Interview: Dave Gregor of Morta Skuld : The Razor's Edge

Interview: Dave Gregor of Morta Skuld
Interviewed by: Tim Finch

With the release of Morta Skuld seventh studio album 'Creation Undone' on Peaceville Records this week, we caught up with band mastermind Dave Gregor.

Dave, welcome to The Razor's Edge

Thank you for having me.

Before we talk about the new album, if we jump back to before the days of Morta Skuld. How did you first get into music?

When I was young I was into soundtracks of movies and TV theme songs. I would record them on my tape recorder, a small device that recorded onto a cassette tape. After a few years I went on to start to collect vinyl of soundtracks like Star Trek and the black hole. My mother would also sing to records while cleaning the house and I followed suit and that's what started my love for music.

And how did the band first come together?

After highschool I joined the Marines and was moving around the country a lot. When I was in Japan we listened to lots of 80's classics and there I really found out I wanted to be a musician. When I got out of service I was hanging out with a few guys that wanted to start a band, we formed a hardcore cross over band M.O.D. style and after a year or so I wanted to play heavier, so when that band broke up I started to form what would become Morta Skuld.

Despite a 14 year hiatus from 1998 through 2012, you still have an epic back catalogue of six past studio albums and now ‘Creation Undone’. How hard is it to keep producing new and fresh material?

With so many bands out there now compared to 20 years ago it can get hard to keep things fresh and original for sure. It still comes back to the same thing and that's the riff. It always starts with one riff and we build from that. It's a labour of love and at some point becomes part of your life, you eat, sleep and breathe music.

Did you approach this album (and its recording) any differently to the previous albums?

We still write the same way as a band for sure, the only thing we did different is once a song was written we didn't go back to it until the rest of the album was written. I think that kept us fresh and organic, So Instead of writing a song and then coming back to play it again every week, we started each rehearsal out fresh and I feel it gave us more energy to write more dynamic.

As the reviews come in for the album, do you pay any attention to what the press have to say?

And you are on quite the legendary label in Peaceville. How are they to work with? How much do they help you throughout the whole process?

When we came back I had been in touch with them for a few years going over the Dying Remains reissue. We did an EP to test the waters which was received well. I eventually started talking about doing a full length and after some talks we signed a new deal. They have always treated us fairly and we felt with our first three albums on the label it would be a great coming home experience for us. We were pleased to come back to the label that gave us our start.

Following on from the album, what are your plans for 2024. Where do Morta Skuld go next?

Obviously touring and recording keep you busy. How do you unwind between tours? What keeps you occupied away from the music?

I wish I could say I unwind but really don't. I'm always in motion and always doing band business on some level. Once the tour ends it's like ok what's next or what could we do next and then the process starts over again.

It's been a pleasure talking to you today, I wish you all the best with the release of ‘Creation Undone’ which comes out on February 23rd via Peaceville.