Coalesce, like a number of contemporary hardcore bands, virtually erase the boundaries between hardcore and metal, and, frankly, the band has much more in common with death metal then with, say, old school hardcore. The biggest difference between them and their death metal peers is that the members of Coalesce don't have long hair. And as far as the actual metal credentials go, the band did a split EP with Napalm Death and now are freshly signed to Relapse .

The music itself is an unrelenting combination of dense, discordant guitars, barking dog vocals, syncopated drums, angular rhythmic patterns, all of which create a violent cacophony on the brink of total collapse. I dare any grindcore or death metal fan to check this band out because the only thing they will have to worry about is that this album would be too chaotic for them.

© 1999 boris