Through the Eyes of Death: The Early Demos

Morta Skuld formed in the late 1980s and as such were a part of the death metal scene, if not in its infancy, certainly in its formative youthful stages. Curiously, they also played a role in its 'troubled' adolescence, later changing their name to MS2 and taking up a style of nu-metal sadly indebted to bands like Korn and even Staind. Thankfully that need not bother us today, because Through the Eyes of Death is a collection comprised of material from two 1990 demos, Gory Departure and Prolong the Agony, and consequently positively reek with the stench of old-time death metal. The band would, in 1993, go on to make the great but overlooked full-length Dying Remains, which had a gloomy, doomy approach comparable to Cianide or Asphyx, balanced by a great deal of technical finesse (manifested particularly in some neat Pestilence-evoking lead solos). These tracks aren't quite up to that standard, though anyone that hungers for unequivocally old school straight-ahead death should get something out of this.

Though generally extremely straightforward, the first half (the Gory Departure demo) features some occasionally intriguing song-writing. Sacrificial Rite, in particular, chops and changes between dense and meaty death metal riffs reminiscent of early Death albums, but also allows itself to get distracted by some gloweringly effective harmonised leads. Gory Departure itself shape-shifts angrily between those slower doom tempos and a Scream Bloody Gore shudder, whilst Senseless Killing has an infectious punk energy that is perhaps missing in much of today's scene. This section also features some quirks in the vocal delivery, including a ranting evangelical preacher narration on the satirical Preacher of Lies, and the unsettling robo-vocals that close Sacrificial Rite. These factors, though, don't really distinguish it from the influences that towered over death metal at the time, presenting a well-executed snapshot extreme music circa 1990 rather than revealing a lost vision of an alternative genre path.

The second half (Prolong the Agony) sees some shifts in the band’s sound, most notably in Dave Gregor’s vocals, which start to take on very heavy John Tardy overtones. The riffs, though, rather than moving towards Obituary in sound, seem to shift slightly further towards a punishing, gravelly doom-death comparable to Dream Death’s Journey into Mystery, thus prefiguring the down-tempo elements of Dying Remains. Feast from Within features a spitting, nauseous breakdown into a supremely crunching slow riff, embodying an old-school spirit that can’t be found in many more recent acts that have made heavy use of the same techniques. ...Of Evil is one of the best tracks here, its deep, crunching riffs twisting into a curious, angular song structure that represents the closest thing on the compilation to a genuinely distinctive Morta Skuld vision. This section is also helped by the arrival of Jef Jaeger on drums, as the percussion locates a new top gear of blasting intensity enabling greater dynamism.

These tracks are surprisingly well-constructed and well-produced for demo output, and as such Through the Eyes of the Death functions nicely as a well-preserved artefact from the early 1990s and late 1980s death metal scene. Compositionally, the material here does not really rival the intrigue or atmosphere of the band's full-length debut (in particular, it lacks its fusion-influenced lead guitar work), and so can't be called essential in a 2011 world in which audial filth is freely available at the click of a mouse. In its best moments though, this compilation throws up a couple of humble old-school gems.