Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes

A name like Stonehaven brings to mind Pagan/Folk Metal images but this Kansas City band seems content with thrashy Black Metal on their second album, Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes. Pioneers like Celtic Frost (including the requisite grunted "OOOOH!") and newer bands like Thulcandra and Desaster would be fair comparisons. Furious riffs, the occasional blast-beats and plenty of hateful raspy vocals emanate from all corners of the album. Most of the songs safely stick to a typical Black/Thrash formula and no new ground is broken. All the musicians play energetically and enthusiastically and I can't see why any fan of this type of Black Metal would turn off Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes. I also can't see much reason for those same fans to run out and buy the album, as they surely have plenty of stuff that sounds like this already. Bottom line; Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes is solid and you could undoubtedly do worse.