On Borrowed Time In The Dark Before The Dawn Review

On Borrowed Time

In The Dark Before The Dawn

Omen Records

2026

I know it may come as somewhat of a shock to the readers here, or those that listen to the musical endeavors I am in, but I love hardcore. From the earliest bands (Bad Brains, Agnostic Front, Cro-Mags) to the 90’s metallic acts (Hatebreed, All Out War, Strife) to the Blood For Bloods and even newer stuff like Bayway. You get the picture. Keeping that same admission in mind, another branch of the overall tree I absolutely adore is melodic hardcore. And that, my friends, is exactly what Dorset, England’s On Borrowed Time specialize in on their emotive and engaging debut full length, In the Dark Before the Dawn.

On Borrowed Time are blending equal parts 90’s skate punk with post-hardcore and the afore-mentioned melodic elements within these ten tracks. The results are stirring, aggressive, and somewhat melancholic. They open with a layered guitar-forward instrumental called “Twilight,” which then segues into “Burden,” and it immediately caught my ear due to the juxtaposition of fast punk tempos, hoarsely screamed vocals, and power chords/strummed chords over everything. If nothing else, I certainly felt the line of “I feel the weight of the world, resting heavy on my shoulders, pushing me down” is immediately relatable to most anyone. “Same Blood” is next, and the sentiment echoed here in that we are all human, and the ending refrain of “We all bleed the same” over a half-time groove/breakdown literally had me tearing up, with the depth of the music fitting perfectly with those words. It isn't an indictment so much as it is a plea.

Continuing through “Solitude” and “Faded,” they weave in and out of double time, straight-up rock and roll, halftime anthemic bounce, and poignant breakdowns. “Reset” is a post-punkish palate-cleansing instrumental with beautiful stacked clean guitars and swinging drums.

Following that up, the angsty “Waiting For You (In the Dark Before the Dawn)” begins the same way, only to morph into a speedy skate punk/hardcore noggin knocker to circle back to a powerful breakdown replete with some tuneful leads and more hanging open-string chords that drone at the end. “Last Step” is another moody intro careening into more d-beat and shouted/screamed vocals. “After All” is my favorite track, and despite feeling they could've shaved a good 90 seconds or so from it, it moves with conviction and purpose with their now-patented speed verses into melodic breakdowns. Closing things out is the clean guitar chording of “Love Song (Feat. Mark Betteridge),” which then moves into more punk tempos and anguished vocals only to be punctuated by a bass-led breakdown and guest Betteridge delivering some pristine clean singing before the band settles into a fast 4/4 punk lean, bookending everything with another breakdown and more of Mark’s cleans. It all ends abruptly and forcefully, furthering the dynamic of the song's marriage of rage and wistfulness.

On Borrowed Time have crafted an album that will surely appeal to those who like their hardcore infused with catchy melodies and positive, hopeful lyrics with an underlying sense of sadness. Within the space of less than 36 minutes, they have clearly stated their case and provided a thoughtful, angry listen that is big on mood and vibrantly spirited. Well done, lads, well done.

RIYL- Bane, Have Heart, Defeater, Comeback Kid, With Honor

~TB