This split features two very like-minded bands. Both use horror imagery as a jumping off point to comment on modern culture. Stajnas Lobos opens with “The Hammer,” in which they draw school shootings in the form of slasher films, all blood-soaked and focused on the killer. The shaky vocals keep you off balance as you watch the events unfold and even begin to understand the murderer’s point of view. In “Wake up the Dead,” Vacant Churches paint a post-apocalyptic scene of “meathead monsters and plastic ladies.” The keyboards pick at your nerves until you realize the scene isn’t post-apocalyptic at all. This is a good example of how strong the split 7” format can be.
–mp (Vinehell)