Breaking Benjamin

Pennsylvanian alt-metal outfit Breaking Benjamin's fraught ballads and riff-outs sound positively feisty and lofty compared to the self-loathing slop that so much mainstream hard-rock has turned into. The only problem is it still fits in among all that stuff despite the relatively sharp production and clear-headed musicianship on the band's latest, 2009's Dear Agony (and th cover is an actual scan of frontman Ben Burnley's brain, man!).

Updated 01/06/2010