Ericson's music under the Doom:VS banner is by and large based on guitar work, but he does not snub the aid of some synths. While I wouldn't have missed the more conventional guitar solos if they had been edited out, this is more than compensated by the slow, prolonged guitar lines, which are really well executed. The vocals consist mostly of a deep, powerful death growl and some similarly accomplished spoken passages. Ericson also shows he knows a thing or two about songwriting, as he keeps things quite well balanced pace-wise for most of the album (keep in mind this is doom metal though).

With strong values in every department musically, this solo effort is undoubtedly a very competent doom/death album. Unless you are unfamiliar with the genre however, there is nothing absolutely new or exceedingly great that you can't find anywhere else awaiting you on _Aeternus Vale_. Then again, it does not try to be innovative; it is just a very well crafted album that can appeal to virtually anyone who likes doom metal and make a very worthy, though not fundamental addition to their collection.