UMUR
"Serving Two Masters" is an EP release by US, Wisconsin based death metal act Morta Skuld. The EP was released through Dread Records in September 2014 and it bridges the gap between Morta Skuld´s fourth- and fifth full-length studio albums "Surface" (1997) and "Wounds Deeper than Time" (2017). Morta Skuld disbanded in 1998 after releasing four full-length studio albums but reunited in 2012. "Serving Two Masters" features the first new original material from Morta Skuld since the release of "Surface" (1997).
"Serving Two Masters" doesn´t solely feature new orginal material though. The first three songs on the EP are the new material but Morta Skuld have also opted to re-record a couple of old tracks. They are "Presumed Dead" from Morta Skuld´s 1993 debut full-length studio album "Dying Remains" and "Prolong the Agony" from the August 1990 "Prolong the Agony" demo.
From the first notes of "Serving Two Masters" the mid-paced death metal of Morta Skuld is recognisable. Not necessarily as Morta Skuld but more because of the standard quality mid-paced US death metal sound and style they produce. Morta Skuld have a more massive and powerful sounding production on their post-comeback releases, but their core death metal style is pretty much intact all the way back to their two 1990 demos. This also means that there isn´t much difference in sound and style from the new original tracks to the two re-recorded older tracks.
"Serving Two Masters" is a good quality death metal release from Morta Skuld. It features solid (if not spectacular) songwriting, a powerful sounding production job, and high level musical performances. A 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is warranted.