Coalesce is a hybrid expression of extreme and underground music; extreme in the quality of its sound and underground in its being a cult-like phenomenon. Heavy Metal (of at least three eras—70s, 80s, 90s), Punk Hardcore, and Noise Rock influences are all detectable in the group's sound without the unique character of that sound being reducible to any one of those genres. While coalesce displays a more refined and articulate manifestation in its recordings, tempering various dimensions of distortion and caustic vocals with disjunct song structures and odd time signature rhythms, this refinement is commonly replaced by an emotive frenzy during the group's live performances. Both of these dimensions, the articulate and the frenzied, have defined coalesce's history since its inception in 1994. That history includes two LPs, two EPs, over ten 7" releases (including splits with Napalm Death, Boysetsfire, Converge, the Get Up Kids, and Today is the Day), and a DVD collection of bootlegged live footage; live appearances with bands such as Bad Brains, Neurosis, Godflesh, Brutal Truth, JimmyEatWorld, the Get Up Kids, the Dillinger Escape Plan, among many others; and a personal chronicle of unpredictable inter-member friction culminating in at least two major stretches of hiatus. In 2005, coalesce took on a "part-time" status, featuring Sean Ingram (vocals), Nathan Ellis (bass), Jes Steineger (guitar), and Nathan Richardson (drums). This lineup has exhibited a maturation of coalesce's sound while preserving the creativity of the group's lineage, which is evident in the 2007 7" Salt and Passage. Coalesce plans to release its next LP, Ox, in 2009.