Well, Morta Skuld have done a wonderful job at remaining in the underground scene. And only-known by a fixed-sized group of fans from wherever. Anyways, the point is, this is potentially the band's most-debated album, ever. At least here, on The Metal-Archives. At the time of this review, it has the most out of their other releases. And these guys aren't widely popular. So, I guess that's where the respect comes from. The smaller you are, the more respect you seem to get from your crowd. That's totally fine, too. Then, you don't end up getting a lot of "fanboy" idiots talking about stupid shit, like you always see in these "commercial" bands. No offense, but I see that as being "true". I have listened to this album more than once, it's potentially my favourite. But I haven't listened to every full-length that the band has released. So...that is also up for some debate...with myself. Anyways, let's move on.
So, it appears to me, that this album seems to be a "like it", or "hate it" record. Fine. Either is optional for the listener and/or audience, just in general, of course. But be warned, as friendly as I have been during this review, you might get offended over little things I enjoy, and things that you may hate. And because of that, you're probably bitch. So, too bad for you, freak. Let's continue with this now, just a little "poke" at some of the readers who love looking for fights because they don't agree with fellow reviewers. So, this is typically your average, somewhat dying 1990's death metal trend. By the late '90's, death metal seemed to be losing steam with some bands. This band, to be fair, were one of them. But it's not enough to say that this particular release was "bad". In fact, I think (excluding me) a lot of people would consider this band's release to be the "borderline" album. And every band are entitled to "one" borderline album. I'll explain more beneath.
So, basically, compared to the three previously-released albums this band released, this one is a bit of the "turning-point". It's considerably enjoyable. Myself, personally, think it's good. But I'm trying to be "realistic" and thinking of what other people "may" think, based on the knowledge I've seen. But this really is my review, and I shouldn't be overly-worrying over other people's thoughts, but I feel that they count, too...is to why people "might" think "poorly" of this album, just a little bit. So, this album came out in 1997, and it should be classified as a "B" classic. And I love "B" classic albums. I generally think they're better than the "A-rated" ones, simply because the fans are "less-crowed" around them. Which means there is plenty of room for others to enjoy. As if it were a concert, but typically at home in most cases, duh...
This band's production is quite good, even for the 1990's. The gear that recorded the band's performance, seemed considerably high-ended. So, the audio is realistically clear, smooth and pretty decent, to say the least (I guess). The band's general performance is pretty good as well. The vocals always sounded brutal. Very deep, very distorted...and well, potentially frightening at times. Especially if you're afraid of everything, you know? No, probably not, you're just a bitch, bitch! See what I did there? No, I doubt it. To be honest, you're probably blind, and somehow reading this shit through a "braille" screen...or something? I don't know. I'm just being an idiot at this point. Oh well.
The guitars are very, very fast-paced and quite technical. Almost enough to suggest that the band are "brutal death metal", but again, that's up for debate. But then again, I'm pretty retarded, so what do I know? The riffs are constantly changing and shifting gears, almost endlessly. The bass is mixed into the album well, too. You can hear the riffs of that through decent headphones pretty well. The drums are rapid. It's like clapping your hands so-fast, and so-hard, that you would think that you'd have a chance at breaking a world-record...or something like that? You're probably have sweaty palms are flesh-less hands, just in general...possibly busted fingers, too. The solos are very high-pitched, fancy and sometimes melodic. But very technical and quite aggressive here.
I've streamed this album online, you probably know where...it's obvious. Why do I always have to tell you everything? Use your fucking head and figure it out yourselves. You made it this far into my review without (I hope) vomiting. So...just shut up and listen to me. I would physically purchase this album if I managed to find it in the store...a CD store, dumb-ass. But the thing is, I've never went anywhere and seen ANY "Morta Skuld" album, ever. And I'm absolutely serious. It's a shame, such a good bad, just in general. And this release really speaks to me. I think the reason why, and I forget if I mentioned this earlier in the review or not, the band's album (this one) is so-popular, is because it's so heavily-debatable. Was this the last good album that Morta Skuld ever released? Possibly. And ever I might agree with it. But I don't know entirely. So, let everyone pick at this meat themselves and they'll tell us in their own words, in time...I (kind of) hope. Also, the lyrics are considerably decent, too. Read them. And as a future-note, if I mention the word "lyrics", it's not always because of them being "available" to read, if you can catch words from what the vocalist(s) is saying, that, to me, that counts...so, yeah...just a "heads-up", son. Assuming you're a guy. Not a gender-less maniac.
Oh yeah, I literally-almost forgot to mention the artwork and how it makes me feel. Okay, this shit is fucked, but hear me out... This is more of a summertime, during a cloudless afternoon between 12:00 PM-and-3:00 PM, generally in a beach-y area...or even a desert area. Or even driving in a desert in one of those convertibles, typically red. That's how I picture the album's visual landscape. And for it to be a bit warm, but comfortably-warm outside. And the artwork seems so...suitable for a 1990's release, it's a little "odd" but "refreshing"...which probably makes it "odd" in the first place. Also, I LOVE the artwork design, in itself. What kind of room is that? Like...an execution room, I assume? And what...or who is that in the background, standing there on the left-hand side? Is this supposed to be a religious message, perhaps? Or just a message in general? Is that the ghost of a victim who died in the "electric chair" with the glowing-blue essence of the "electricity"? Can someone please tell me more about this album's artwork? And WHY isn't anyone talking about how "puzzling" it is? Am I the only one who sees something interestingly "odd" about this album's visual-image? What does it all-mean? And what am I looking at, exactly? will I ever know? Possibly, but I doubt it. Though, I would love to know how-and-why it was designed this way for. Maybe it's to the relation of the songs, individually? I don't know. I just got so-many questions I'd like answered about that! And I'm sad no-one else is really talking about the artwork and how it appeals to them! It's fucking awesome! Reminds me a bit of an R.L. Stine book(s) from the 1990's. I picture myself as a kid (also from the 90's) hearing this. I feel like I "relate" to it...somehow. Also, I'll add, to some extent, if I really want to go into detail with it, I also feel it reminds me of "Jack Miner Bird Sanctuary" (feeding the geese seeds with red, yellow and blue bucket-cups) when I was a kid, oddly enough. I don't know. So-many different feelings I'm getting from this album's cover art. I just had to talk about this and make a huge "stink" out of it, too. Awesome cover! I absolutely love it!
Sample: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOsDSNGp8Q8
