Breaking Benjamin's second studio album is very different from their first one. The album is much heavier and more serious, but does still retain a few similarities to Saturate. We Are Not Alone is what got me to like this group back in late 2005 when I got it as a birthday present from a friend, and now six years later I am going to revisit it and review it officially. Also, since my last review was so lengthy I have reformed my style to be more straight to the point.
Title: We Are Not Alone
Year: 2004
Genre: Alternative Metal, Post Grunge
Artist(s): Breaking Benjamin
Copyright: © Hollywood Records 2004
Songs:
1. So Cold-
The first song on this album is definitely one of the heaviest and angry of the album. The song is written about an extremely cold individual who the singer wishes who would change their ways. This is the the main single of the album and displays how well the band can play heavy metal. 5 out of 5 stars.
2. Simple Design-
This song is very happy sounding, yet serious. The song is written about the singer being out of a slightly troubled relationship that his girlfriend called off. He is saying that he will be a better boyfriend when the time comes. Truly an interesting combination of Alternative, Grunge, and Metal that creates a very nice sound with interesting embellishments from the instruments. 5 out of 5 stars.
3. Follow-
This song is neither happy nor angry, it's more like desperation crawling at hope. Definitely a more alternative metal piece it is heavy but not as heavy as So Cold. The lyrics are vague (what a surprise), but from what I can tell he is hoping to become close a girl but she doesn't want to acknowledge he exists. Definitely an enjoyable song with a healthy amount of alterations. 5 out of 5 stars.
4. Firefly-
This song somehow manages to sound happy yet angry at the same time. The lyrics are vague, but from what I can gather the song is written about the singer having a friend who is using him, though the singer catches the friend in the act but continues to do favors for the friend, eventually the singer looses interest because the friend is copying him too much and leaves him behind (somewhat reminiscent of Wish I May from Saturate) This one is fun to sing along too, the only part of the song that doesn't really fit in is when Ben uses the F word because it seems really rushed and goes against the tempo. 4 out of 5 stars.
5. Break My Fall-
Heavy and beautiful with a down tempo feel, this song was written about the singer's fear of flying and him asking for help in conquering that fear. The song is very enjoyable and has an interesting section towards the end where you can hear a pilot saying his plane is crashing. 5 out of 5 stars.
6. Forget It-
This song is even more beautiful and down temp than the previous song, in fact it is a ballad like Forever except slightly faster paced. The lyrics are about the singer talking to an ex-girlfriend and asking her to forget about something very embarrassing to him and for them to stop fighting, seeing as the song ends on a happy note with the singer saying "I can live forever here" he probably gets his wish granted. Breaking Benjamin wrote this song with help from Billy Corgan of The Smashing Pumpkins, and it shows in how relaxing and pleasant to the ear it is. 5 out of 5 stars.
7. Sooner or Later-
This is the second single on the album, this is the song that got me into Breaking Benjamin (a person's first break up is always the hardest). Far from your ordinary breakup song, the music conveys very well the emotions of frustration, betrayal, and tired of breaking up. Towards the end of the song we get to hear Ben's extra high singing, which is just beautiful. 5 out of 5 stars.
8. Breakdown-
This song is serious, angry, yet fun all at the same time. We open with an interesting piano setting the mood nicely for the frustrated lyrics. The song is again somewhat vague as the only thing I can gather is that he intends to hire a prostitute, but he stops from going through with it because he feels cripplingly guilty about hiring her. This would explain the dry and heavy sound of the guitars. An enjoyable song with creepy imagery behind it. 5 out of 5 stars.
9. Away-
The emotions in this song are fact telling mixed with a sense of worried longing in the choruses. The lyrics tell of a lover arguing with the singer where it becomes so bad that she is at risk of being taken away to what I am assuming is a mental hospital. This song is very heavy yet light, an interesting combination but the song eventually drags on. 3 out of 5 stars.
10. Believe-
The angriest and heaviest song on the album, it is about the singer arguing with someone he really doesn't like and that he is forced to choose sides and "wrong rights." This song opens up a very aggressive and deep sounding bass intro that sets the mood perfectly for the song, Ben switches a lot between his screaming vocals and his clean vocals to show just how good he at both singing styles (You can actually understand the screaming vocals.) There is a little breakdown, then it builds back up
to the verse and closes on an amazing climax. A very intense song that is fun to sing along with (provided you don't throw out your voice.) 5 out of 5 stars.
11. Rain-
The most low key and beautiful ballad on the album, it is all acoustic instruments along with a string quartet and rain sound effects. The song is written about the lead singer staying in a relationship just so he won't have to be alone (A sad thing, but it does happen to people who hate being alone). The song is low key and lets off to a soft climax at the end. A very enjoyable piece. 5 out of 5 stars.
Audio Mixing:
The mixing on this album is very well done, while at a first listen you may not think so because of how dry the instruments sound sometimes. They do this on purpose. The point of making the sound different on each song is to give the song new life and better reflect the emotions the band is giving out in their music. On the down side the bass is hard to hear in some songs, and the drums are often put out in the back burner, but in some songs the drums and bass really come full forwards along with the singing. They also do things like putting some instruments in the right or left speaker, and add sound effects like they did in Rain and Break my Fall (which is common in Rock bands ever since the Beatles did back in the 60s.) Overall this album is more compressed than Saturate, but it is done very effectively.
The Singing:
The singing is beautiful, with Ben's voice being a bit easier to hear than the previous album. Ben's voice is not the same but is still good, for instance the scream has more depth to it now. The singing is also well balanced between the clean and screaming vocals (even in Believe), and the backup singers don't overpower the main voice. I especially like that we get to hear Ben's higher register at the end of Sooner or Later.
Instrumentation:
One word: complex. The guitars play separate melodies while the bass plays it's own supporting melodies, and the drums add interesting and well paced rhythm. The sound also varies by song, yet the songs still transfer very well to the next one. Unlike Saturate, the guitar solos were put in together with the singing, meaning technically there are very few solos in the album. Also, the playing of each instrument perfectly captures the emotions of the lyrics.
What I didn't like:
My only real complaints are the that audio mixing is dry on some songs, which works well conceptually but not everyone can pick up on that, especially on their first listen through. Plus the swearing didn't work as well it did in the last album. The lyrics were vague again, though not as bad as in Saturate. Also, Away tended to be a tad repetitive. Lastly, the sense of fun that Saturate had was traded in for a more serious feel.
What I did like:
I liked the overall sound of the album with the instruments, singing, mixing, and effects they used. It is an album with many colors to it (variety and versatility are important aspects of any musician.) I also like that some of the lyrics bring up good points about relationships and friendships and how they can end easily. I think in a way they pay homage to their influences of Tool by making songs that are complex but also considered catchy by many people.
Who would enjoy this album:
Fans of numerous Metal, Rock, and Alternative styles.
Overall:
This album is a far cry from Saturate, with a more somber and serious air to it. In fact this change alienated a fair number of their early fans. However, they pull off the change successfully and not obnoxiously like some other artists do when they radically change their style. Also, looking back at it now I am glad to say it is a solid rock album. This album is not their best work, but it is definitely not their worst. It is worth checking out for some very interesting and enjoyable songs.
Rating: ****
So Cold Music Video:
Sooner or Later Music Video:
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