Midwest black metal legion STONEHAVEN recently posted some dark but ravenous live footage from house performance at The Cellar in Lawrence, Kansas last month. Feast your eye holes below:
STONEHAVEN released their Concerning Old-Strife And Man-Banes full-length this Spring via Horror Pain Gore Death Productions. Described as a “black hearted potpourri of Icelandic saga, Norwegian ashen metal, and Swedish eddas about pagan kings forced to slurp down a nasty snake noodle at the behest of them mean old Christian 10th century evangelists,” by About.com, has been critically hailed throughout the underground for its elaborate display of sonic wartime grimness.
Blistering applauded the band for their “deft knowledge of the style and penchant for dynamic, cunning BM compositions,” Steff Metal noted, “STONEHAVEN bombard the listener with the intensity and brutality of battle,” while Music Emissions gushed over the collective’s “excellently written black metal mixed with groovy viking-metal melodies and anthems,” adding that “STONEHAVEN have crafted an epic-length record that will appeal to the ancient, pagan Norsemen in all of us.” Metal Psalter called Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes “a solid album that recalls some of the better early to mid-’90s black metal while adding their own spin on the music,” while Blabbermouth hailed the record for offering up eight songs that are “marvelously arranged, packed as they are with killer riff after killer riff and buzzing with that indefinable black metal energy, aura even, that raises an album from good to special.”
And the hails don’t end there:
“STONEHAVEN‘s second runic release is Concerning Old-Strife And Man-Banes. The Kansas band’s 8 track long-player is a black hearted potpourri of Icelandic saga, Norwegian ashen metal, and Swedish eddas about pagan kings forced to slurp down a nasty snake noodle at the behest of them mean old Christian 10th century evangelists. USBM is making a curious surge across the dusty plains of the Midwest, where the corn grows tall in more ways than one. Though they test the constraints of the envelope, Stonehaven is a heavy slab of barbecued Enslaved or Burzum. – About.com
“STONEHAVEN is very much dedicated to the aesthetics of the second wave with its black and white album cover, shrill lo – fi atmosphere, and lyrics revolving around ancient folklore. The band even dons corpse paint and shrouds themselves in animal hides. All of this would be cheesy if the music were not so damn enjoyable. The minimalist structure and stone bare production works 100 times in this bands favor. The Sunflower State has created something evil and ultimately destructive.” – Pinpoint Music
“STONEHAVEN is not just honest about the fucked up history humanity has written itself but the music is fashioned without so much as a decadent note. The production is crisp and deep, whilst making sure not to indulge in spooky effects or laughable levels of reverb, thus liberating a sound that should light a fire in the heart of any loyal follower of early Burzum or Kampfar.” – Shredder.net
“Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes is one of this year’s more exciting US black metal releases so far.” – Musical Warfare
“Those saying that black metal is not interesting or is dead and gone have no idea what they’re talking about. STONEHAVEN is well around and Concerning Old-Strife And Man-Banes is a testimony of what (Pagan) black metal should sound like. Really enjoyable album and will get a lot of spins from me. Kudos to those young guys and all the best for the future, which if they keep this quality up, looks pretty damn good.” – Planetary Sanctum
“There are a total of 8 songs on this release and they are all top notch black metal.” – Ripple Music
“American Black Metal just gets better and better! Honoring the ‘trve’ sound and feeling of Norwegian Black Metal, Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes by Kansas City, KS kvltists STONEHAVEN plants a victorious flag in the blighted soil of its enemies. Their first full-length effort, Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes is 8 songs of anthemic blasphemy, with all but one song clocking in at less than 7 minutes. STONEHAVEN needs no synthesizers and they designed their track listing to read like the schedule for Hell’s home shopping network (“Sword Rape,” “Addressing the Scorn Pole,” “Coins Under Corpses”). If Black Metal is your poison, Concerning Old-Strife and Man-Banes is sure to fill the gaping void in the snow cave of your soul.” – Hails & Horns
“That this is a great band of behemothic proportions which is, unfortunately, forgotten in the middle of Kansas, where I know about no scene and that only can be saved by word of mouth or if some great distribution of this CD is made by some “major”. This band is a typical example of injustice in metal where some “core” bullshit get more attention than a helluva USBM like this! MaF is playing its part and I hope more zines and magazines around the world give the due space and kudos to this band that does not deserve to be buried by time and dust. Enjoy ’em, or die drowned in your own poseurness!” – Metal As Fuck
STONEHAVEN was interviewed by Jimmy Cabbs of Manic Metal on KNAC.com during the Los Angeles stop. If you missed it the first time, hear the band discuss their Kansas roots, the commercialization of black metal, their opposition to “the metal brotherhood” and more, scroll your way over HERE.
