<P> Within an hour of pre-order availability, Dark Before Dawn reached No. 1 on the rock albums chart on iTunes and No. 3 on the overall album chart . It sold 135,000 pure album units and 141,000 equivalent album units in its first week, debuting at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, making the album the group's heretofore most successful sales effort . It achieved gold certification on August 18, 2016 . The disc's lead single "Failure" spent nine weeks at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart as well . Billboard's Jason Lipshutz felt the album's success was "eyebrow - raising", noting that, in addition to the band's lineup change, "135,000 in pure album sales is a hefty number in 2015--it's a bigger number than the respective bows of recent Madonna, ASAP Rocky, and Kelly Clarkson albums". Joe DeTomaso, program director of active rock station WAQX - FM, added that, "They've always been a top - level band for the format, but not quite on the level of Disturbed or Shinedown or bands like that . They always seem to put out hit records without getting the kind of recognition that they deserved ." Forbes' Hugh McIntyre writes that runner - up Tori Kelly's 75,000 copies "puts Breaking Benjamin's figures into perspective" and that despite "a pretty extensive lineup change, it looks like fans were awaiting their return with open arms ." </P> <P> The album was met with mostly positive critical reception, many critics praising the album for staying true to the group's sound, though others criticized it for sounding too similar to previous material . Dan Marsicano from About Entertainment stated, "Burnley could have made his creation just another dose of the glitzy, overproduced crap that is heard on every rock radio station in the world . Instead, Breaking Benjamin hardly deviate from the hooky jams that were present on Dear Agony ." Conversely, AllMusic's James Monger felt that "it's hard to conceal the fact that most of these songs are nearly interchangeable with the band's older material ." Revolver's Jeremy Borjon felt that "the music's true force only becomes apparent through deeper and repeated listenings, as the songs, on the surface, have a tendency to blend into one another ." </P> <P> The group's sixth studio album was first revealed to be completed in August 2017 . The band toured with Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet For My Valentine on their North American tour, following with a U.S. mini-tour with 10 Years, and then a tour with Five Finger Death Punch beginning in the second quarter of 2018 . In December 2017, Ember and its lead single "Red Cold River" were announced for release in the second quarter of 2018 and January 5, 2018, respectively . On January 26, "Feed the Wolf" was released as a pre-order bonus, along with a release date for the album of April 13, 2018 . Three subsequent songs--"Blood", "Psycho", and "Save Yourself"--were released ahead of the album as promotional releases . It sold 88,000 units in its first week of sales, debuting at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 . "Red Cold River" peaked at No. 2 on the Mainstream Rock Songs chart, and No. 5 on the Hot Rock Songs chart . </P> <P> Writing for the album began in 2016, with recording primarily happening in 2017 . While Burnley remained the primary composer for the album, he stated that around half of it was written by the rest of the band . Burnley returned to producing for the album, along with the rest of the band, a first for the group . Rauch commented that the album pushes the boundaries with heavier material than the band's done in the past . He said "playing-wise, it's the most difficult album", and that they took advantage of the three - guitar player dynamic, but that the album nonetheless does not depart from Breaking Benjamin's established sound . Burnley explained that there was demand for heavier material from fans, and that the group was happy to reflect that . He later explained that he believed fans gravitated to the heavier side of the band, but that "we also make sure to explore our melodic and softer side too", saying that the album seeks to give both sides to the furthest degree . </P>

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