The Second Coming of Refused

posted in: Features • Rock

Let’s face it, sometimes the past should stay dead. But when an awesome artist fades from popularity,  fans later wonder, Where are they now?  You may not know it, but many artists you’ve loved in the past are still hard at work writing new albums or preparing to tour again. Fortunately, you now have Second Coming to reintroduce some of your favorite acts of the last few decades and give you the scoop on what you can expect from them in the future.

THEN: It’s fairly common to see a film or a book gain more recognition once the lead actor or author is dead. It’s not as common to see the same thing happen when a musical act breaks up. In 1998, Swedish punk band Refused played their final show to a sparse crowd in a basement in Virginia. In an interview with DrownedInSound.com, guitarist Kristofer Steen remembers: “We were too dazed to feel any sadness at that point. What kept us going for as long as we did was a sense of loyalty to the group that was bordering on the suicidal. The band had been more important than any individual needs for a long time.” Refused had been struggling to stay afloat for quite some time, and this final tour was the nail in their proverbial coffin. Before that, of course, they had released several studio albums: This Just Might Be… the Truth in 1994, Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent in 1996 and The Shape of Punk to Come in 1998. Shape spawned the anthemic single “New Noise,” but thanks to the band’s breakup a few months after its release, the album was not truly recognized for its contribution to the genre.

NOW: Refused weren’t being pretentious when they called their album The Shape of Punk to Come. The band’s final record went on to become a staple in the hardcore punk scene and is widely considered one of the best from the genre, fourteen years later. In 2006, they released Refused Are Fucking Dead, a documentary with footage from their final tour that chronicled the demise of the group. In early 2012, Refused announced that they would be reuniting for the first time since their breakup at Coachella. On the heels of their comeback performance, they organized a handful of shows, which was soon followed by a full tour announcement. The shows were met with high demand, and the band saw ticket sales skyrocket. Fans and critics alike have praised the group’s energetic and commanding stage presence that they were known for in the past. Refused will be on the road in Europe, the US and beyond in 2012 (see full dates here). Will an album be up next…?

We guarantee that nothing will make you want to headbang more than this song. Check out the video for “New Noise”: