Breaking Benjamin
Phobia

THE REVIEW

Good evening everyone, this is my first review on Debaser. I don’t want to review particularly famous bands (in Italy) like 12 Stones and Rise Against, even though fortunately they have certainly more visibility in this country. In my opinion, one of the best bands, and therefore, why not start with Breaking Benjamin.

A band that no one or very few people know here, and I believe also on this site unfortunately… the album starts with "Intro" which they could have easily skipped, a minute of noises and things that I find hard to describe. The real album opens with the beautiful "The Diary of Jane," a nice catchy chorus with pretty good hints of screaming, although, it must be said, this band has the habit of putting random screams; I’m not saying they’re bad, quite the contrary, but sometimes they just seem out of place. Oh right, the song sticks in your head.

It continues strong with "Breath," one of the most beautiful songs by Breaking Benjamin and in my opinion the best of the album. The thing I appreciate the most about this song is definitely the chorus and the bass, with Ben’s beautiful and perfect voice sweet in the slower parts and fierce in the more dynamic ones. "You" is the song you don’t expect from Breaking simply because it's slow—there are no screams and none of that typical Breaking Benjamin anger. The song somewhat mirrors the structure of the previous one, slow and then fast in the chorus, repeating, although it's not even comparable to "Breath" in terms of beauty, and "Evil Angel" has a drummer and guitar work that I particularly appreciated and in one word, they rock. "Until The End" has a very catchy chorus, one of those classic songs suitable for radio if not for some random screams here and there.

We arrive at "Dance With The Devil," here we're at the highest peaks of the album, this song is pure aggression and adrenaline. The intro of this song seems to suggest something entirely different, but as it progresses, it gains speed and is the most beautiful song alongside "Breath." Oh right, the chorus is really powerful, a track that alone raises the overall level of the album. After a spectacular track, we get to "Topless," a rather predictable and monotonous piece. I didn’t understand the point of this song—you expect a heavy track, but the voice is lower than usual and doesn't deliver; possibly the worst on the album, there’s definitely better. “Here We Are” starts like a ballad and transforms along the way but doesn’t catch at all.

“Unknown Soldier” has nice lyrics but these three tracks represent the most anonymous part of the CD and definitely don’t leave a mark, “Had Enough” is quite fierce, with convincing lyrics, but we’re far from tracks like "Dance With The Devil". However, I could’ve expected that. “You Fight Me” is a suitable song for the end of a very appreciable album—oh wait, there’s also “Outro”, a kind of intro more lovely than at the start but saying it’s pointless is an understatement.

“Phobia” proves to be a pleasant album that can be summarized in speed, melody, aggressiveness, and lots of emotions.

Best pieces: "The Diary of Jane," "Breath," and "Dance With The Devil." I recommend giving it a listen because it’s really worth it.