Band : Refused
Album : The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts
Release Year : 1998
Genre : Post-Hardcore | Experimental
Tracklist :
1) Worms of the Senses/Faculties of the Skull
2) Liberation Frequency
3) The Deadly Rhythm
4) Summerholidays Vs. Punkroutine
5) Bruitist Pome #5
6) New Noise
7) The Refused Party Program
8) Protest Song '68
9) Refused are Fucking Dead
10) The Shape of Punk to Come
11) Tannhauser/Derive
12) The Apollo Programme Was a Hoax
It's pretty creepy isn't it? Refused named their album this and for some strange reason, it came true. Without this album, I'd doubt there would be a lot of what has become post-hardcore. To help you with this for the general reader, post-hardcore is like a modern hardcore sound. I'm not exactly a super-nazi to the genre but I'm getting there. With this album you don't think of it as a great album, it's more a revolution. Refused probably never meant it, they probably just wanted to make a great album that showed their political stands. This album is immense as a musical experience but also as a main influence for today's post-hardcore bands. Refused is what Minor Threat did for the original hardcore. They completely made a new sound which wasn't around at that time taking some influence from their fathers. Warning right now, the album is very political so if you are offended by opinions or you think lyrics should be based on dragons and Satan then stay away right now.
It is pretty obvious that the band are pretty opinionated because as soon as you open the small booklet which came with the CD then you are suddenly showered with quotes and words that barely anyone on this site would know the meaning to. Refused don't care what other people think, they are their own minds by not getting influenced by any outside sources. They really stick to their guns here. When this type of music comes around then the gentle minds of today's youth will lap up the lyrics and their opinions which is amazing considering that a lot of music today doesn't really speak to young ones. That was how big this album is but at this point it seems I'm repeating myself and ranting off-topic'.
The band originated from Sweden and though they did create a new sound, they never really had a full life with only 2 CD's and a DVD. This one is more about post-hardcore while the one before this was a raw hardcore album. One thing you might find strange is the synths in the songs. They use it in breakdowns or anywhere they feel is necessary. I even remember a fellow Mxer calling the band industrial hardcore. I'm not making fun or anything but this could be true in some ways. The synths do play a big part which is common in industrial and there is no denying this is a hardcore album. So yeah, this could be true but they were so much more than putting them into a specific genre. Every time I listen to this, I get a weird tingly feeling. Every time I put the next track on I think, 'I love this song so much'. If you are a hardcore fan then I'm sure you're the same.
While the band used their minds 50% of the time, the other 50% belongs to what they can do with their fingers and their voice box. Dennis is a terrific vocalist but what probably turns people off the band is the vocals. Dennis has a very strong scream, not some low growling scream but a high one. It's true to say, without Dennis, the Refused wouldn't be the same. His mastermind lyrics and his vocals to scream the word into you are a major part of what they had but it'd be pretty unfair to say Dennis was the band as I don't think they'd be the same without any band member to be honest. The guitars are pretty simple to the metal guitarist but they without a doubt work. The distortion is up full blast and it is pretty simple parts and riffs here and there, on paper it doesn't seem that exciting but oh boy, it does.
2) Liberation Frequency
3) The Deadly Rhythm
4) Summerholidays Vs. Punkroutine
5) Bruitist Pome #5
6) New Noise
7) The Refused Party Program
8) Protest Song '68
9) Refused are Fucking Dead
10) The Shape of Punk to Come
11) Tannhauser/Derive
12) The Apollo Programme Was a Hoax
It's pretty creepy isn't it? Refused named their album this and for some strange reason, it came true. Without this album, I'd doubt there would be a lot of what has become post-hardcore. To help you with this for the general reader, post-hardcore is like a modern hardcore sound. I'm not exactly a super-nazi to the genre but I'm getting there. With this album you don't think of it as a great album, it's more a revolution. Refused probably never meant it, they probably just wanted to make a great album that showed their political stands. This album is immense as a musical experience but also as a main influence for today's post-hardcore bands. Refused is what Minor Threat did for the original hardcore. They completely made a new sound which wasn't around at that time taking some influence from their fathers. Warning right now, the album is very political so if you are offended by opinions or you think lyrics should be based on dragons and Satan then stay away right now.
It is pretty obvious that the band are pretty opinionated because as soon as you open the small booklet which came with the CD then you are suddenly showered with quotes and words that barely anyone on this site would know the meaning to. Refused don't care what other people think, they are their own minds by not getting influenced by any outside sources. They really stick to their guns here. When this type of music comes around then the gentle minds of today's youth will lap up the lyrics and their opinions which is amazing considering that a lot of music today doesn't really speak to young ones. That was how big this album is but at this point it seems I'm repeating myself and ranting off-topic'.
The band originated from Sweden and though they did create a new sound, they never really had a full life with only 2 CD's and a DVD. This one is more about post-hardcore while the one before this was a raw hardcore album. One thing you might find strange is the synths in the songs. They use it in breakdowns or anywhere they feel is necessary. I even remember a fellow Mxer calling the band industrial hardcore. I'm not making fun or anything but this could be true in some ways. The synths do play a big part which is common in industrial and there is no denying this is a hardcore album. So yeah, this could be true but they were so much more than putting them into a specific genre. Every time I listen to this, I get a weird tingly feeling. Every time I put the next track on I think, 'I love this song so much'. If you are a hardcore fan then I'm sure you're the same.
While the band used their minds 50% of the time, the other 50% belongs to what they can do with their fingers and their voice box. Dennis is a terrific vocalist but what probably turns people off the band is the vocals. Dennis has a very strong scream, not some low growling scream but a high one. It's true to say, without Dennis, the Refused wouldn't be the same. His mastermind lyrics and his vocals to scream the word into you are a major part of what they had but it'd be pretty unfair to say Dennis was the band as I don't think they'd be the same without any band member to be honest. The guitars are pretty simple to the metal guitarist but they without a doubt work. The distortion is up full blast and it is pretty simple parts and riffs here and there, on paper it doesn't seem that exciting but oh boy, it does.
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