Editing Breaking Benjamin (section)

===''We Are Not Alone'' (2003–2005)===
{{Main|We Are Not Alone (Breaking Benjamin album){{!}}''We Are Not Alone'' (Breaking Benjamin album)}}
Breaking Benjamin returned to the studio in October 2003 with producer [[David Bendeth]] for their second album ''[[We Are Not Alone (Breaking Benjamin album)|We Are Not Alone]]''.{{sfn|Loftus|2004a}} Burnley also worked with [[The Smashing Pumpkins]] front man [[Billy Corgan]] over the course of six days in December 2003 to write the songs "Rain", "Forget It", and "Follow".{{sfn|Wiederhorn|2004}} Despite initially being nervous, Burnley felt it was one of the highlights of his career.{{sfn|Wiederhorn|2004}}

[[File:Breaking Benjamin 8-25-2005.jpg|thumb|Breaking Benjamin performing at the [[Minnesota State Fair]] on August 25, 2005]]
The album was released on June 29, 2004,{{sfn|Loftus|2004a}} and sold 48,000 copies in its first week,{{sfn|Billboard|2004|p=49}} peaking at No. 20 on the ''Billboard'' 200.{{sfn|Billboard 200}} It was later certified gold on October 21, 2004, then platinum on June 13, 2005.{{sfn|RIAA}} It was also certified gold in [[New Zealand]] on August 29, 2005.{{sfn|RIANZ}} The record features singles such as "[[So Cold (Breaking Benjamin song)|So Cold]]" and "[[Sooner or Later (Breaking Benjamin song)|Sooner or Later]]", both of which peaked at No. 2 on the [[Mainstream Rock (chart)|Mainstream Rock Songs]] chart.{{sfn|Billboard Mainstream Rock Songs|pp=1–2}} "So Cold" became a platinum single on September 25, 2015.{{sfn|RIAA}} [[MTV]] writer Jon Wiederhorn writes that the initial commercial success of the album can be attributed to a tour two weeks prior to the album's debut which "generated prerelease buzz".{{sfn|Wiederhorn|2004}} They later co-headlined a tour with [[Evanescence]], [[Seether]], and [[Three Days Grace]].{{sfn|Moss|2004}}

''We Are Not Alone'' garnered mixed reviews. It was met with high acclaim from ''[[IGN]]''{{'}}s Colin Moriarty, who felt "extremely satisfied", saying "safely and confidently" that it "might be [his] personal favorite album of the year". He gave it a score of 9.3 out of 10.{{sfn|Moriarty|2004}} Conversely, ''[[Exclaim!]]'' writer Amber Authier said, "On first listen its simply generic sound did nothing for me." Though she later admitted, "I listened to Breaking Benjamin several times over a week and several elements of the disc started to grow on me, even appeal to me." The writer concluded, "Breaking Benjamin created a standard of quality for themselves that they simply couldn't meet on the entire disc."{{sfn|Authier|2004}}

On November 3, 2004, a non-album single named "[[Blow Me Away]]" was released, to commercial success, ultimately going gold on November 24, 2015.{{sfn|RIAA}} On November 23, 2004, Breaking Benjamin released the [[So Cold (Breaking Benjamin song)|''So Cold'' EP]], which features live versions of the songs "Away" and "Breakdown", a live acoustic version of "So Cold", and studio acoustic recordings of "Blow Me Away" and "Lady Bug".{{sfn|Loftus|2004b}}

In late 2005, drummer Hummel filed a federal lawsuit against Breaking Benjamin. According to the lawsuit, Hummel requested earlier that year to take a [[Parental leave|paternity leave]] to be with his wife during the birth of their first child, to which all members of the band agreed and hired Kevin Soffera as a temporary substitute on drums. However, Burnley later called Hummel and terminated him, citing chemistry issues. In the lawsuit, Hummel contended wrongful termination and lack of compensation for profits accrued by ''We Are Not Alone'' and other non-album tracks that appeared in ''[[Halo 2]]'' and ''[[National Treasure: Book of Secrets]]''. The band's manager, Larry Mazer (who was also named in the lawsuit), asserted that the lawsuit was "totally frivolous" and his termination had "nothing to do with the paternity leave."{{fact|date=October 2024}}

Mazer said the band received no payment for the ''Halo 2'' appearance, adding that the song was included for promotional reasons and Burnley was happy to have it in the video game. The band received minimal payment for the ''National Treasure 2'' appearance, and Mazer stated that otherwise, "[Hummel] is 100 per cent current."{{sfn|Amerman|2005|p=1a}} Ben "B.C." Vaught served as a sit-in drummer for the band,{{sfn|Sisak|2011}} and they later toured with [[3 Doors Down]] and [[Staind]] in November 2005.{{sfn|Business Wire|2005}} The lawsuit was settled for an undisclosed amount in April 2006.{{sfn|Sisak|2011}}