Flyleaf

In following up 2018’s Ember, post-grunge stars Breaking Benjamin decided to switch it up for their seventh studio album. Instead of writing a set of completely new tunes, they’ve recorded acoustic versions of some of their most popular songs, added string orchestration, and invited special guests to perform on half of them. As such, Aurora features guest shots from Flyleaf’s Lacey Sturm, Underoath’s Spencer Chamberlain, Red’s Michael Barnes, and former Three Days Grace singer Adam Gontier. For good measure, they included one brand-new track, “Far Away,” featuring Scooter Ward of Cold. “I felt it was a good time for us to do this,” Breaking Benjamin founder and leading light Ben Burnley tells Apple Music. “All the songs are completely reimagined. Lacey was the first one I asked, and then it snowballed from there. I wish every song could have a guest, but the schedule didn’t allow.”