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Dark Before Dawn is the fifth album by American rock band Breaking Benjamin, released on June 23, 2015 by Hollywood Records. It is the group's first studio album following the band's hiatus lasting from early 2010 to late 2014, and the first album to feature an entirely different lineup alongside founder and frontman Benjamin Burnley. Produced and composed by Burnley, the album took shape towards the end of the hiatus and was mostly written before the new lineup "even played a single note together." The recording process took place afterwards at both a personal studio of Burnley's and at the same studio Phobia (2006) was recorded, with all of the band members performing their respective instruments, including background vocals performed by guitarist Keith Wallen and bassist Aaron Bruch, making the record their first to feature vocals other than Burnley's.

The album was a critical and commercial success. It garnered mostly positive reception, many critics praising the album for staying true to the group's established sound, although others criticized it for sounding too similar to previous material. Burnley described that he did not want to "reinvent the wheel" with the album. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, the group's first in their catalog, earning 141,000 album-equivalent units in its first week, making it heretofore the group's most successful sales effort. The album's lead single is "Failure", which was announced alongside the album on March 18, 2015.

Dark Before Dawn was the first album to not feature former members Aaron Fink (guitar) and Mark Klepaski (bass). In early 2010, Benjamin Burnley announced he was too ill to perform, thereby putting the band on indefinite hiatus while he went through the medical system. Inter-band issues and legal battles ensued in 2011 after Fink and Klepaski allegedly granted permission unilaterally for the production of a greatest hits album and the release of a remix of the hit song "Blow Me Away" featuring Sydnee Duran of Valora. The two musicians were subsequently fired from the band and sued for punitive and compensatory damages. Fink and Klepaski's attorneys asserted that at issue was a 2009 agreement allowing Burnley to dismiss them for "cause", asserting it was no longer valid due to Burnley's status of indefinite hiatus while he was too ill to perform. After being ordered by a judge to arbitration, the issues were settled, announced in April 2013, as Burnley reserved the exclusive right to continue under the band name Breaking Benjamin. Shortly thereafter, drummer Chad Szeliga announced his departure from the band, citing creative differences.

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