OK, I've listened to the album twice now. My thoughts:
1) Simen is one of metal's best "clean" voices, if not the best. His vocals on this album are phenomenal. He very rarely goes off into his wild chaotic tangents, but the music does not call for them. This is doom, after all.
2) The music sounds a bit dated, but that might be because the music was recorded over 4 years, from 1993-1997. This is nothing really new. If you've heard Sabbath and Candlemass, you've heard Lamented Souls.
3) The music is everywhere. One song may be pure stoner rock, the next will be stoner doom, and the next might be traditional doom. The album lacks cohesiveness.
4) Out of 14 tracks, there are really only 10 different ones, as some songs are on twice because they were recorded at different times.
I do like the album, but I know the band can do better with fresh material, and not songs that, at the earliest, are 7 years old. However, I do think the album is worth the $12 if only to hear Simen doing trad doom songs.
) I've been waiting for his Lamented Souls album for years ever since i first heard about it. Didn't realize back then that this was supposed to be a Doom project though. Should make for interesting listening.
