I think the new philosophy works for you swimmingly. Nothing stale, new elements added and taken away and nothing jarring about it at all. Some small critiques. at 1:58 or so, that lead isn't sticking out well against the reverbs going on. Some sidechained multiband compression there may help, as well as ducking reverb frequencies below 250 hz.
I personally am not a fan of the snare. I think it could be pitch shifted or warped a bit higher (snares have tonal qualities too, and resonances, and when pitched right, will fit more naturally in place!), or you could clip it more, or alternatively switch it out. Whatever you'd choose, I would also bring it up a little. It is sitting in the mix a bit flat.
Otherwise, love it. Great work! Thanks for coming out to NGADM!