Exclusives
[Interview] Ben Burnley Talks Breaking Benjamin!
On June 23rd, hard rock band Breaking Benjamin returns after a six year hiatus with their new album Dark Before Dawn, which features 12 tracks, such as “Failure” and “Close To Heaven”. Sole original member Ben Burnley is now joined by Keith Wallen (Adelita’s Way), guitarist Jasen Rauch (Red), drummer Shaun Foist (Picture Me Broken), and bassist Aaron Bruch.
We managed to catch up with Ben Burnley for a few minutes of his time to answer a few of our questions, which tackle the new album, Burley’s love of FPS games, and which horror director he’d love to direct a Breaking Benjamin music video! Check out the interview below.
Make sure to pre-order your copy of Dark Before Dawn via iTunes.
It’s been six years since ‘Dear Agony’. What have those six years done for the band?
The band reformed only in the past year or so.
The name of the new album is ‘Dark Before Dawn’, which hearkens to the famous proverb, “It’s always darkest before the dawn.” That hints to me that this album will be a truly dark and heavy, emotionally as well as musically, album, but that there will be a sense of hope, a sense of safety if we just wait a little longer. Would you say there’s some merit to this theory?
Yes – but at the same time I like for people to listen to the album and draw their own conclusions.
With an almost all new lineup, what kinds of freedoms and what challenges were there when writing and recording ‘Dark Before Dawn’?
I have always been the primary songwriter in breaking benjamin.. The songwriting process for me is the same it has always been there are no changes to bands sound or recording process.
You released “Failure” as the first single from ‘Dark Before Dawn’. What about this song made you decide that it’s the first music that people should hear after your hiatus?
We all thought “Failure” was a good choice because it showcases that the bands talents and the sound is the same it has always been.
Changing topics a bit, I hear that you’re a big fan of first person shooter video games? Do you play the horror ones at all, such as ‘Left 4 Dead’ or ‘Killing Floor’?
I really enjoyed ‘Left 4 Dead’ and another next-gen title called ‘Dying Light’.
Breaking Benjamin’s music has been featured in horror movies such as ‘Wrong Turn’ and ‘Grave Encounters 2’. What do you think it is about your music that lends it self to horror films?
That it’s heavy and sometimes dark.
If you could get any horror director to write and direct a new music video for you, who would you get and why?
Wes Craven just because I love ‘Nightmare’.
Breaking Benjamin online:
Official Website
Facebook
Twitter
YouTube
Instagram
Tour dates:
5/13/15 – Stage AE Indoor – Pittsburgh, PA
5/15/15 – Rock on the Range @ Crew Stadium – Columbus, OH
5/16/15 – WMMR BBQ @ Susquehanna Bank Center – Camden, NJ
5/17/15 – Wellmont Theater – Montclair, NJ
5/19/15 – Orbit Room – Grand Rapids, MI
5/20/15 – Egyptian Room – Indianapolis, IN
5/22/15 – 7 Flags Event Center – Des Moines, IA
5/23/15 – Pointfest @ Hollywood Casino Ampitheatre – St. Louis, MO
5/24/15 – Rocklahoma – Pryor, OK
5/26/15 – Lonestar Amphitheatre – Lubbock, TX
5/27/15 – Bell County Expo Center – Belton, TX
5/29/15 – Laredo Energy Arena – Laredo, TX
5/30/15 – 210 Kapones Live – San Antonio, TX
5/31/15 – BFD @ Gexa Energy Plaza – Dallas, TX
7/16/15 – Soaring Eagle Casino & Resort – Mt. Pleasant, MI
7/17/15 – Rock USA @ Ford Festival Park – Oshkosh, WI
7/18/15 – Rock Fest 2015 – Cadott, WI
A gnarly infection threatens to claw its way out of a moving camper in the first trailer for Shudder’s claustrophobic Hellcat.
The feature debut of writer/editor/director Brock Bodell, who previously edited the Fantasia title Ultrasound, makes its debut on Shudder on August 14.
In Hellcat, “Lena wakes up in a moving camper trailer with a horrifying wound. She’s warned by the driver that they have one hour to get to a doctor, or she’ll succumb to an unimaginably awful fate. As the pain sets in and reality begins to fray, who should really be afraid?”
Dakota Gorman (Natural Disasters) leads the cast that also includes Todd Terry (“Breaking Bad”), Liz Atwater (The Other People), Jordan Mullins (The Bikeriders), and James Austin Johnson (“Saturday Night Live”) in a voice role. Bodell also produces alongside Andrew Duensing and Nate Eggert.
Hellcat made its world premiere last summer at Fantasia. I wrote in my review, “Hellcat is a bit of a Trojan horror that defies easy classification, by design. Bodell’s sneaky debut feature is occasionally too sparse in its worldbuilding in its bid to preserve the mystery, but not enough to detract from the thrilling road thriller that transforms into a completely left-field type of horror we don’t get nearly enough of. The stripped-down tribute to a classic horror staple catches you off guard in more ways than one, marking Bodell as one to watch.”
In other words, there’s a lot more than meets the eye to Hellcat‘s simple infection setup, delivering plenty of surprises along its bumpy road of horrors.
Check out the trailer and poster below and add Hellcat to your watchlists asap.
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