Saturday, January 4, 2014

Coalesce Give Them Rope Edison Recordings 1997

Coalesce Give Them Rope Edison Recordings 1997 CAT #006

This is hands down one of the most important albums to come out of Kansas City during it's 90's indie explosion.  This album virtually started a genre.  So much so, the album has been re-released several times in multiple formats.

There were other bands doing this throughout the indie scene in the late 90's.  But, most those bands were fighting traditional metal influences and trying to find a way to re-write old riffs.  Coalesce took their cue from hardcore punk by going straight for the jugular.  No "singing", No drum solos, No Guitar solos.  Just blistering metal.

To be musical and show they had the chops to be "metal," they focused on odd time signatures and dissonant guitars.  The guttural vocals and odd out of place keyboard riffs add to the chaos.  Upon first listen, and even more so if you were listening in 1997, it sounds as if it's coming from another planet.  But, give it a few spins and it all starts to make sense, even becomes enjoyable.

A few years later, bands like Botch and Dillinger Escape Plan would perfect this form.  Coalesce would constantly shift members and lose focus along the way, by doing so they'd never catch up to those groups despite improving their sound.  Nevertheless, they'll always be thought of as pioneers in the genre.

Have Patience
Coalesce Live is Fucking Scary

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