100 Demons — Embrace the Black Light . Bringing back the real hardcore, as reviewed by Mark J.

100 Demons — Embrace the Black Light (Closed Casket Activities)

Twenty-two years is a long time to leave a scene waiting, and 100 Demons know it. Embrace the Black Light is the Connecticut band's first record since their 2004 self-titled, and rather than tiptoe back in, they've come back swinging with twelve tracks in thirty-seven minutes that never once feel like a band shaking off rust. Recorded at Silver Bullet Studios with Greg Thomas and Chris Teti, and mastered by Will Putney, this is a record built with the patience of people who had nothing left to prove and no clock to beat — a year in the making, brick by brick, according to vocalist Pete Morcey.

What's most striking is how little the layoff shows. Opener "The Nightmare" leans on church bells and dread before the band's signature two-step-ready breakdowns take over, and there's a confidence in the pacing that only comes from a band that has genuinely lived inside these riffs for two decades rather than chasing a trend back into relevance. "Cold Wind of the Crossroads," featuring Colin and Taylor Young of Twitching Tongues and God's Hate, nods toward melodic death metal without losing the metallic hardcore backbone, and closer "Spiritual Obliteration" earns its title. The return of former guitarist Sean Martin — now on bass — adds another layer of scene pedigree to a record that already reads like a who's-who of East Coast hardcore's stubborn survivors.

This isn't a comeback record trying to relitigate the 2000s. It's a band making the record they wanted to make, on their own terms, with the people who mattered to them in the room. That's rarer than it should be.

Perfect, gritty album. 

https://100demons.bandcamp.com/album/embrace-the-black-light