Battle of the Bands 08.25.09: Breaking Benjamin vs. Angus Khan
Posted by Adam Battagello on 08.25.2009
This weeks battle delves deeper into the realm of hard rock and sees Breaking Benjamin face off against Angus Khan.
Welcome back all to what is sure to be another confrontational installment of Battle of the Bands. Before we dive in to our usual dealing this week there is something happening in music news that, having been re-listening to a lot of old Beatles stuff lately, has really been eating away at me. This week's Fact or Fiction brought to my attention the fact that EMI are planning to release digitally re-mastered versions of the fab four's catalog.
As much as I love the Beatles, I have to ask haven't we really reached a point where, rather than improving the music with the aid of technology, these new mixes are actually diluting the work that this brilliant band did in the studio? I don't want to sound like a clichéd anti-corporate type, but for a long time now, new Beatles releases seem to be doing nothing more than squeezing the last drops of milk out of an already drained musical cow. Nice Metaphor!
Moving onto the face-off
This Week:
Breaking Benjamin- I Will Not Bow vs. Angus Khan- Big Balls
Going with a rather hard rock bent for this particular battle, in the blue corner we have Breaking Benjamin. Formed in 1998, this year sees the Pennsylvania group releasing their fourth album ‘Dear Agony'. Today the battle will focus on their lead single from the forthcoming album, ‘I Will Not Bow'.
In the other corner we have Angus Khan. The group's debut album ‘Black Leather Soul' is an attempt to breath new life into the aging sound of your AC/DC's, Kiss and a few others who should've picked up their pensions a long time ago. Will their single ‘Big Balls' allow them to pull out the win in the battle and reach the pinnacle of hard rock? Or will Angus Khan be crushed under the weight of Breaking Benjamin? Let's take a look.
Breaking Benjamin- I Will Not Bow
Of all the alternative bands that flood the music market in the current day, Breaking Benjamin is, for the most part, one of the better options a listener can choose. Now, in saying this, I'm admitting that, while I've never been a crazy fan of the group myself, they are I guess what you would call a ‘lesser evil' compared to some of the trash that floods the alternative market.
Personal preference aside, ‘I Will Not Bow' has it own blend of inherent catchiness, despite being a rather dark song, listening to front man Ben Burnley belt out the "I will not bow, I will not break" chorus, despite being a clichéd sort of theme in rock music, is still undeniably memorable. As a singer, Burnley also tends to utilize more screaming in the track itself, which, while I am not a fan, will surely please already established followers of Breaking Benjamin.
The clip itself, being shots of the band playing mixed with the upcoming film Surrogate, is undeniably entertaining. Often producers have the tendency to go REALLY wrong when attempting to tie a popular song to a current film, but in this case I found that the two meshed together relatively well, being that it had the duel effect of a) making me want to listen to the song again and b) making me want to see the movie in question, I guess you could call this a success.
Moving on!
Angus Khan- Big Balls
With films such as ‘This Is Spinal Tap' always lurking in the back of my mind, it has been a long time since I, as a fan of rock music, was able to look at this brand of machismo ‘balls to the wall rock' and keep a straight face. The thing with these ‘AC/DC-esque' bands is that all too often they seem to concerned with convincing us how tough they are as people, rather than convincing us how good they can be as musicians. I mean, just watch the film clip for Angus Khan's single ‘Big Balls'.
As we listen to the track we are forced to watch the lead singer pulling switchblades and guns on the camera- actions that just left me thinking, why? The brilliant thing about Bon Scott as lead singer of AC/DC, and the thing that many hard rock bands fail in their attempts to emulate, is that, even if you were only listening to the guy on radio with no picture whatsoever, his snarling vocals just gave the impression of a guy who was as tough as nails. Maybe the aforementioned ‘This Is Spinal Tap' did such a good job at sending up the macho rock star image that it has become hard for some listeners to ever take the genuine image seriously again. I guess I can be included in that group to a degree.
Film clip aside, if you are simply looking to drink hard and enjoy good music, Big Balls will be a winner for you. While about as lyrically subtle as taking a sledgehammer to a wall, one can't help but head bang along with the track that, while is unlikely to be a popular hit with the masses, will certainly be in demand in the few remaining pubs and clubs left that are now squeezed in between nightclubs. But hey, Big Balls fills its hard rock niche perfectly, and as a fan of rock that's really all you can ask for.
There Can Only be One!
This week, I'm going to have to side with Breaking Benjamin. While neither track is without its faults, I just felt that all around, in terms of lyrics, film clip, and music, Breaking Benjamin had the stronger track this week, allowing them to pull off the win. That's my opinion and I'm stickin' to it…
A quick afterthought, if you haven't already gone out and purchased Arctic Monkey's newest album ‘Humbug', it is highly recommended that you go do so, this is undoubtedly the album in which the young band finally stretches their legs musically, and is more than worth a listen. With that I'm out,
