BREAKING BENJAMIN | Aurora | Album Review

After making their way to become one of rock's top tier acts, Breaking Benjamin are in a fantastic position as a band. Ever since their hiatus ended in the mid-2010's, they are truthfully one of mainstream rock's favorite acts and will get airplay at any point in time by FM stations and especially SiriusXM's Octane. Top that off with an extremely die-hard fanbase, and you have many reasons as to why Benjamin Burnley and the men behind Breaking Benjamin should be proud of the success that they've achieved. Starting off 2020 on a fresher trajectory, the band has released their all-acoustic album "Aurora". While there are many people that love every bit of material the band has recorded, others have felt the band has remained too stagnant and comfortable and have wished for the band to try new things. So, naturally, an acoustic album was made a possibility that has now been fulfilled. A vast majority of songs on this acoustic project are former hits from the BB songbook with only one new song added to the 10-track affair clocking in at slightly over 40 minutes in length. Even with that detail about the tracklist, seeing Breaking Benjamin embrace a new dynamic to their sound is an excellent thing. Several guest vocalists also help the band out on these songs, which adds an interesting layer to this album. So, with all of that in mind, this album has a lot of promise riding on it.

The first track to be released from the album was the reimagined version of "So Cold", probably the most well known song to come from of the band's 2004 release "We Are Not Alone", and one of Breaking Benjamin's biggest tracks overall. Right off the bat, I am positive that this song was a good choice as an inclusion on this project as "So Cold" itself does a stellar job as an opening track, so it's no surprise it starts "Aurora" off to great results. Every member of Breaking Benjamin does a good job at translating this song from its heavier roots to a softer backdrop. That is difficult to do for a backing band that wasn't around at the time "We Are Not Alone" was first released, and on this song there is a lot added to make it different. The acoustic guitars work well and have a good mix that backs them up but the string inclusion also works not just on this song but on others as well. Tracks like "Torn In Two", "Tourniquet", and "Never Again" sound just as good with their newfound acoustic style, and there are even attempts to separate the tracks from the heavier counterparts. The prominent example is "Never Again" were some lines in the second verse are switched, and I am not sure if this is a good or bad thing necessarily. Whatever your reaction is to the slight modification of that sound, I'm sure Breaking Benjamin fans all over will be pleased by the end result.

Probably the best thing about this album is its guest spots on various tracks. Whenever a guest vocalist is brought in, they have a good bulk of the song while Benjamin Burnley's voice doesn't have as much of a presence. While this can be a detriment if it's not handled well, here the guest vocalists work well. One example is the track "Failure", featuring Michael Barnes of Red. The verses of this track are split evenly between the two vocalists, meanwhile Barnes handles each chorus. This is definitely one of the cuts that features the guest vocalist more than the featured artist, but here it works because Barnes makes this song sound like something his band would have written. And it is hard to deny how excellent of a voice Mike has in the first place. Scooter Ward of Cold appears on the album's only fresh cut, "Far Away", which doesn't really resonate too much with me as the other tracks even though it's fine. Later on, we hear Spencer Chamberlain from Underoath take on "Red Cold River" to decent results, followed by longtime fan favorite "Dance With The Devil" featuring Adam Gontier of Three Days Grace/Saint Asonia, and this was a seemingly impossible dream for many fans that has finally come true. The closing track is the title cut from "Dear Agony", with Lacey Sturm (ex-vocalist of Flyleaf) sharing vocal duties with Ben in what feels more like a passionate duet. All of these tracks are well done, especially "Failure" and "Dance With The Devil", and it's a showcase of Breaking Benjamin succeeding in their transition from hard rock to acoustic.

One key problem I have is that most of the selections are from their modern hits, and not their 2000's material. Nothing from "Saturate" is included, while "We Are Not Alone", "Phobia", and "Dear Agony" have only one song from each. This album easily could have gone farther and included more songs, especially since popular songs like "The Diary Of Jane" and "Breath" are surprisingly absent, as are tracks like "Fade Away", "Break My Fall", and "Crawl" which would be interesting to hear in the acoustic format. This also ties into the fact that the album tracklist could have been longer, as there are only ten tracks. Additionally, this isn't something you will be dying to hear frequently. But, even with those criticisms I have, there isn't anything bad about this project. It's a nice little appetizer to hold the fanbase over until a new studio album is in the works and completed. Yes, this album can't necessarily be put up against the band's other works because there's only one original song. But, for what it is, Breaking Benjamin fans will be enthusiastic about some of their favorite songs being redone with strings and acoustic guitars, and redone successfully I might add. Overall, "Aurora" is a solid collection of Breaking Benjamin songs executed in a new way with a laundry list of guest vocalists that add a ton of gravitas. If you're a massive fan of BB and you like when the band treads newer waters, this is highly recommended. It will not break any extraordinary ground, but Benjamin Burnley and company have delivered something unique with "Aurora".

RATING: 7/10

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