Dying Remains

Though not a particularly well-known purveyor of classic death metal, Morta Skuld are easily one of the most powerful bands on the scene, as evidenced by the band's 1993 masterpiece, "Dying Remains". This record draws upon the Obituary school of death metal...that is, focused largely on slow or mid-tempo riffs over speed and blast beats, as well as containing (be it accidental or intentional) a very dark and grim atmosphere, conjuring up images of graveyards and tombstones and other shit. Having said that, after listening to this record, it's clear that Morta Skuld have managed to create their own unique style. Unlike the vast majority of bands (good and bad), Morta Skuld play a familiar style of music while managing to avoid writing riffs that play too deeply into any other band's signature style.

The riffs will occasionally reference a band like Autopsy, and some of the faster riffs give off a strong "Leprosy" influence, but even in these moments, it's clear that you're not listening to a tribute band...you're listening to Morta Skuld. For example, the opening riff to "Devoured Fears" has always given off a very eerie atmosphere to me, no doubt due to the slow-paced riff and harmonization which is one of Autopsy's many signatures. However, this doesn't really sound like Autopsy to me. It sounds like a band being inspired by one of the most innovative bands on the scene, and rather than simply ripping them off, taking this inspiration and using it to create something new (well, technically old...but you probably get what I mean!).

This is also apparent in Dave Gregor's vocal delivery, a man who could easily fend off a small army with simply his diaphragm. The majority of his vocals lean towards an extremely deep, guttural grunt that would reduce Chris Barnes to a terrified little girl. However, Gregor's real crowning jewel are his higher-ranged growls, which are sharp as a knife, and powerful as a tank. Even after years and years of listening to death metal, some of Gregor's vocals on this album give me cold chills ("Now it's time for you to die - ALIVE!!!!!" - not sure what the fuck that is supposed to mean, but holy fuck is it brutal!!!).

Another thing that cannot be understated is the sheer power of this album's production. Generally, one would assume that an underground band from a state with a relatively obscure scene, would be relegated to lo-fi recording qualities from people who have no idea what they are doing. Each instrument sounds fantastic...the bass sits loud and proud in the mix, the drums pound on with incredible snare & bass tones (this is particularly apparent in the faster sections with the thrash beat - I can only describe this sound as "sexy"), and the guitar tone is exceptional (save for the "whop-whop-whop-whop" sound it gives off during the opening riff to "Hatred Creation").

I'd also like to point out how awesome the album cover is. A man with a (presumably?) giant forehead being blissfully ripped apart as he's lowered into a lake of boiling flesh & blood, as a graveyard dots the horizon? That's what death metal is all about (especially the giant forehead), and not a giant island-face being stabbed by a bobblehead skeleton (Benediction - "Subconscious Terror"), or a fucking rose (Atrocity - "Todessehnsucht"). Anyway, go buy this album right now. Don't even think about it. Don't be scared off by the ridiculous price that the original fetches on Amazon...the 2013 re-issue available for mail-order through Peaceville revamps the booklet with rare (high quality) photos, clippings from newspapers and magazines about show reviews, album reviews, etc., and the band were kind enough to restore the original album cover, to great effect. The sound quality is also top notch!!

Anyway, this album is a must for anyone who loves old-school death metal!! Hopefully the band will manage to re-issue their other albums, so we can hear them too!!

For every great death metal act that received its fair share of love during the 90s, there were at least 1 or 2 more that deserved at least an equal amount (if not more) and somehow just didn't quite get it. Similarity between the former and latter category tends to go without saying, but often times what made the difference for the known bands was simply a matter of timing rather than any superiority at either songwriting or musicianship. Granted, genre saturation is a credible excuse for why the lion's share of attention is directed toward an earlier band like Cannibal Corpse, though it can be pretty safely argued that during their heyday, bands like the UK's Cancer and the Mid-Western US act Morta Skuld were a bit more nuanced and interesting in their approach to churning the sonic sludge while still keeping a respectable semblance of the genre's thrash metal roots.

This is by no means to suggest that Morta Skuld is terribly comparable to early Cannibal Corpse, except for maybe in a loose sense when dealing with the more thrashing "Eaten Back To Life". Unlike CC and their British contemporaries Cancer, this Wisconsin outfit never acquired the production services of Scott Burns, and thus never put out anything of the percussive, somewhat top-heavy character of his approach. The dimensions of what makes "Dying Remains" tick are more along the lines of the denser, atmospheric character that tends to play more into the Swedish scene that was on the rise by 1993 when this was released. Stylistically it walks a pretty tight line between the higher speed mayhem inherited from Slayer as heard out of Deicide on "Once Upon The Cross", and yet it also takes a whole lot of slower, dissonant, doom-like elements from the Obituary and Autopsy playbook, resulting in a sound that is pretty varied, and generally prone to a heavy amount of emphasis on extended instrumental passages and sparely placed lyrics.

From one song to the next, things almost seem to morph into a death metal version of a jam band session, as unconventional song structures and lyrical patterns intermingle with each other amid a lot of thematically similar musical material. Whether the song lengths stop just shy of the 4 minute mark, or go a bit over the 6 minute mark, every song feels quite drawn out given the frequent changes in tempo, often in an abrupt manner from a slow rocking crawl to a full speed thrash beat. Arguably the most blatant and concentrated example of all these elements is that of "Withering Seclusion", which finds itself throwing the usual blinding tremolo picked riffs along with a fair number of extremely down tempo chug riffs and dissonant chords that reminds somewhat of a slightly faster version of Morbid Angel's "God Of Emptiness". Guitar solos are a very frequent occurence throughout this album, and yet they never quite come off as showboating the way a typical Trey Azagthoth shred session or any one of a number of Kerry King emulators in the early 90s scene might. Often the leads are melodic and dreary, while at others they speed along yet maintain a methodical and strictly structured character that cuts against the usual whammy bar drenched noise and frenzied scale runs.

While "Dying Remains" seems a unique offering for its time, it's overall character and approach is definitely appropriate for its day, and all the elements at work are quite familiar. The token acoustic intro with an ominous atmospheric aesthetic was pretty well the order of the day for most thrash and death metal bands from 1987 to 1994, and the one heard in the 30 second prelude "Lifeless" literally sounds like it was lifted from "Beneath The Remains", slowed down to half speed and had a keyboard put behind it. Similarly, the extremely deep and bare intelligible vocal character of Dave Gregor on here is almost a dead ringer for Chris Barnes, though the lyrics are a bit less gore obsessed and tend to come off as somber and fatalistic as much as sick and maniacal. But as with any album that follows after the example of an already established template, execution and variation are key, and when hearing the mutlifaceted mayhem going on in "Devoured Fears" and "Presumed Dead" there is little doubt of these elements being firmly in place. This album is a bit hard to come by, but definitely worth the time for those seeking death metal of the older, traditional persuasion.

Morta Skuld were one of those Wisconsin bands who enjoyed a little bit of attention (and I emphasize little) from the death metal community back in the early 90's alongside Accidental Suicide. In contrast to their peers from Milwaukee, Morta Skuld sounded less like a companion to Autopsy's filthy sound and more like a straight shot of Obituary influenced death metal with hints of Deicide. Mostly it was mid-tempo death metal with no frills or forward thinking, coming to the table with nothing more than riff after riff of death metal goodness.

The album begins with a little intro in "Lifeless" before charging head first into "Without Sin," where the Obituary/Deicide comparisons become evident. The writing isn't really on par with the better albums of either band, but when they launch into a nifty groove like at the 1:50 mark of "Without Sin," its hard not to pay attention. For their collective simplicity, the songs are rather catchy with a number of good riffs tucked in there.

Other keepers include the title track, "Useless to Mankind," and "Presumed Dead," though honestly any one of these works just fine. There isn't a whole lot to these songs aside from some pounding rhythms and grooving riffs that never really launch out of mid-tempo. That in itself is not necessarily a bad thing, especially if all you really want out of your death metal is just something to headbang to and have a blast while doing it.

Morta Skuld never did really end up going anywhere with themselves, by the time they debuted in 1993 the death metal scene was already overpopulated and trying to find new routes of creativity to avoid stagnation. Something like "Dying Remains" didn't bother to push the envelope at all, and while its a competent album it simply can't hold up to the better works of Obituary, Benediction, or Deicide. Its one of those albums that finds itself unable to move away from its blue collar roots and as such ends up being a fun if unspectacular listen. Anyone who enjoys this album will undoubtedly like "As Humanity Fades," their sophomore recording from 1994, which is cut from the same crop as this one.