BREAKING BENJAMIN Conquered TRUMP TAJ MAHAL ARENA with SOLD OUT Dark Before Dawn show
ATLANTIC CITY, NJ — Breaking Benjamin Filled The Trump Taj Mahal Mark Etess Arena to capacity on August 29th with a SOLD OUT show under the brightly shining full moon. Longtime Fans & New Fans piled into the arena which filled rather quickly, with fans ready to hear the music of a band they’d fallen in love with as long as fourteen years ago when Breaking Benjamin released their debut self-titled EP. We have now seen Breaking Benjamin in every scenario from Acoustic Shows, to Small Club Shows, to Playing Festivals, to now back to where they belong playing Huge Arenas.
A deafening roar arose from the sea of people as “So Cold” off of their 2004 album, We Are Not Alone, filled the room. Shaun Foist entering the stage first to take his place at his Custom Pearl Drum kit, followed by Jasen Rauch on lead guitar, Keith Wallen on backing vocals and rhythm guitar, Aaron Bruch on Bass and backing vocals, and of course the frontman and lead vocalist Benjamin Burnley. The Arena then Erupting in excitement as the first lyric of “So Cold” exited Burnley’s mouth beginning the night of excitement and incredible musicianship. Burnley still remains one of the most talented, unique and consistent vocalists in alternative metal and hard rock. The energy and talent filling the stage during their performance is electrifying, the ferocity Ben puts behind his performance is amazing. The intensity of the instrumental elements flowing perfectly with Ben’s one of kind voice.
Breaking Benjamin performed “Failure,” and “Angels Fall,” which are two of the singles off of their newest album, Dark Before Dawn, which was released on June 23rd of this year. Benjamin Burnley has kept Breaking Benjamin’s sound and style going strong on this new record if not improving it with the new members contributions. Breaking Benjamin has the best live sound they have ever had in their entire career, all of the backing vocals from Aaron & Keith making for a pleasant blend with Ben’s lead vocals. Their sound only improving more and more each time we have seen them live. I have never seen a more devoted fan base then the fan base Breaking Benjamin has developed over many years also known as Benheads, Throughout the entire night the fans were very interactive and into every song. At times during the night the crowd was singing the lyrics back to Ben louder then I have ever heard at any show, shaking the Arena. Not one moment throughout the show was anyone standing still or not singing along even during the new songs that were performed, every fan in attendance knew every word.
Breaking Benjamin’s 20 song setlist was a mix of songs from classic Breaking Ben songs to their new music. There wasn’t a single weakness in the song list – high energy, high quality songs, one after the other. They even surprised the fans by adding in Queen’s song, “Who Wants to Live Forever,” which was sung by rhythm guitarist Keith Wallen. They also did “Ænema” by Tool, which was sung by bassist Aaron Bruch. Burnley added that Tool had been one of the biggest influences on the band and without them Breaking Benjamin would not have been the band that they are today.
The band finished the night off with its famous hit “Diary of Jane,” which had all fans and security singing along to every word. As they exited the stage leaving the fans hungry for more and the crowd exploding into a roaring applause for Breaking Benjamin. I would definitely recommend you going out and seeing Breaking Benjamin’s live shows rather it be an electric show or acoustic show, you are guaranteed to have your mind blown! In sum, this supercharged evening was definitely proof that Breaking Benjamin is back and are better than ever! The band is continuing to tour the U.S. and Canada on their Dark Before Dawn tour, with dates from now until October 3rd. The band will then join Shinedown on tour with select dates from October 16th through November 24th.
