Fusing chunks of hardcore to death and black metal's most socially unacceptable traits, _The Great Stone War_ plays out like a montage its creators' favourite bits from each. Yet surprisingly despite their disparate ethos, the likes of "Soldiers of Doomsday" and "Battle Scars" present a thoroughly entertaining and coherent alchemy, performed with a convincing zeal by each of Winds of Plague's six man-strong ensemble. Later on the record, delivery becomes a focal point managing to get over even a suspiciously recycled cut like "Classic Struggle".

How fans respond to this mish-mash of styles will be interesting, given some of the ever-present elitist snobbery that has felled others for less blatant cross-pollination. For those of us who've grown beyond thinking with the logic of a ten year-old, _The Great Stone War_ is a pleasant surprise in what has turned out to be another vintage year for extreme music.