Interviews

Keith Wallen: To Infinity & Beyond, Embracing Double Duties With Breaking Benjamin

Ricky Aarons

Co-Editor and Deathcore Connoisseur

Apr 4, 2024

7 min read

Having spent the better part of the last decade with one of the world’s biggest alternative rock outfits Breaking Benjamin, guitarist Keith Wallen is maximising his creative potential with a flourishing solo career.

With more familiar exposure with labels on the writing side, Wallen is now signed to Rise Records as a solo artist and is set to release his third record Infinity Now on May 3, 2024 via Rise Records. Having already dazzled a growing mass of fans with singles like ‘Strings’ and ‘Headspace Holiday’, Wallen is kickstarting his next album campaign with a bang.

Jumping on Zoom just moments after entering the door from his performance at ShipRocked, the 44-year old was beaming with excitement to chat about all things touring, Breaking Benjamin, Infinity Now, and beyond.

While still recovering from what the musician describes as “sea legs” after leaving the vessel that travelled from Vice City of Miami to Half Moon Cay in the Bahamas, Wallen regroups to discuss the drug-induced inspiration for Infinity Now – but we’ll get to that shortly.

Reflecting on the imminent release, Wallen is feeling the buzz. “Man, it feels like a blessing. I’m so grateful to still be making music in all avenues both with Breaking Benjamin and with my solo stuff,” he says proudly. “I tell people all the time, I literally live for this shit. I think about when I was younger and I was first learning how to play guitar, [all the way to] having such a busy schedule with just nothing but music and it be my career; I just could not be more grateful, I’m living the dream.”

Infinity Now is not the singer/guitarist’s first solo release. Back in 2014 he released five-track EP Allies, followed by his 2021 debut solo LP This World or the Next, notably just six days before joining Breaking Benjamin as guitarist and backing vocalist. In addition to releasing music with a few other projects over the years, Wallen progressed to release epic records with Benjamin Burnley and co. such as Dark Before Dawn and Ember.

In contrast to the tides of success with the consistent chart-making outfit, Wallen compares the feeling of his two solo albums. “My first album that I put out a couple of years ago had a great reaction, and I think that was kind of the first dip [of] my toes into more of a heavier sound. I released some stuff before more subdue – a little bit more alternative and softer, with piano and stuff,” he states comparatively. “That one had a little bit more rock and this one’s even a little bit more of an uptake, it’s definitely heavier.“

With a great response from the two singles so far, Wallen simply can’t wait to get these tunes even further into the world. “The feedback from playing the songs live has been amazing so I’m just excited to get out there and play as many shows as I can and get this music in as many homes as I can.”

Wallen details the inspiration for his sophomore release, detailing the story with his deep Southern accent (deep at least for an Australian listener). “This album is very much a product of an experience that I had,” he pauses and considers his words carefully. “So, I had an experience with some psychedelic drugs, [specifically] Ayahuasca, which I was super curious about – in the Amazon they call it ‘medicine’. It’s really helped a lot of people deal with their trauma and helps them work through it.

“I’ve never really been a big drug taker but I was fascinated and had an opportunity to [try it] and it was wild. It was a nine hour journey inward and outward and everywhere in between. I saw a lot of fascinating thing, and all these songs relate back to different experiences that I had during this sojourn. Even for the next week, I still felt like I had one foot in the spirit realm.”

With a mystical imagination, it’s no surprise why Wallen found his way to collaborate with the likes of KoRn‘s spiritual Brian ‘Head’ Welch on Love And Death‘s sophomore record Perfectly Preserved, and feature on lead-single ‘The Hunter‘, released back in 2021.

“I met Head and some of those KoRn guys through Breaking Benjamin, through our other guitar player, Jason Rauch, who has done some incredible stuff. He produced their first album. Once I got over the initial feeling of being starstruck,” Wallen realised what kind of person Head was. “This guy could not be a nicer person, just a kind heart and soul – and he’s been through much stuff, living through the crazy mayhem of KoRn and his personal experience with just getting saved; it really is inspiring just to be around a human being like that.”

When Keith was invited to collaborate with Love And Death, he was initially asked to work on some of the technicalities before even thinking about a feature. “I really wanted to try to make something special for him and for all of us. it really was an incredible experience and obviously I’ve worked with Jasen before on lots of different things – and with Head, it was just seamless.” Wallen was stoked before he even featured on ‘The Hunter’. “I was happy at how everything turned out, and to be able to sing on ‘The Hunter’ and be a featured part, that was mind blowing.”

As Wallen and Rauch return back to business as usual activity, they’re preparing for some of the giant Breaking Benjamin tours that cover the vast area of the U.S., and on top of these killer tours, many fans will have been lucky enough to have witnessed Keith Wallen on double duties, having already completed and planned to do some more support slots for the band.

“I just finished the tour, opening up for Breaking Ben. We had this tour and I was the opening artist, by myself on this run because of the acoustic nature of the tour. Outside of that though, I have another guitar player Mike Warren, drummer Blake Bailey and Lou Ravino for bass.”

The singer-songwriter is comfortable straddling double-duties and loves the exposure to fans alike. “I live for this shit, you’ll never hear me complaining about playing another show somewhere sometime, but it is a lot of work.”

Whilst Breaking Benjamin have been touring heavily, the only taste of new-ish music fans have lapped up over the past couple of years was there ‘Waiting on the Skies to Change‘ cover with Ohio rock band Starset; The first taste of new tunes since 2018’s Ember.

On the collaboration experience, Wallen reflects, “Starset have always been our close friends out here in the touring world and we just love them. They’re just a great band, true visionaries. Their aesthetic is very intentional and I loved it,” he states joyously. “I’m a huge fan of all that Sci-Fi so to incorporate that with heavy rock – it’s just really a perfect marriage.”

Whilst fans may be waiting a bit longer for some new original material from Breaking Benjamin, they’re certainly cooking up some new songs at the moment.

“All I can say is that you can’t rush the art, it’ll be done when it’s done and who knows when that’ll be. We’ve got a few songs in the can that are ready have a bunch written, we’ve just got to get in there and get them tracked.”

Before letting Wallen return to steadying himself on solid ground after ShipRocked, I had to seek the current status on a Breaking Benjamin Australian tour. Fans may know that the reason the stadium rock band have never visited our shores and there’s a very simple reason why. As outlined on third record Phobia, Burnley has a major fear of flying. The 2006 record was six years short of Wallen joining the band, however the update he has is not what fans might be hoping for.

“There is no update, I think that is what it is. Unless there is a cruise ship that goes from America to Australia, I don’t know if we’re going to get there. We’ve exhausted all possibilities. I feel like I can answer for Ben with this and I know that and I can speak for myself also,” he disclaims proudly.

“We love and appreciate all the support from everywhere in the world, especially Australia. I think he feels pretty strongly about that unfortunately. It’s unfortunate but there’s definitely no lack of love, It’s definitely nothing personal, but like anything in life, never say never.”

After giving Wallen some hope with Travis Barker‘s recent to Australia for blink-182‘s massive arena tour, we both agree that if we ever want to get Breaking Benjamin downunder, we might have to get the Kardashians involved; until then maybe we can catch a Keith Wallen Australian tour, which he’s admitted would be a “dream come true“.

Interview by Ricky Aarons (@rickysaul90)

Keith Wallen‘s Infinity Now is out Friday, May 3
Pre-order/save here