The 25th anniversary of Refused‘s 1998 magnum opus “The Shape Of Punk To Come” is now upon us, with a deluxe edition of the album and a companion 12-song tribute album having newly been released. This celebration of the aforementioned highly influential effort from the Swedish post-hardcore experimentalists is somewhat bittersweet however, as it precedes a farewell tour that will run throughout the next year.
While any fan of the group has likely put their numerous spins on the original album, this expanded take on the record comes packed with the following rarities:
01 – “Summer Holidays” (instrumental demo)
02 – “Refused Are Fucking Dead” (instrumental demo)
03 – “The Shape Of Punk To Come” (instrumental demo)
04 – “Tannhauser Derive” (instrumental demo)
05 – “New Noise” (Straight Edge As Fuck compilation)
06 – “Worms of the Senses” (rehearsal tape)
07 – “The Deadly Rhythm” (rehearsal tape)
08 – “Blind Date” (rehearsal tape)
09 – “New Noise” (live)
The newly released tribute album, “The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated“, however serves up a smorgasbord of artists putting their own spin on the album’s twelve tracks. For a refresher, here’s who took part:
01 – GEL – “Worms Of The Senses / Faculties Of The Skull”
02 – Quicksand – “The Liberation Frequency”
03 – Brutus – “The Deadly Rhythm”
04 – Snapcase – “Summer Holidays Vs. Punkroutine”
05 – Idles – “New Noise (remix)”
06 – Ho99o9 – “New Noise”
07 – Fucked Up – “Refused Party Program”
08 – Zulu – “Protest Song ’68”
09 – Cold Cave – “Refused Are Fucking Dead”
10 – IGORRR – “The Shape Of Punk To Come”
11 – Cult Of Luna – “Tannhäuser / Derive”
12 – Touché Amoré – “The Apollo Programme Was A Hoax”
Speaking of their contributions, several of the artists commented:
Walter Schreifels of Quicksand: “I’m honored that Quicksand was asked to be on this compilation. Liberation Frequency and The Shape Of Punk To Come are monuments to heavy music with a message and aesthetic that transcend the genre.”
Anaiah Lei of Zulu: “I’ve always been a Refused fan and even had the chance to tour with them back in 2012 with my old band. This record was definitely top 10 in my list of favorite hardcore albums and it was an honor to get to play a song off it. Especially this one because I’m like, y’all made this in the mid 90s? Way ahead of its time!”
Snapcase: “We were super excited when Refused asked us to take part in this project and it was a quick decision to choose Summerholidays vs Punkroutine. It’s collectively one of our favorite songs on the record and presented us with a unique challenge to get outside our comfort zone while mixing in elements of our own musical identity. Thanks for including us!”
Sami of GEL: “Refused was one of the first shows I went to and the first time I was up front. It was a charismatic performance and rowdy crowd and it definitely contributed to my love of heavier music and the live shows that demonstrate the energy of the music authentically.”
Touché Amore: “There’s only a handful of records that are so singular and unique that few ever attempt to replicate. ‘The Shape Of Punk To Come’ is the highest echelon of what’s being described. Over twenty years later this album stands alone, so, when Dennis approached us about covering a track, we knew we were up for the task.
We chose the closing track because we heard elements of what TA could pull from to create a new song out of the foundation they had laid. Our instructions were to make it our own, and luckily with the song being so avant-garde and unique, we found it inviting. Thank you to Refused for the opportunity and to you for listening.”
Refused themselves selected the roster of artists and had the following to say of being honored by them:
“Whatever the record means to everyone else, it represents a remarkable time in our lives when we were young and devil-may-care, we were taking risks, wanting to prove our mettle, and more than anything else we want to celebrate that: the madness, the wild combinations, the pure creativity of it all.
So we asked a bunch of artists we love and respect to actually take liberties with the songs and either rearrange or deconstruct the material completely, to take the engine apart essentially and not be precious about it. And they weren’t, and to us this is the only tribute to our record that matters: heroes of ours, young guns as well as old friends and peers complimenting our music by uncovering new possibilities and new meaning within it.
These bands are all caviar for the general and we are honored they took time to be a part of this. Thank you all.”
Now’s your chance to hear that tribute record in its entirety, with a stream available below:
