100 Demons

100 Demons: Pete Morcey (vocals); Jeremy Braddock, Rick Brayall (guitar); Erik Barrett (bass); Rich Rosa (drums).
The line between hardcore and metal just gets blurrier and blurrier, and that's probably a good thing. But it does lead to some strange hybridisms -- such as metal albums (like this one) that last only 26 minutes, or hardcore albums (like this one) that combine a big, chesty, macho singing/yelling style with whiny, self-obsessed lyrics ("I'm dying in my own arms," "I never asked for this pain," etc.). 100 Demons exemplify this hybridization musically as well, and (despite the occasional lyrical excesses) that's mostly a good thing. The band's twin-guitar attack sticks mostly to the utilitarian grind and roar of hardcore, but there's a genuinely elegant guitar solo on "Something Terrible," and while singer Pete Morcey generally sticks to the same utilitarian grind and roar in his vocal approach, there is some genuinely elegant singing on the surprisingly melodic "Repeat Process." It's kind of hard not to snort at the overblown grandiosity of lines like "My brothers aren't afraid/I trust my life in their hands/They'll fight by my side/Until the bloody end" (the bloody end of what -- the all-ages show?), but these are the sentiments that rally the crew together, and there's really no arguing with the music itself. ~ Rick Anderson