Dear Agony

Breaking Benjamin | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 29, 2009)
• Original Release Date: 2009
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Hollywood Records
• ASIN: B002KVSJ64
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (113 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,374 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

2009 release from the American Alt-Rock band. Features the single 'I WIll Not Bow'. Breaking Benjamin has toured with the cream of the Rock crop: Nickelback, Korn, Evanescence, Three Days Grace, Seether and Three Doors Down.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I won't even let you fall behind, October 18, 2009

By 

Brett Corkins (Hutchinson, KS) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dear Agony (Audio CD)

I keep waiting to hear a CD from Breaking Benjamin that I don't completely enjoy but I've yet to be let down. Even now, with Dear Agony, I find myself liking them even more than before.

I'll go ahead and get the one kind of neutral point of this CD out of the way--it's more of the same. Nothing we haven't really heard before. BUT! Breaking Benjamin is so good at what they do that I don't find myself caring about that. In fact, that's actually what I wanted. I wanted a hard rocking CD with a few 'ballads' strewn about. After a few lackluster CDs from some of my favorite bands recently, BB bring me the dose of hard rock I've been yearning for for oh so long.

Dear Agony follows closely in the footsteps of its predecessor, Phobia. Dealing moreso with pain than before, is the thing that makes Dear Agony a bit better even than Phobia though. The entire CD moves swiftly, too swiftly in fact. With only 11 tracks they make good with every song so we don't have to skip any single track. Sure, it'll take a few listens to begin to enjoy each and every song but once you do you'll keep coming back for more time and again.

Dear Agony rocks hard. Plain and simple. Every aspect of this CD is just amazing. From the headbang-worthy riffs to the parts where you find yourself screaming right along with Ben without even realizing it, I'm hardpressed to find a downside. The thing, as I stated earlier, that makes Dear Agony so good is the lyrics. I think on Phobia is where Ben really started getting good at writing songs, here he shows that even more. From his 'You can't break me' anthems to his beautiful love song-esque ballads, he's really spread his wings on this record. Another thing that seems to be only getting better is his voice. When he screams he'll evoke more emotion in you than ever before yet when he calms things down and belts out the vocals that truly soar he'll raise goosebumps.

Favorites include the lead single I Will Not Bow, the powerful Crawl, the tender Give Me A Sign, the emotionally intense Anthem of the Angels, title track Dear Agony, and the anthemic Into The Nothing. From beginning to end there's no low point to this CD. Highly recommended.

36 of 45 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another 5* Album, September 29, 2009

By 

B. Sizemore (Baltimore, MD) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dear Agony (Audio CD)

Their last album wasn't their best, but it was full of radio friendly songs that stations could play and build the exposure for the band. That's great for these guys, as they truly deserve every ounce of fame they achieve. But for this album, you can really tell they have matured lyrically and musically from their previous albums. Not one song on this album is similar to another, as was the case on previous albums. There's a great deal of variety in all the songs and you can tell this band is becoming something great.

1) Fade Away (9/10) - This song is a GREAT way to start off the album. I can almost guarantee that this song will be a single.

2) I Will Not Bow (9/10) - This song is the first single off the album, and it really shows how the band has matured in one song. From the catchy riff, to the scream of "Fall" throughout the song, to the highs and lows throughout the chorus and verses, you can really see how Ben is being more confident in his voice.

3) Crawl (9/10) - This song really stood out to me the first time I heard it due to the growls in the chorus. It's such a dark song, and could be one of my favorites of the record.

4) Give Me A Sign (10/10) - I've been a Breaking Benjamin fan since the "Saturate" days, and I've honestly never liked one of their slow songs that much - but this song is different. The first time I heard this song, I was in the car with my girlfriend and we couldn't help but smile at this song. It shows a different side to a love song, and many people I've talked to have said this is their favorite song on the album.

5) Hopeless (8/10) - Again, a song with some growling. This song is really heavy and shows the new direction that I believe the band is going. Heavy music, Heavy lyrics, Growls = sweeeet!

6) What Lies Beneathe (6/10) - Not a song that I really liked from the start, but has grown on me since that first listening. I just really don't think it's that catchy.

7) Anthem of the Angels (7/10) - Once again, not that catchy of a song, but it's something different from the band.

8) Lights Out (9/10) - Very catchy guitars with a simple beat throughout. Not to mention the anger in Ben's voice you can hear at certain points.

9) Dear Agony (8/10) - The album's title track, of course. Another song that is going to take some listening to before I learn to love it.

10) Into The Nothing (9/10) - I love how this song is structured and the chorus is one of my favorites from the band. It sounds like a very Saturate-esque type of song also.

11) Without You (8/10) - Not a slow song, but a "love song" as I like to put it. This one is quite upbeat, which is why I like it. Overall, it's a great way to end the album.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Good, but not their best, September 29, 2009

By 

Jonathan T. Sweet (CT, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Dear Agony (MP3 Download)

It would not be unreasonable to call Breaking Benjamin my favorite band. I've certainly been looking forward to Dear Agony for a while now. "I will not bow" is certainly a great track. As other users have stated, it's a different album, a little more sedate than Phobia or Saturate. I'm not disappointed at all, but it didn't blow me away :-)