Review Summary: Another win for Old Man Metalcore
100 Demons are a Connecticut-based metalcore band who released a couple of well received but relatively underground albums in the early 2000s. Until now, they may have been doomed to obscurity, buried by the hands of time and sheer volume of bands who have existed in this scene in the 2 decades since. But chalk
Embrace The Black Light up as another win for metalcore-loving millennials, and another surprising return in the 2026 metal cannon. This is 12 tracks of adrenaline which will appeal to those with an affinity for the likes of Earth Crisis, Integrity and Terror.
I will cop to never having heard of 100 Demons until now, but as a sucker for that metallic hardcore ***, I now feel motivated to explore those V1 albums.
Embrace The Black Light is rip-roaring piece of mosh-pit fuel confidently delivered by veterans whose execution ignores their lengthy absence. Expect fiery, gruff vocals, pointed lyrics, thrashy riffs, beatdown-style grooves, ripped solos, thunderous double-bass, stomping breakdowns, and memorable lines to shout at sweaty pit gremlins. All of this delivered with the high energy and tempo desired to get your blood bumping and noggin bopping. Among the wall-to-wall ragers,
The Cold Wind Of The Crossroads stands as the slightest of outliers, featuring - of all acts - Twitching Tongues. For those unaware, Twitching Tongues are good sports who took the public mockery of their 2015's
Disharmony in their stride, and the cheddar-iness of their guest vocals is counter-balanced well by 1D frontman Pete Morcey's heaviest performance. Coming at the halfway point in the album, this actually serves as a welcome palette-cleanser to break up what could otherwise have felt a monotonous stretch.
This album had the unfortunate release window of clashing with some of metalcore's heaviest hitters and most established bands, but fans of the -Core should not overlook this fun and high energy bruiser.
