UMUR
"Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Black" is an EP release by Danish death/thrash metal act Hatesphere. The EP was released through Scarlet Records in December 2003. It bridges the gap between the band´s second- and third full-length studio albums "Bloodred Hatred (2002)" and "Ballet of the Brute (2004)". "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Black" is more a mini-album than it´s an EP as it features no less than 7 tracks and a total playing time of 27:59 minutes.
As the title may suggest the EP features both old, new, and borrowed (Cover tracks) material. I´m not sure what the "black" means in the title, but there is probably a message there. "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Black" opens with "Release the Pain", which is the only new original track featured on the EP. It´s followed by covers of "Bark at the Moon" by Ozzy Osbourne and "Caught in a Mosh" by Anthrax and the EP then closes with four live tracks. Two tracks from the 2001 eponymously titled debut album ("Hate" and "Bloodsoil") and two tracks from "Bloodred Hatred (2002)" ("Low Life Vendetta" and "Plague").
"Release the Pain" continues the At the Gates meets The Haunted death/thrash metal style of the preceding releases, and while it´s arguably a solid new track from Hatesphere, there´s no surprises there. The two covers are actually pretty great and Hatesphere manage to put their own spin on the tracks. It´s especially great to hear "Bark at the Moon" given the death/thrash treatment. The live tracks feature a good quality sound production and the performances are tight, energetic, and raw. They were recorded live on the 1st of March 2002 at Voxhall, Aarhus, Denmark, which is the band´s home turf. The homeground situation is felt too as there´s some great response from the audience and some nice interaction with the audience from lead vocalist Jacob Bredahl.
Upon conclusion "Something Old, Something New, Something Borrowed and Something Black" is a good quality EP and it´s therefore certainly a release worth your time. There´s both enough quality and enough quantity here to warrant a purchase. A 3.5 star (70%) rating is deserved.
