Phobia (Breaking Benjamin album)

Phobia is the third studio album by American rock band Breaking Benjamin. It was recorded at The Barbershop Studios in Hopatcong, New Jersey, and released on August 8, 2006, through Hollywood Records.

Overview

Phobia was released on August 8, 2006, and quickly sold out at major retail chains such as Best Buy and Target. The album sold 131,000 copies in its first week, which made it the fastest selling and highest charting Breaking Benjamin album (until 2015's Dark Before Dawn), hitting number two on the US Billboard 200. This is the first studio album Chad Szeliga recorded with the band. The intro track features the sound effects of an airport, namely a flight attendant announcing standard safety procedures and the sound of an airplane making its ascent, alluding to Benjamin Burnley's fear of flying, hence the inspiration for the album name, Phobia.

The album re-entered the US Billboard 200 at number 38 on May 5, 2007, with its reissue. The album was certified platinum by the RIAA, gold by the RMNZ and silver by the BPI, making it their most successful album in terms of sales internationally.

Reception

Phobia received generally mixed reviews. Corey Apar of AllMusic called the album "nothing if not consistent" with their past material, concluding "Phobia will not win over any skeptics still holding out on the band, but for those already happily settled in the Benjamin camp, it makes for another satisfying listen." Simon K. of Sputnik Music was more critical, stating "There are a couple of songs on here that are easily forgettable and lack any real substance from the vocal side of things, and because the music behind it is keeping vocals in mind, the song suffers because of it," though also felt that "[...] it’s still a very enjoyable album." Entertainment Weekly criticized the disc's dark tone, saying almost every song was "[...] a cry in the darkness of a cruel world," but praised its "[...] expansive choruses and epic riffs".

Track listing

¹The CD released with the Phobia Collectors Edition DVD also includes this track.

²This track is not listed on the album's back insert. When played, it appears as track 14, making "So Cold" track 15 and "Rain" track 16.

Collectors edition DVD

This DVD was released in April 2007 as part of the Phobia Collectors Edition CD and DVD package; it features the band's entire February 11, 2007 concert at Stabler Arena in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania.

Song information

• "The Diary of Jane" is a hidden track (number 124) on the Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit roller coaster at Universal Studios Florida.
• "The Diary of Jane" was the fastest added song ever in Hollywood Records' history, and was featured in the video games NASCAR 07, Fortnite Festival, Rock Band and Rock Band 2, in the film Step Up 2: The Streets, and in the Portuguese telenovela Vingança.
• "You" was played live for the first time during an all acoustic set at Concert for a Cause IV in April 2006, while the band was still in the recording process. In an interview, Burnley revealed that he had mistakenly forgotten the second verse of the song during the set.
• "Topless" was written and performed before the band had even released their debut album Saturate, in 1998 when the band first formed and was originally called "Top of the World".
• "The Diary of Jane", and "Breath" were covered by the classical cover quartet tribute band Vitamin String Quartet, and the covers of those songs appear on the albums Strung Out – the String Quartet Tribute and Hard Rock Hits, Vol. 4.
• According to lead singer Benjamin Burnley on the Phobia DVD, the track "Evil Angel" was one of the first songs he wrote for Phobia.
• The single "Until the End" is featured on Guitar Hero 5 as well as their other hit singles, "Sooner or Later" from We Are Not Alone and "Give Me a Sign" from Dear Agony as downloadable content in the game.

Personnel

Credits adapted from album's liner notes.

Breaking Benjamin

• Benjamin Burnley – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, piano (track 14)
• Aaron Fink – lead guitar
• Mark James Klepaski – bass
• Chad Szeliga – drums, percussion

Additional musicians

• Sebastian Davin (of Dropping Daylight) – piano (tracks 7, and 12) and backing vocals (tracks 7, 12 and 14)
• David Eggar – cello (track 14)
• Scott Treibitz – cello arrangement (track 14)

Management

• Jason Jordan – A&R
• Larry Mazer and Tamra Feldman – management for Entertainment Services
• Nick Ferrara – legal for Serling Rooks
• Andy Somers – booking agent for The Agency Group
• Lic Wheeler – marketing

Production

• David Bendeth – producer, digital editing, mixing (tracks 1, 13, and 14)
• Arranged by Breaking Benjamin and David Bendeth
• Dan Korneff, John Bender – engineering, digital editing
• Kato Khandwala – digital editing
• Mark Rinaldi, Austin Briggs – assistant engineers
• Ben Grosse – mixing (tracks 3–11)
• Paul Pavao – assistant mixing (tracks 3–11)
• Chris Lord-Alge – mixing (track 2)
• Keith Armstrong and Dim-E – assistant mixing (track 2)
• Ted Jensen – mastering

Artwork

• T42design – art direction and design
• Kamil Vojnar – cover artwork at Getty Images
• Phil Mucci, Prem Prakash Sahu, Dada Jayela – photography

Chart positions

Weekly charts

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Chart (2006)	Peak position

Singles

Year	Song	Chart	Peak position
2006	"The Diary of Jane"	Billboard Hot 100	50
		Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	2
		Alternative Songs	4
		Billboard Pop 100	46
		Hot Digital Songs	34
2007	"Breath"	Billboard Hot 100	84
		Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	1 (seven weeks)
		Alternative Songs	3
	"Until the End"	Billboard Hot 100	122
		Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	6
		Alternative Songs	21

Year-end charts

Chart (2006)	Position
US Billboard 200	171
Chart (2007)	Position
US Billboard 200	127

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format
United Kingdom	August 7, 2006	Hollywood	Template:Flatlist
United States	August 8, 2006
Australia	October 7, 2006
United States	April 17, 2007 (Collectors Edition)