UMUR "Dying Remains" is the debut full-length studio album by US death metal act Morta Skuld. The album was released in 1993 by Deaf Records/ Peaceville Records.

The music on the album is pretty standard US death metal. It´s not of the technical kind but not of the most filthy kind either. The music is mostly slow- to mid paced but there are faster parts on the album too. I was actually a bit surprised by how many slow doom/ death parts there are on the album though. Those parts and the guitar leads remind me a lot of "Lost Paradise (1990)" era-Paradise Lost. Not exactly elements that are typical for early nineties US death metal acts. The rest of the music is more typical US death metal. The growling vocals are mostly deep and indecipherable, but there are occasional aggressive sneering growls too. The vocals are generally a bit monotone IMO.

The production is not the most powerful one I´ve ever heard. Actually it´s kind of flat and lifeless. A very mediocre sound but it´s not unusual for the time.

"Dying Remains" is not a bad death metal release by any means, but still I´m pretty much indifferent towards it. There´s nothing that stands out as unique on the album and I probably wouldn´t be able to tell that it was this album I was listening to if someone played it to me. I hate to point my finger at Morta Skuld, but IMO it´s albums like this that meant the downfall of death metal in the mid nineties. Too many standard releases that didn´t, and had no intention of, exploring boundaries or create an unique expression killed the scene. I guess a 2.5 - 3 star rating is warranted but I can´t really recommend a purchase.