Morta Skuld - Dying Remains (1993)

There's something endearing about no thrills death metal, 'Dying Remains' being a quality death metal opus that sees the Milwaukee mob churning out mostly mid-tempo, sinister sounding aggression that brings to mind the classic elements of Death, Cancer, Morbid Angel and Morgoth with a vocal style a little less tame than John Tardy of Obituary. There may have been a lot of death metal bands around in the late '80s and particularly early '90s, but it's great to hear very solid records still seeping into the mid '90s when this sort of music was far from fashionable, and 'Dying...' is a classic example of a band standing their ground in the face of grunge adversity and cranking up the gloom. There is some seriously ominous riffage here, especially on the doomy 'Devoured Fears' and the title track, whilst 'Presumed Dead' shows some old school slaying with its feverish speed. Somewhat a cult offering that leaves a pretty hefty wound in the soul. Good stuff. 7/10