According to one of the administrators of the band’s official website, Breaking Benjamin are officially broken up. There will be a statement from drummer Chad Szeliga posted on the shallowbay.com website later today. Ben Burnley is currently on tour doing solo material, and has made clear in the past that he is the only official member of Breaking Benjamin, and that the rest of the band were just hired musicians. There had been plenty of rumors and mumblings that ‘Dear Agony’ was the band’s last album, which of course now are confirmed.
Update: Another admin is saying that they have not broken up.
Update 2: There likely won’t be any further information from any official source. At least not for a while.
Final Update: Confirmed.
Tunelab will explode in, 3….2…1…
ha
Fun while it lasted
Too bad, and to think that Aaron Fink and Mark Klepaski left a band at the time that was signed to a major record label (Lifer), to join some egomaniac. Granted they put out some great music, but somehow I don’t think the Ben wrote every scrap of music that those guys preformed. I mean if he had, I don’t think he would have needed the band members in the studio. Oh well, guess I can spend my money on other bands now.
Check out the Chicago based band…Denial Machine.net ….we’ll be happy to take any extra cash off your hands…
Does this mean he’ll call the side project Breaking Up Benjamin?
Well this is quite interesting and rather unexpected. I really enjoyed there music.
I guess thats what you do after you put an album as crappy as Dear Agony out…quit.
So funny you had to say it twice, eh?
Meh. It was on the forum first before this was up so I just transfered my statement.
you mean as good as their debut? seriously, i’m a freaking die hard breaking benjamin fan and dear agony is their 2nd best album.
My words…
Same here, I LOVED Dear Agony
Agreed, I really like ‘Dear Agony’
Its all hype for Ben’s solo tour……..
Maybe the “hired musicians” can go out and form a band with a different vocalist, maybe someone like Ryan Gibbs….just throwing it out there, could be an interesting mix.
A sad day for hard rock music.
Or nick coyle
It’s gonna be really funny if that Admin is wrong
soooooo depressing
saw it coming after all the drama/issues that making ‘Dear Agony’ brought about.
I am hoping that this is just for a couple of years off and then hopefully get back at it again.
Well, Ben and the rest of the guys were never close really, and Ben hated touring. This really shouldn’t be that much of a surprise.
this is extremely depressing news. i really loved breaking benjamin. oh well, if ben does his solo stuff, that could possibly just be breaking benjamin without the rest of the band. but i really really loved breaking benny.
I’m interested in hearing the official statement. I wouldn’t doubt that the current roster will dissolve, but I’m sure Ben will be busy writing future material.
This just proves how much of a douche Ben is. I’m not sure how you call guys that have been with you since the start of the band hired musicians.
LOL! the only member that was part of breaking benjamin from the beginning was ben himself. the band formed in 1998.aaron and mark both joined in 2001 and chad joined in 2005. he has every right to say that.
When you join a band before their debut album, I consider them original.
Whether he had a right to say it or not, to call people that you slept on the same bus with for years who helped you get to where you are now is still a jerk move.
Wow, I’m actually more surprised over these so-called “fans” reactions than this terrible news. This is without a doubt the worst music news I’ve ever come across…
seriously??? wow.
Worse than the deaths of Layne Staley and Kurt Cobain?
As far as band break-ups go, this is the worst for me.
There are a few bands out there that have stood the test of time and outlasted every trend to come along for decades. Some that have never let the fans down and continuously put out quality albums. You should listen to them and stop hopping on these flash in the pan bands like this. You’ll save yourself the disappointment.
“flash in the pan” or not, BB made some great music and nothing can change that
I figure Ben will find some new guys that he can get along with and carry on with the Breaking Benjamin name.
Then Chad, Aaron and Mark will find a vocalist and start a new band.
Chad is in another band called OurAfter so he’ll probably just stick with them.
oh well
Sad news.. hopefully whoever Ben taps for his next group can put out some solid sound (the man pours it out into his music I don’t see him quitting creating songs)… and whoever the bandmates link with can put out songs as catchy as Ben’s, and then we get two awesome groups out of this.
I don’t really care about this at all. Their first album which is widely considered their best is okay, ‘We Are Not Alone’ is a good album and their best IMO, but still not memorable enough where I cared about it after hearing it a few times. ‘Phobia’ was good but I all I remember about that is that all the songs sounded the same and ‘Dear Agony’ was pretty awful. The band also sucked when I saw them live so I won’t be holding back tears that they are no longer together.
