INTERVIEW MORTA SKULD

" 'Dying Remains' was a huge album for us and set the tone, lots of fans really enjoy this record and we are so blessed that it's still a great record and stands the rest of time."

After decades in US death metal, Morta Skuld from Milwaukee are a firm institution in the genre. Now they have delivered an absolute highlight with "Creation Undone", which can also be seen from the numerous enthusiastic reactions from the press and fans. A good reason to talk to the only remaining founding member Dave Gregor.

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I can still remember my first encounter with Morta Skuld, which was in the distant year 1993, when I bought the Deaf Metal sampler that I happened to come across in a record store. It also featured At The Gates, Dissection and Vital Remains. People still bought samplers at that time, haha. What are your memories of that time?

I remember lots of sampler and compilations people would buy for sure, they were hungry for anything. 

I think "Creation Undone" is the strongest death metal album from the United States in a long time. The special thing is the combination of classic US Death Metal with these great groovy parts. The album seems to be very well received by the press and fans, right?

Yes, it's doing very well and the press reactions were great. I feel we hit it with this album as it has a lot of elements of different genres and styles. I really love the production and clarity of it.

I find the cover artwork particularly impressive, which visually emphasizes the class and mood of the album. What can you say about the cover and how it came about?

The cover was a gift from a friend Matt Bishop, we sent it to the label and they didn't care for it as a whole. So they hired Danielle Masek to paint the background and make things come to life more. The original concept was by Mike Wyatt.

What is planned on the live front? There will be a Latin American tour with Malevolent Creation, right? Are you also coming to Europe and even Germany?

We are going to South America and West Coast as you said. We are working on securing a European booking agent and hopefully we will be able to make it over to Germany.

Can you tell us which were the first bands that initially led you to heavier music and which inspired you to create your own dark sounds with Morta Skuld?

Death, Obituary, Cannibal Corpse, Paradise Lost and quite a few more.

Let's come back to your music over the years: Your debut "Dying Remains" from 1993 was stylistically very different, it was more oriented towards European death metal, I would say. It was much more simply played, relatively slow, one even feels reminded of Paradise Lost from time to time; sometimes also of Bolt Thrower and Benediction? Did you listen to these bands intensively back then? Did that determine the musical direction - on the other hand, you could also have oriented yourselves towards Morbid Angel's "Altars of Madness"? What memories do you have of these recordings? There is also a 30th anniversary edition with a bonus CD, I still think the material is very strong even after more than 30 years!

We really wore our influence on our sleeve for sure and all those bands were huge inspiration for us at that time. "Dying Remains" was a huge album for us and set the tone, lots of fans really enjoy this record and we are so blessed that it's still a great record and stands the rest of time.

When you look back on your entire discography, which is your personal favorite release and why?

"Surface", we were so in our game and really honed our craft of song writing and structures. And I love the production a lot. 

In addition to the big bands like Obituary, Morbid Angel and Deicide, there were also many good bands in the USA that were never in the spotlight, including Morta Skuld and bands like Brutality, Broken Hope, Gorguts and Resurrection, some of which are no longer around or have taken a temporary break. Incantation and Immolation, on the other hand, have made a huge leap in popularity in recent years, I have the impression. How do you see your role in American death metal?

The bands you mentioned were all first generation bands, I consider us a second generation bands and I'm proud we came out when we did. 

I read in an interview with you that Corona in particular had really affected the club scene in your area, how are things looking now? Have some clubs and venues reopened, are people going to concerts a lot?

It affected a lot more then that and I think all over it effected all of us on some level. Some clubs never reopened and some did, and it hurt our venues big time but things are getting better as we progress through all of this.

Please list your five personal extreme metal all time faves, maybe with a short explanation why exactly these. 

Kreator - Extreme aggression, Death - Leprosy, Death - Spiritual healing, Obituary - Cause of Death and Malevolent Creation - The ten commandments.

Do you have any insider tips for unknown bands, especially from your region, that I should definitely listen to?

There are few up and coming bands such as Obscene, Throne and Illusion of Fate. 

The last words belong to you! Here you can get rid of everything that has not yet been said.

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