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Saturate Breaking Benjamin Hollywood Records, 2002
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Reviewed by Vinnie Apicella
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Whatever happened to Three Doors Down? Did they lose their key or something? Or maybe it's Breaking Benjamin who intercepted them somewhere around the Mason/Dixon line, bound and gagged 'em at gunpoint and took their identity, not to mention their slant for choosing names that mean absolutely nothing to an assumedly well read general public. And the saturation begins. Okay, easy way out. Saturate is Breaking Benjamin's debut breakthrough and it's your slightly better than average, clean cut, mainstream Rock with some edgy guitars, plenty of hooks and more than enough Rob Thomas-like singing. At least, that's true once Gavin R. steps away for his frequent flier forays between Bush sessions, which seem hardly more the rule than exception. But to that end, who cares? Breaking Benjamin is a feel good success story overall. They're making an impact at Modern Rock radio with their pretty "Polyamorous" single and expect to hear another two or three before they're ready to climb back on Ulrich's shoulders for another studio jaunt. Saturate is a down to earth example of real Rock music without the excessive bantering of lifeless pity; where contractually bound band members flee the sanctity of home to start anew, and where shared views and simple harmonies are rewarded by record deals and immortalized legends like Nirvana and Tool still live on in the ambitions of others. The best tunes are the ones, of course, that aren't predictably drawn for hit radio or that sound exactly like the one that just finished playing. Plug in, "Wish I May," "Medicate," (I'll add in the aforementioned single simply because I haven't had time to get sick of it yet), "Next To Nothing," "Water," and the particularly soulful "No Games..." though it's draining all my strength to keep from getting Creed in there somewhere... oops, just did. Don't miss the doubling over effect of the riff-shifting, "Shallow Bay," the most intense-yet-complete song on the record... before they go and cover some old America tune or something for the blank add-on that does little else than tarnish the luster of the appropriate ending. | January 2003
Vinnie Apicella is a full time freelancer, freeloader and Columbia student where he's a Writing major and spends much of his time impersonating intellectual types with a better GPA than his. Future goals include: designing a Web site, buying a house, relearning 80s rock guitar, writing a book, finally getting paid from Billboard for the Earshot article, regaining a social life and opening a pub in the English countryside. |
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