This is not true. The band is not breaking up. Look here: http://www.shoutmouth.com/index.php/news/Breaking_Benjamin_Cancels_Shows,_But_is_Probably_Not_Breaking_Up
This is old, you retard.
I was just about to say the same thing. You’d think a fan would know that “Until The End” was off the last album.
check your sources: http://www.shallowbay.com/forum/showpost.php?p=506981&postcount=153
Why should anyone be shocked that this band is calling it quits? They are a fad. The trendy corporate rock radio bands of today have a very short shelf life. I knew they would not last very long, their music is not memorable – here today, gone tomorrow, they made some money and milked it, now the trend is over. On to the next one. They are not even the best band from their hometown, but that’s a different story. You people who follow bands like this should never be shocked or disappointed that they never last long.
Their albums sales and chart status would say otherwise.
I hate to break this to you but they were a fad. The fad is over. I would have more respect for this Ben guy if he said screw the trends I’m going to do my thing, and show some loyalty and integrity. Giving credibility to album sales and chart position says a lot about you and how shallow and fickle you could be. Who cares? American pop culture is a joke. The media force-feeds you this garbage, and you think it’s great. You are brainwashed. Anything of any value, originality or creativity is ignored by the media in America. We are a throw-away trash culture. Breaking Benjamin will be forgotten in a few years.
Oh hell…. another free-thinking, anti-corporation hippie that knows everything about everything… if you know so damn much, shouldn’t you be busy using that knowledge for something other than a comment board? That whole sunglasses/toboggan/goofy-looking goatee look is just a dumb fad, so please change it so that we don’t have to suffer every time we see your avatar. Gawd I hate know-it-all liberal hippie douches.
Its funny how TuneLab is listed as a confirmed source for Breaking Benjamin’s breake up on wikipedia.
Too bad about this.
Yeah…cuz you can trust a Wiki article edited by fans
Especially when the TuneLab article clearly stated “according to… [somebody else]” I made sure to include that, so we better not catch shit for it.
I think you’re clear…because you have the TSB guy admitting what happened. Its just wiki
never last long?? they were around for 12 years! and released 4 albums, an EP, and a live dvd. thats longer than most rock bands nowadays who have one or two hits and disappear forever
Everything you just said is wrong
What a goon…
That whole updated part reminds me of Independence day when they are talking about Area 51 and he says “Thats not entirely true”
Somebody needs to get their facts straight and make a statement.
LIFER REUNION!!! yes!
Update: The admin of Breaking Benjamin’s official website, shallowbay.com, has posted the following message:
This is all I will say about today’s drama. I will no longer be put in a position to confirm or deny rumors nor speculation regarding the band’s status nor its members. It’s odd how one single facebook blurp can snowball into an all out free for all. It goes to show how newsworthy this band’s break-up would would be and the fall out that would ensue. If the band wishes to speak their mind and share any details about anything they have always had an open invitation to chat with their fans. But it is up to them, not I, to field and answer the rumors. The band is on hiatus this summer with no new news related to future shows.
Source: http://www.shallowbay.com/forum/showpost.p…1&postcount=153
“The Band is NOT Breaking-Up” is the title of this announcement: http://www.shallowbay.com/forum/announcement.php?f=28
That seems pretty definite to me.
he said the same exact thing as before just took out the line “This is all I will say about today’s drama.”
I don’t care what the haters say about their music, I like it and would definitely be bummed if this were to hold true. In music, as is pretty much everything else in life, we are all entitled to our opinions.
NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!! This can’t be true, I don’t believe it. I’m a serious hardcore Breaking Benjamin fan. I am absolutely devastated by this news. I won’t oficially believe this until I hear further info. I’m shocked.
don’t believe it until it is OFFICIALLY announced without a denial. There are many things that could change from now until that time.
HMMMMMM owelss:(
As of today 2/1/2012 3pm There is nothing of BB webiste officially stating their demise so I believe nothing until that happens. This is an incredible band and while I did not like Dear Agony. Thier first two albums were the best and then the So Cold EP was amazing. Phobia had a few songs I like but not great. I did not like Dear Agony. My opinion. i still love this band and pray they continue on. Do not let this petty legal mess kill one of the best bands of the past twenty years!! Rock on double B !!!!!!
How about a signed affidavit from the band members? Will you take that over a label-controlled website run by a third party? http://tunelab.com/2011/08/03/breaking-benjamin-court-docs/