The overarching theme of this week has been reacquainting ourselves with bands who haven’t released new music since 2020. First, it was Traveler. Then, it was Stygian Crown. Now, we make our way over to the brutal world of death metal with Morta Skuld. Yes, it’s been four years since we’ve last heard from these Wisconsin death metallers as well, pummeling our eardrums last with Suffer for Nothing. Armed and ready to lay waste yet again, the band has returned with the third album of their triumphant reunion run, Creation Undone.
Although only founding guitarist/frontman Dave Gregor remains from the band’s early days, the band’s dedication to releasing unrelenting death metal remains steadfast as ever. This is largely because the current incarnation of Skuld don’t just play the music, but love it: They’re full blown fans who were listening to Mrota SKuld themselves 30+ years ago in their youth. Couple this with the seasoned veteran chops of Gregor and Creation Undone is quite the force to be reckoned with, bludgeoning the naysayers without mercy.
The front half of Creation Undone is filled with what can be characterized as meat and potatoes death metal. Keep “technical”, “progressive”, “blackened”, or any other prefixes to the side. Sure, the production is modern and maybe even a tad polished by death metal standards, but the music itself goes for the jugular, attacking the listener with crushing riffs, dizzying drum work, and the signature bark (not growl) of Gregor. Cuts like the thrashing “We Rise We Fall”, rampaging “The End of Reason”, and brooding “Unforeseen Obstacles” emphasize this formula to a T. They’re fast and forceful, but not to the point of coming off like some been there, done that, OSDM throwaway.
Admittedly, comparisons can be made to Covenant era Morbid Angel in this first half, but these influences really don’t take hold until Creation Undone‘s second half. Funny enough, when we interviewed Gregor earlier this month, he mentioned Immolation as an influence on the playing and guitarwork of this album as well. When you combine the hellish aura of Morbid Angel and dismal insanity of Immolation, it’s not hard to fathom cuts like the bleak “Into Temptation” and cryptic “Self Destructive Emotions”, the latter of which boasts one of the most inventive lead guitar passages I’ve heard in a death metal song in quite some time.
“Oblivion” expands upon this aesthetic even further, as does the devastating closer, “By Design”, which borders on full blown death/doom. By the time Creation Undone wraps up, we’re not left wanting to go on a bloodthirsty frenzy through town, but rather immersing ourselves in the foreboding depth and unsuspecting intricacies of each individual song. This, I believe, was the point from the beginning. Morta Skuld is not your run of the mill death metal band, nor is Creation Undone your run of the mill death metal album. It’s arguably the strongest outing of Morta Skuld’s reunion run to date, and undeniable proof that there is life in death.
7 out of 10
Label: Peaceville Records
Genre: Death Metal
For fans of: Morbid Angel, Immolation, Obituary