Saturate (Breaking Benjamin album)

Saturate
Studio album by Breaking Benjamin
Released	August 27, 2002
Recorded	April–May 2002
Studio	Larrabee East in Los Angeles, Royaltone Studios in Los Angeles
Genre	Post-grunge[1] nu metal[2]
Length	49:12
Label	Hollywood
Producer	Ulrich Wild
Breaking Benjamin chronology
Breaking Benjamin (2001) Saturate (2002) We Are Not Alone (2004)
Singles from Saturate
"Polyamorous" Released: July 16, 2002 "Skin" Released: February 18, 2003 "Medicate" Released: May 6, 2003

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[3]
Bullz-Eye	[4]

Saturate is the debut studio album by American rock band Breaking Benjamin. It was released on August 27, 2002. The album features three singles, including "Polyamorous", "Skin", and "Medicate". The album was certified gold by the RIAA on September 15, 2015.[5]

Background

After the commercial success of the band's lead single "Polyamorous", there was a dispute between the band and the label on deciding on which single to release next. The band wished for "Medicate", while the label insisted on releasing "Skin" as a single. Eventually, the label decided to go with "Skin", despite some negative feedback with the band and the fairly poor success it reached.^[citation needed] The original release of Saturate contained "Forever" as a separate track; also, the newer enhanced versions came with the "Polyamorous" music video and ultimately featured the song embedded with "Shallow Bay".

The album title is derived from a lyric in the song "Wish I May".

On September 14, 2002, Saturate peaked on the US Billboard 200 and Heatseekers charts at number 136 and number two, respectively.[6] "Wish I May" was featured in the horror films Wrong Turn and The Apparition, starring Tom Felton. The tracks "Home", "Shallow Bay", "Water", and "Polyamorous" were also featured in the 2002 horror game Run Like Hell.

There were also plans for a European release of the album containing the song "Lady Bug" and the Depeche Mode cover of "Enjoy the Silence," but this version of Saturate was never released in Europe, and as a result, neither track was released for the album. "Lady Bug" later appeared on their So Cold EP and on the deluxe edition of their greatest hits compilation album Shallow Bay: The Best of Breaking Benjamin. "Enjoy the Silence" appeared on the compilation in the same version. The album was eventually released in Europe in 2006, but these tracks still were not included.

Musically, the album's sound is more lighter compared to the band's later work and parts of the album falls into nu metal territory.

Track listing

All lyrics are written by Benjamin Burnley; all music is composed by Benjamin Burnley, Aaron Fink, Mark Klepaski and Jeremy Hummel

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Wish I May"	3:58
2.	"Medicate"	3:45
3.	"Polyamorous"	2:56
4.	"Skin"	3:20
5.	"Natural Life"	3:59
6.	"Next to Nothing"	3:43
7.	"Water"	4:12
8.	"Home"	3:37
9.	"Phase"	4:30
10.	"No Games"	3:35
11.	"Sugarcoat"	3:38
12.	"Shallow Bay"	4:05
13.	"Forever"	3:54
Total length:		49:12

Later release hidden track

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Shallow Bay" (contains hidden track "Forever", starting at 4:06, immediately following "Shallow Bay")	8:00
Total length:		49:12

Personnel

Breaking Benjamin Benjamin Burnley – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, string arrangements Aaron Fink – lead guitar, vocals Mark James Klepaski – bass guitar, vocals Jeremy Hummel – drums, vocals Management Jason Jordan – A&R Artwork T42Design – art direction and album design Matthew Welch – band photography Dr. Lukas Altwegg – cell images

Production Ulrich Wild – producer, engineer Ted Regier – assistant engineer Alex Reverberi – assistant engineer Vocals recorded May 2002 at Royaltone Studios in North Hollywood Chris Wonzer – assistant engineering Bret Alexander – vocal production on "Water", and additional vocal production on "Shallow Bay" at Saturation Acres, Pennsylvania Paul Smith – vocal production on "Water", and additional vocal production on "Shallow Bay" at Saturation Acres, Pennsylvania Chris Lord-Alge – mixing at Image Recording Studios, Hollywood, California Stephen Marcussen – mastering at Marcussen Mastering Susie Katayama – string arrangements

Chart positions

Album Chart (2002) Peak position US Billboard 200[7] 136 US Top Heatseekers (Billboard)[8] 2 Singles Year Song US Alt. [9] US Main.^[citation needed] 2002 "Polyamorous" 31 25 2003 "Skin" 37 24

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United States (RIAA)[10]	Gold	500,000^^
^^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

1. "Revisit: Breaking Benjamin: Saturate". September 3, 2019.
2. "Breaking-Benjamin - Saturate". June 1, 2010.
3. Taylor, Jason D.. Saturate at AllMusic. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
4. Farley, Mike. "Saturate Review". bullz-eye.com. Retrieved July 10, 2011.
5. "Gold & Platinum Search "Saturate"". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved October 24, 2021.
6. "Billboard – Google Books". September 14, 2002. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
7. "Saturate – Breaking Benjamin". Billboard.
8. "Billboard – Google Books". September 14, 2003. Retrieved August 11, 2012.
9. "Breaking Benjamin Alternative Songs Chart History". Billboard.
10. "American album certifications – Breaking Benjamin – Saturate". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved November 4, 2023.