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 and in Europe on November 21, 2007.

Phobia
Studio album by Breaking Benjamin
Released	August 8, 2006
Recorded	March–May 2006
Studio	The Barbershop Studios, Hopatcong, New Jersey
Genre	Alternative metal post-grunge hard rock[1]
Length	43:30
Label	Hollywood
Producer	David Bendeth
Breaking Benjamin chronology
We Are Not Alone (2004) Phobia (2006) Dear Agony (2009)
Singles from Phobia
"The Diary of Jane" Released: June 6, 2006 "Breath" Released: January 9, 2007 "Until the End" Released: October 2, 2007
Alternative cover
EMI import cover

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.[2]

The album re-entered the US Billboard 200 at number 38 on May 5, 2007, with its reissue. On May 21, 2009, the album was certified platinum by the RIAA.[3]

Reception

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[1]
IGN	[4]
Robert Christgau	[5]

Phobia received generally positive reviews, with Corey Apar of AllMusic calling 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."[1]

Track listing

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
1.	"Intro"	Benjamin Burnley Aaron Fink Mark Klepaski	1:13
2.	"The Diary of Jane"	Burnley Fink Klepaski	3:20
3.	"Breath"	Burnley Klepaski	3:38
4.	"You"	Burnley	3:21
5.	"Evil Angel"	Burnley Klepaski	3:41
6.	"Until the End"	Burnley Fink Klepaski	4:12
7.	"Dance with the Devil"	Burnley Klepaski	3:47
8.	"Topless"	Burnley	3:03
9.	"Here We Are"	Burnley	4:18
10.	"Unknown Soldier"	Burnley	3:46
11.	"Had Enough"	Burnley	3:50
12.	"You Fight Me"	Burnley Fink Klepaski	3:12
13.	"Outro"	Burnley Fink Klepaski	2:09
Total length:			43:30

Best Buy exclusive bonus track and Japanese bonus track

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"The Diary of Jane" (acoustic version^1)	Burnley Fink Klepaski	3:05
Total length:			46:35

EMI bonus tracks

No.	Title	Writer(s)	Length
14.	"The Diary of Jane" (acoustic version^2)	Burnley Fink Klepaski	3:05
15.	"So Cold" (acoustic version)	Burnley Fink Jeremy Hummel Klepaski	3:55
16.	"Rain (2005)" (2005 version)	Burnley Fink Hummel Klepaski Billy Corgan	3:25
Total length:			57:00

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 track listing

1. "Intro"
2. "Polyamorous"
3. "Home"
4. "Shallow Bay"
5. "Breakdown"
6. "Topless"
7. "Away"
8. "The Diary of Jane"
9. "Dance with the Devil"
10. "Until the End"
11. "Had Enough"
12. "Sooner or Later"
13. "Break My Fall"
14. "So Cold"
15. "Breath"
16. "Evil Angel"

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.[6]
• "The Diary of Jane" was the fastest added song ever in Hollywood Records' history, and was featured in the video game NASCAR 07.
• "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.[7]

Breaking Benjamin Benjamin Burnley – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, piano (track 14) Aaron Fink – lead guitar Mark Klepaski – bass guitar 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 Benjamin Burnley and David Bendeth Dan Korneff, John Bender – engineering, digital editing Kato Khandwala – digital editing Mark Rinaldi and 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 Chart (2006) Peak position New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[8] 16 US Billboard 200[9] 2 US Top Hard Rock Albums (Billboard)[10] 18 US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[11] 1 US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[12] 3 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[13] 171 Chart (2007) Position US Billboard 200[14] 127 Certifications Country Certification Sales United States Platinum[15] 1,000,000+

Release history

Region	Date	Label	Format
United Kingdom	August 7, 2006	Hollywood	CD digital download
United States	August 8, 2006
Australia	October 7, 2006
United States	April 17, 2007 (Collectors Edition)

Gallery

• 
  Breaking Benjamin platinum record for Phobia.

References

1. Apar, Corey. "Breaking - Benjamin Phobia". AllMusic. Retrieved 3 July 2015.
2. Annotations to Breaking Benjamin – Intro - RockGenius
3. "RIAA - Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - July 03, 2015". RIAA. Retrieved July 3, 2015.
4. "Breaking Benjamin - Phobia - Music Review at IGN". Music.ign.com. Archived from the original on August 19, 2012. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
5. Christgau, Robert. "Consumer Guide: Breaking Benjamin". Robertchristgau.com.
6. Matt (August 20, 2009). "Hidden songs confirmed on Rip Ride Rockit coaster". Orlando Attractions Magazine. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved May 20, 2010.
7. Phobia (booklet). Hollywood. 2006.
8. "Charts.nz – Breaking Benjamin – Phobia". Hung Medien. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
9. "Breaking Benjamin Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
10. "Breaking Benjamin Chart History (Top Hard Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
11. "Breaking Benjamin Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
12. "Breaking Benjamin Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
13. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2006". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
14. "Top Billboard 200 Albums – Year-End 2007". Billboard. Retrieved January 12, 2021.
15. "RIAA Database Search Results". Recording Industry Association of America.