Breaking Benjamin released Aurora on January 24, 2020. The album features reimaginings of their older hits with an acoustic/symphonic rock sound, as well as a previously unreleased song with some contributions from other artists. I will state whether I think they improved the song or made it worse and my thoughts on the new song.
The first track is “So Cold,” I prefer the original 2004 version to this one because it has a certain “energy” behind it that the new version doesn’t capture. It was, after all, their breakthrough single, the one that catapulted them into success.
“Failure” was originally released in 2015. I slightly like the new version more, the song is already, in my opinion, sort of skippable but this version is less sort of skippable. The acoustic sound works better with it.
“Far Away” was the only original song on Aurora; it features a vocal duet with Scooter Ward. I love this song a lot; my favorite parts are the dramatic piano intro and outro with strings accompanying.
“Angels Fall” isn’t as good as the original because the acoustic guitar doesn’t work as well with the atmosphere of everything else. It demands a strong electric riff behind it.
“Red Cold River” is also a bit of a step down from the original. The remake doesn’t have much of a rhythm section at all, while the original had a solid and powerful one that carried the song.
“Tourniquet” I think the original and recreation are about the same in terms of how much I like them. Both versions I would put in a “Greatest Hits” compilation.
“Dance with the Devil,” to me, is the song they improved the most. The song features vocals from Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace and Saint Asonia, and he crushes it. His voice was perfect for this song.
“Never Again” This is another improvement over the original. The backing vocals and rhythm section go together very well and they were able to add acoustic guitars without the song losing its vibe.
“Torn in Two” I like both versions; they both have their own strengths and weaknesses compared to each other. The original may have the better rhythm but the remake definitely has better vocals.
The last track is “Dear Agony”. This version I did not like at first listen, but I have warmed up to it since. I sort of see it as a different song to the original, and it’s still good nonetheless.
In summary, the reimagined songs are a mixed bag; some are definitely better, some haven’t changed much, and some are steps back. I still give them props for the unique idea, and I hope they try another one of these genre changes in the future.