Going back to the vault can often be an exciting and nostalgic event. Bands that have been around for a long time can often relive history and provide previously unreleased material to their throngs of die-hard fans. These hidden gems can include cover songs, alternate versions of existing songs, live versions of fan favorites, and tracks that never made the light of day and ended up on the cutting room floor. Such is the case with the January 2022 release of "Live, New, Borrowed, Blue" from Swedish rockers THE QUILL via Metalville Records.

But you would think that since the band have been around since 1992 that they would pull from their extensive back catalog. Instead, they made the choice to release a combination of material that didn't make the cut for their last album (2021's "Earthrise") as well as an extended version of a song from the last album, live recordings from the 2019 Sweden Rock Festival and some covers they previously recorded back in the 90's. So they went to the vault for mostly newer material and some covers, which in my opinion seems like an odd choice. But I digress.

For those not familiar with THE QUILL, they fall somewhere in the proto metal/stoner doom/classic hard rock realm. With obvious nods to BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE, IRON BUTTERFLY and SAINT VITUS, the band have managed to wrangle in a decent following over the years and take their retro-inspired fuzzy buzzbomb sounds into the modern era and have attracted fans of bands like SLEEP, KYUSS, and MOS GENERATOR.

The album opens strong with the original tune "Keep on Moving," which is an extended version of the song from "Earthrise." This version provides an extra 1:30 of music that was ultimately cut out of the version that appears on the album. I'm not sure this mid-song free-form jam needed to be there, so I see why it was left out in the first place. It's not bad, it's just not necessary. I think it would have been cool to have the extended version be a live track, it would have made more sense in that format. Still, the track is great. It's catchy, with a cool Sabbath-meets-Kravitz vibe and a memorable chorus.

"Children of the Sun" was also cut from the last album, and it's a shame because it's absolutely awesome and actually marks the high point of this album for me. With its doomy and chunky opening and its sludgy crawl to the end, it's a heavy monster of a track that had me reaching for my imaginary 4-footer as I dozed off into oblivion. This is a really catchy tune with a killer wah solo. The last original non-live track comes in the form of "The Burning Tree," or as I now call it, "Voodoo Chile Redux." This song smacks of the aforementioned classic, but not in a good way. While the guitar tone is spot on and the playing is decent, it's just too derivative for my tastes. Combine that with the megaphone effect on the vocals and I was ready to move on from this one after about 2 minutes. Thankfully, that's about how long this song is, and I understand why it was left off in the first place. Still, I can see the band liking this tune simply because it's so different than their other material.

The covers presented here offer an eclectic choice for the die-hards. Some work, some don't. Their version of AEROSMITH'S "S.O.S." suffers from poor production and vocals that are so buried in the mix, they don't stand out at all. My excitement to hear one of my favorite IRON MAIDEN songs, "Where Eagles Dare" was quickly abated due to the absolutely awful recording. Kick drums sound like cardboard boxes and the guitar sound is hard to listen to. The highlight of this song is the singing, and vocalist Magnus Ekwall shows off some great dynamic range and power. Too bad the rest of the song sounds terrible.  Being familiar with these two songs already, I was hoping we'd see some new takes on them. As it turns out, they're pretty standard renditions. Their version of "Mount Everest" from Swedish Hard Rock godfathers NOVEMBER is, on the other hand, really good. Though it says true to the original, it's performed with precision and the recording is quite good. Same with "Frozen Over," a tune from another classic proto band, Los Angeles's Captain Beyond.

The two live tracks, recorded at the same gig, manage to sound wholly different from each other. "Keep it Together" is a great rockin' track with a BAD COMPANY meets SABBATH feel. There's a very nice buildup to the midpoint, then it really takes off. The bass on this song is super muddy and almost sounds like its clipping. It's distorted, but not in a good way. That and the overly buzzy guitars distracted me from an otherwise decent performance. And before you jump on me for my criticism of the guitar sound, I'm a guitarist myself. I appreciate the retro fuzz sounds from the 60's and 70's as well as distorted bass, and I am totally on board with modern bands brining it back and trying to achieve that specific tone. But here, it's just not good. A little EQ can go a long way to clear up the muddiness, as will dialing back the drive just a tad. The closing track "Hole in My Head" sounds totally different than "Keep it Together," even though they're from the same show. There's more clarity on the guitar and bass, an actual punchy drum sound that doesn't sound like there's pillows on the kick drum heads, and some really powerful vocals that almost get into Chris Cornell territory. In fact, this entire song is a bastard child of SOUNDGARDEN and SABBATH, with a killer break down that unexpectedly transitions into "Fairies Wear Boots" for a total "Holy Shit" moment that pleasantly surprised me. The long jam of this tune gave me some cool GRATEFUL DEAD vibes and was a great choice to close out the album.

As fans and listeners, we often forgive things like production value and different sonic qualities when being presented with material that spans different time eras, studios, and live locations. Admittedly, I had a hard time enjoying the overall presentation of this album because it's just too inconsistent, even with songs that are from the same era. To a point, you can excuse the sounds on live performances, but the studio recordings are something else. I'm often accused of being an audio snob, and I suppose I am, but for many people poor audio is an absolute deal breaker. Listening to the band's back catalog, they have some truly stellar recordings that better encapsulate their talents and overall sonic signature. I guess that's why I find it odd that this sounds the way it does.  That being said, "Live, New, Borrowed, Blue" is definitely an album that the dedicated fan base will appreciate, though I don't see it appealing to a broader audience or garnering them a new demographic of listeners. THE QUILL are clearly talented with a defined style that has earned them a dedicated fan base and a deep catalog of material to enjoy. So if you're looking for something to sit back and take the edge off while enjoying your mental pollutant of choice, give these guys a listen and decide for yourself.