Coalesce was originally formed under the band named Breach in January of 1994 by guitarist Jes Steineger, Stacy Hilt on bass, and drummer Jim Redd. The trio quickly set their sights upon finding a musical direction and sound that made it possible for them to retain their root influences; hardcore being in their musical background, in their blood, and in their hometown of Kansas City, Missouri. Their beliefs allow them to experimemt and grow, therefore creating an original sound. However, things for them did not really pick up until a few moths later, when they dropped their lead singer, and picked up a talented young lyricist by the name of Sean Ingram, formerly of the garage band Restrain.

It was in the summer of 1994 when they finally discovered a sound original enough to call their own. They experimented with different off-time beats, tempo changes and the use of more discordant riffing patterns and feedback within their already "serious and politically correct" brand of hardcore. They wrote, as a band, five or so songs, and spent the first year doing basement/garage shows for pocket change. These songs, as well as a few live, landed on their self-titled 7" from Chapter records, which, suprising to them, sold all of its 1000 pressed copies.

Things began to look up for them. They were getting more money, more gigs, and more importantly, popular. Popular enough for them to attract the wanting ears of Earache Records, whom offered to pull them in for a four-record contract. Their 3-song demo, simply entitled "002" was released through Earache's short-lived New Chapter series, Coalesce being the third band in this lineup. A year later, connections got them to be on a split album with none other than the world famous grindcore band, Napalm Death. Earache got them into the stores, and readily available to kids who haven't heard of them yet.

Through their demo to the split, their style of hardcore changed. Sean's vocals got heavier and raspier. Coalesce was quickly becoming known for its brutal raw hardcore, aggressive bass and drum lines with a distorted guitar and intelligent, colorful lyrics. The kids were eating it up; they wanted seconds.

After their releases, Coalesce hit the road with Bloodlet and 108 for a six-week tour across the states, gaining more of a crowd at each show. Their style live was just as chaotic as hell in the stereo.

During the time of the record contract preparations, Coalesce realized they weren't ready for all the attention they were getting, so they split up to take some time apart and regroup. Therefore, Earache dropping them like a bad habit. Exactly one year later, 1996, three of the four members got back to work on their upcoming album. The original drummer, Redd, decided not to continue his career with Coalesce, due to his attending school in Baltimore. Coalesce eventually found James DeWees, their new drummer. His musical background, he being able to play pretty much anything he pleased, pushed their song writing to new boundaries. They eventually signed to their new record company, Edison Recordings, out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Through Edison, they went on numerous tours, and released numerous records, including their first full-length, Give Them Rope. In the midst of their partner-in-crime album, Functioning On Impatience, through Second Nature, Coalesce lost Stacy Hilt, their bassist, to another band, and eventually picked up Nathan Ellis, a close friend of the band, and an avid bass player himself. Nathan had quite a responsibility to fill Stacy's spot in the band.

Through their experimenting, Coalesce was able to release a Led Zepplin tribute on Hydra Head Records, as well as other tidbit tracks and appearances in various magazines. But, most of Coalesce's spare time as a band was touring. They eventually signed onto the fierce roster owned by Relapse Records, where their material-under-construction eventually became 012: Revolution in Just Listening.