Now, you might be thinking that it takes quite a set for a relatively obscure death metal band to release a "Best Of" disc. And this makes a ton of sense. One would think that the release of a "Best Of" disc is relegated to popular bands of all genres who have made a significant impact on the music world or a band that has released a ton of discs and has enough good material to fill up such a disc. But, I bet Weird Al Yankovic has a "Best Of" disc and that blows my theory to shit. So, we are now at square one. Why was this released?

I had searched feverishly for Morta Skuld’s releases but was never able to obtain them, without having to spend $15.99 on Amazon or send my money to some hillbilly in Arkansas who probably used to sit on the disc nude. I had heard some of their stuff on a Pavement Records compilation tape and I was impressed by their classic American death metal sound. It was straightforward, no-frills death metal with limited solos and plenty of simple double bass patterns. Nowadays, bands chose the terms "retrospective" or "chronicles" or "collection" instead of "Best Of" to avoid claims of audacity or self-hype. This is really a collection of Morta Skuld’s work from their inception in the early 1990s. If I could, I would have a roundtable discussion about what songs should make up a Morta Skuld "Best Of" disc but there is a better chance that 30 naked co-eds show up at my house with a plate of linguini Carbonara and 12 packs of Modelos. At this meeting, there would be doughnuts and bottled water and everyone would get a notepad and Bic pens. We would then have a vote and laugh.

This disc contains 13 tracks: 3 from Dying Remains (1993), 6 from As Humanity Fades (1994), and 4 from For All Eternity (1995). No tracks from their last release, Surface, appear on this disc most likely because this is a Peaceville release and all of the albums that appear were on Peaceville. Their final release was on Pavement. Although the albums were released in consecutive years, the band showed much progression from one album to the next. The first three tracks sound like a simplified version of Vital Remains‘ Let Us Pray (they released a limited 7" with Vital Remains the same year), with simple dark riffs sans the satanic edge. It is decent stuff but nothing groundbreaking and it sounds like a lot of material that was released around the same time such as releases by Baphomet (US), Morpheus Descends, and Oppressor.

Since the next album has 6 songs, it is obvious that the guys thought that this was their most significant release. I was most impressed by this material and it was at this point that I realized that the band shared a lot of similarities with Oppressor. It has that same feel as the material on Oppressor’s Solstice of Oppression and the live disc. It has a bit of a tinny, muted sound but it is much more violent that the previous material. It has a lot of "chugga-chugga" action and plenty of mildly technical parts that have quite a bit of groove. This really brings you back to a time of simple American death metal, when the Pabst Blue Ribbon was cold and there were plenty of Fritos for everyone. They are what Ruby Tuesday’s is to food or whatever the hell that means. The gruff vocals are layered nicely over a pronounced bass. The guitar has a great sound for the style and at times reminds me of older Sinister. It seems as though As Humanity Fades was their pinnacle release.

The final three tracks are not all that impressive and are poorly produced. The riffs are stale and all of the velocity from the previous release is lost. The last track is decent and it is a shame more of the material from this album did not sound like this. It is obvious here that they broke their ties with Oppressor, as the latter went on to make two more monster discs and they seemed to fade out. I would be curious to hear what the Pavement release sounded like.

This is a nice release for a band that never really made much of an impact. It is worth the cash if you can find it cheap, but it is obvious that finding As Humanity Fades would be the wiser choice. If I can quote Gorguts, this release will do little to reveal their sound to the masses and they will be "condemned to obscurity." However, it does showcase a band that, at one point, mastered the classic American death metal sound. If you have ever wondered what that meant, listen to the middle tracks of this disc.

Review byDouble Ds