If you’ve never heard of Breaking Benjamin, don’t worry — you will soon.

Since the release of its debut album, “Saturate,” in August, this Pennsylvania-based foursome has been on the fast track to nationwide success. By mixing Tool- and Incubus-inspired hooks with irresistible pop melodies, Breaking Benjamin is prepared to sharpen the dull edge of the modern rock radio sound when the band plays at People’s Bar and Grill, 2428 Lincoln Way, in an invite-only performance on Saturday.

“To me, labels are just a way for CD stores to decide where to put the record in the bin,” says Benjamin drummer Jeremy Hummel. “Overall, it’s a heavy sound, but with melody. We’re not one of those bands that’s just all about screaming, and it’s not all about being mellow.”

Hummel says the uniqueness of Breaking Benjamin is what sets the band apart from the already-crowded nu metal market.

“When you listen to a lot of bands, it’s pretty much cut-and-dried, one extreme or another,” Hummel says. “But with us, we like to explore a lot of different emotions within the music.”

This exploration of musical expression might just be the variable that has garnered Breaking Benjamin so much attention from the start. Hummel, along with lead singer and guitarist Ben Burnley, are the only two founding members of the band. Guitarist Aaron Fink and bassist Mark James Klepaski, who were members of the freshly-signed national act Lifer, were so impressed with Breaking Benjamin’s sound that they broke their contracts with Lifer and joined on.

“Any time you have a situation like that, whether it’s a band or a relationship with a girl, a breakup is never easy. There weren’t really any hard feelings, it was just a matter of logistics,” Hummel says. “At this point in time, everybody in both bands combined thinks it couldn’t have worked out better.”

Once the lineup for Breaking Benjamin was cemented, things began happening at lightning speed. Just three months after the new members joined, the group signed a record deal with Disney subsidiary Hollywood Records.

While Hollywood Records is known more for their pop and soundtrack successes, Hummel says this was a major factor in why they signed with the label.

“Hollywood didn’t really have a really big rock act, so we knew that we would be their focus. It wasn’t like we would be signing with another label, and then we’d get lost in the shuffle because they already had too many huge bands to deal with,” Hummel says.

“They knew that we pretty much knew what we were doing when it came to writing and performing, because everything that we had done up to that point had worked.”

David Perl, regional director of promotions for Hollywood Records, says the group’s success on the local level will propel it to stardom in the near future.

The band might still be in its infancy, but Perl says that Breaking Benjamin’s future is bright.

“It’s too early in the game to predict what’s going to happen,” Perl says. “It’s a crowded field out there, but I hope that they become a platinum act who continue to make records, build a fan base and become a multi-platinum act. Can they be that? Absolutely.”

Breaking Benjamin’s alliance with Hollywood has already proven to be a success. According to SoundScan estimates, the two-month-old album has sold just fewer than 27,000 copies — an impressive number for a relatively unknown act.

The album has also helped the band expand into new and innovative marketing areas. “Polyamorous,” the band’s first single, is being featured in the upcoming PlayStation 2 game, “Run Like Hell,” along with three other tracks from the album. Breaking Benjamin is also currently performing on the Miller Lite Side Door Tour, a project that gives select fans the opportunity to meet the band through backstage passes, autograph sessions and seating at the shows.

“What we wanted to do was get out there and be with a bigger band to support them, but at the time, there weren’t a lot of bands touring,” Hummel says.

Hummel says the tour has been great for both the band and the fans alike, but there have been a few low moments.

“Any time that you’re a baby band, there are still so many people out there that need to learn of your band,” Hummel says. “But when you’re going into different areas, especially ones that aren’t spinning your song, it makes it really tough when people haven’t heard of you.”

Hummel says the combination of headlining a tour and playing in lesser-known venues has made for some very mixed results in performances.

“There’s been lot of ups and downs,” Hummel says. “We’ll play for, like, 5,000 or more people, and then two nights later, we’ll play at another venue in an area that isn’t playing our song for 40 people.”

Hummel says the tour is just the beginning, and he is very confident that the direction the band has taken will propel them into the annals of rock history.

“I wouldn’t be in the band if things weren’t like this. I feel that we’re creating some stuff that could potentially be timeless songs,” Hummel says. “Some other bands’ songs are a hit now, but in a year you may listen to it and say ‘What the hell was that?’ but I think we have the songs that will stand the test of time.”