Review Summary: “The title track is about watching my Grandmother die after a ten year slide into dementia.” – Billy Tegethoff
The Oxford Coma’s latest EP consists of songs about “grief, loss, death and deeply personal experiences” and this is easily recognisable in their raw and aggressive sound. Throughout the EP there are traces of early Nirvana and Tool, but the influences from sludge metal bands such as Eyehategod and The Melvins and mathcore groups like The Dillinger Escape Plan are also prevalent.
Clocking in at little over 24 minutes,
Morphine is a brief but highly satisfying excursion into the minds of The Oxford Coma. Opening with a haunting monologue about death that is buried beneath a layer of eerie ambience and static,
“InfraStatic (Thanks Uncle Sam)” quickly transitions into a barrage of mathy, angular riffs in the form of
“My Riad”. It’s clear that the band is channelling the atmosphere of early Tool but the mathcore influence is also particularly noticeable in the riffs here. “My Riad” is also possibly the EP’s heaviest song – as metal-influenced as these guys are, they are not really a ‘metal band’.
“Tradition” kicks off with a riff that reminds me of Eyehategod for some reason, before vocalist Billy Tegethoff launches into his best Kurt Cobain impression in the chorus. The EP only continues down a grungier path from this point on but fortunately the anger and resentment continue.
“Grindstone” is
Morphine’s longest cut and certainly one of the best; containing perhaps the most memorable chorus on the EP along with a wonderfully math-y conclusion and solo, the track stands out above the rest and, at over 6 minutes in length, constitutes a fairly significant portion of the release.
The title track is a short and sharp burst of energy, every bit as angry as you would expect following Tegethoff’s explanation of its meaning. It’s a nice change of pace but not nearly as much of a change as the final track,
“Black Balloons” - a slow, depressing number with nothing more than a guitar and some atmospherics accompanying the solemn vocals. It’s certainly not the most exciting song on the EP but it gets the job done as a suitable closer.
All in all,
Morphine is a fantastic release from The Oxford Coma and it’s clear that they have tapped into something special. Fans of the aforementioned bands will find a great deal to like here as long as they are able to appreciate the group’s crossover approach. This is an excellent offering that definitely shouldn’t be overlooked.
