situation. Phobias typically result in a rapid onset of fear and are usually present for more than six months. Those affected ...

''. ''Phobia''s cover, which depicts a winged man hovering above the ground, represents Burnley's

fear of flying Fear of flying is the fear of being on an aircraft, such as an airplane or helicopter, while it is in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromerhanophobia (although aero ...

, which has prevented Breaking Benjamin from touring outside the United States and Canada in the past. However in May 2016, he and his band members traveled by ferry ship to Europe and made their first musical tour outside of North America. Breaking Benjamin again toured Europe in 2017 successfully. Burnley also suffers from

hypochondria Hypochondriasis or hypochondria is a condition in which a person is excessively and unduly worried about having a serious illness. Hypochondria is an old concept whose meaning has repeatedly changed over its lifespan. It has been claimed that th ...

and a

fear of the dark Fear of the dark is a common fear or phobia among Toddler, toddlers, children and, to a varying degree, adults. A fear of the dark does not always concern darkness itself; it can also be a fear of possible or imagined dangers concealed by darknes ...

. He incorporates his phobias into his music on the album ''We Are Not Alone'' in the song "Break My Fall", in which a pilot is heard over the music saying, "Mayday, mayday. Request permission to land. I cannot control the plane. We are in danger of crashing." Burnley is an avid video gamer, and conceived of the idea for Breaking Benjamin to write and record the song " Blow Me Away" for the soundtrack to ''

Halo 2 ''Halo 2'' is a 2004 first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios for the Xbox console. ''Halo 2'' is the second installment in the ''Halo'' franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclai ...

''. The song " Polyamorous" is also featured on the games ''

Run Like Hell "Run Like Hell" is a song by the English progressive rock band Pink Floyd, written by David Gilmour and Roger Waters. It appears on their eleventh studio album '' The Wall'' (1979) and was released as a single in 1980, reaching #15 in the Canadian ...

'', '' WWE SmackDown! vs. Raw'' and '' WWE Day of Reckoning'' (along with their song "Firefly"). " The Diary of Jane" appears on '' NASCAR 07''. Burnley is a recovering alcoholic, admitting in an interview that he wanted to "drink himself to death." He says that he regrets ever drinking a drop of alcohol and suffers from

Wernicke–Korsakoff syndrome Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS), colloquially referred to as wet brain syndrome, is the combined presence of Wernicke encephalopathy (WE) and Korsakoff syndrome. Due to the close relationship between these two disorders, people with either ar ...

due to his past excessive drinking. '' Dear Agony'' was reported to be the first ever Breaking Benjamin record to be written by Burnley without the use of alcohol.

References

External links

Breaking Benjamin official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnley, Benjamin 1978 births 20th-century American singers 21st-century American singers Alternative metal guitarists American alternative rock guitarists American alternative rock singers American alternative rock musicians American heavy metal guitarists American heavy metal singers American lyricists American male guitarists Record producers from Pennsylvania American rock songwriters American tenors Breaking Benjamin members Heavy metal producers Living people Musicians from Atlantic City, New Jersey People from Ocean City, New Jersey People from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania Post-grunge musicians American rhythm guitarists People from Selinsgrove, Pennsylvania People with hypochondriasis Guitarists from Pennsylvania