When mathy, groove-heavy hardcore outfit Coalesce remodeled a short disc’s worth of Led Zeppelin tunes in 1999, fans of Zep’s famous riffage banged their heads in a whole new way. Guitarist Jes Steineger acted as a down-tuned Jimmy Page, former drummer James Dewees flawlessly recreated Jon Bonham’s beats, and, most importantly, vocalist Sean Ingram created a brutal presence in place of Robert Plant’s pipes.
But the original seven-song release went out of print, and now that Coalesce has reunited, Hydra Head was given the green light to reissue the album with more than twice the tracks. Included in the new version — other than psychedelic cover art by Aaron Turner of Isis — is a slew of other Coalesce covers that the label put out in the ‘90s.
Black Sabbath, emo rockers The Get Up Kids and Boy Sets Fire, and straightedge hardcore group Undertow each were made over. Ingram also opted to re-record his singing vocals, which are now surprisingly strong, on “That’s the Way” and “Thank You.”
There is Nothing New Under the Sun now also contains “Bob Junior,” an excellent acoustic jam that has shades of bassist Nathan Ellis’ other band, The Casket Lottery, and is the only Coalesce original present. If you missed out the first time around, grab this collection with all its extra goodies.
– Scott Morrow
Coalesce (Hydra Head)