Deer In The Headlights / Black Sails split 7″

Dear In the Headlights/Black Sails both deliver two songs for this nice looking split. Deer In The Headlights originates in Bosnia and they simpy play hardcore punk. Black Sails hails from Zagreb, Croatia (and a bit from Split, their biographies differ on the matter).

Together these bands made a split that looks great. It has to be said. Its design is very minimal, drawn and for some reason resonates with the vibe these bands put down, which is a lot like the modern day hardcore sound of the likes of Touché Amore, Letlive and Defeater.

Black Sails opens their side of the bargain with ‘Closure’, a pounding track, with vocals that speak of despair. They remain a bit muddled in the torrent of guitar work, which creates a strong atmospheric vibe. Lyrically the band is pretty grim, with lines like: “You’ll find me wounded in the grass with maggots. I’m the one that crawls back to you. It’s just me, it’s just me.” Same goes for  ‘It Doesn’t Matter If We All Die’. There’s a certain Baudelaire-like charm to their songs about death and poetry. The band sounds muddy and hectic and makes one think of Touché Amore without having to please their girlfriends.

Deer In The Headlights is a bit more hectic in their sound and departs in the direction of Oathbreaker and the like. Rabid, barked vocals at a high pace are acompanied by wild and soaring guitarplay. The rhytm section remains a bit mid-paced on ‘Because there were no questions’. The sound gets a bit more explosive and fierce on ‘Devils Playground’. These guys have been around for a while and are recording their full length now. From what I hear on this split, that promises something quite interesting.

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