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The influential Swedish hardcore band Refused was formed in 1991 by vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarists Jon Brännström and Kristofer Steen, bassist Magnus Höggren, and drummer David Sandström. Debuting in 1993 with the EP This Is the New Deal, the group issued the full-length This Just Might Be...the Truth later that same year. The Everlasting EP followed in 1994, and in 1995 Refused returned with another EP, Refused Loves Randy. After 1996's Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent, they issued the EP Rather Be Dead; in the wake of completing 1998's classic The Shape of Punk to Come, Refused disbanded, unable to reconcile their anarchist leanings with a career in music.
from Wikipedia:
Refused is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå, formed in 1991. In total the band released five EPs and three albums, before splitting up in 1998. Kerrang! magazine listed The Shape of Punk to Come at #13 on their 50 Most Influential Albums of All Time list in 2003. Refused comprised vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Jon Brännström, guitarist/bassist Kristofer Steen, and drummer David Sandström. Their lyrics were often of a non-conformist and politically far-left nature.
On January 9, 2012, the band announced their long awaited reunion, confirming shows at Coachella, Roskilde Festival, Way Out West Festival and Groezrock.
History
Career trajectory (1991–1998)
Refused formed in early 1991 with Dennis Lyxzén, David Sandström, Pär Hansson and Jonas Lindgren and released their first demo, Refused, the same year. With an already altered lineup (including Kristofer Steen joining from local band Abhinanda with Pär Hansson going the other way) the band released their first studio album, This Just Might Be the Truth, in 1994.
Refused's final line-up consisted of the members Dennis Lyxzén, David Sandström, Kristofer Steen and Jon Brännström who released everything from Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent to the definitive album The Shape of Punk to Come. The band never found a permanent bass player.
Refused broke up in late 1998. Some believe this happened as a result of a depletion of creative energy and band members wanting different things. There was also conflict between Dennis and the rest of the band [1]. Band members stated that their first shows after the release of Shape of Punk to Come were emotionally devastating and that their final tour was an awful experience. The band eventually cancelled the tour and announced their splitting-up. Their last performance of their United States tour was played in a friend's basement in Harrisonburg, Virginia but was shut down by police.
Daniel P Carter described in January 2012 how poor the reception that Refused used to receive was, and how they never had the chance to make an impact whilst together.
After breakup (1999–2009)
After Refused split up, they released one final, fiery open letter titled "Refused Are Fucking Dead". It can be read in full on their label Burning Heart's website [2].
Lead singer Dennis Lyxzén went on to form The (International) Noise Conspiracy while the other members, as well as venturing into their own projects, formed the group TEXT.
In 2007 Dennis and David briefly reformed their Refused side project, Final Exit, which existed in the mid-late 90s and originally consisted of members of Refused and Abhinanda, with each member taking a different role to that which they had in their main bands (e.g. Dave on vocals, Dennis on bass guitar).
As of May, 2008, Dennis Lyxzén and David Sandström have formed a new straightforward hardcore band under the name AC4.
Kristofer Steen is now a director and made a documentary on the band's last year in existence called Refused Are Fucking Dead.
Rumours (2010–2011)
In March 2010, Epitaph Records put up the old Refused website online with the words "Coming Soon". Rumours spread across the Internet about what the new website could indicate, including speculation of a reunion. Citing an anonymous source "close to the situation," Punknews.org unofficially announced that the band would perform at European music festivals in 2010. Dennis Lyxzén has denied claims of a Refused reformation as he and David Sandström are busy with AC4. The new band website was later announced to be a promotional site for a reissue of Refused's final album, The Shape of Punk to Come. The reissue, released on June 8, 2010, is a three-disc set with an unreleased live album recorded in 1998 and the Refused Are Fucking Dead DVD documentary in addition to the full original album.
In November 2011, multiple posters said to be for the upcoming 2012 Coachella Festival appeared on several Internet sites, and the line-ups included Refused. This started new rumours of a long awaited reunion.
Reunion (2012–present)
In BBC Radio 1's Punk Show on January 2, 2012, Mike Davies stated that Refused, along with At the Drive-In would be reforming in 2012. On January 9, 2012, it was announced that Refused would be performing for the 2012 Coachella Festival. Reunion was confirmed via Dennis Lyxzen's Facebook page. Later that day, it was announced that they would also be playing at Way Out West Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden. They will also headline the punk festival Groezrock in Belgium.
Influences
Refused incorporated revolutionary left and anti-capitalist politics, into a sound that paid homage to The Nation of Ulysses and Born Against. Before the Umeå hardcore phenomenon went into full bloom, the band was seen as part of the scene centered around youth-oriented venue Galaxen, along with the punk rock scene as well as metal bands such as Meshuggah.
Drummer David Sandström states that before the band formed he was a "glue sniffing death metal kid" but eventually a fan of Step Forward, the embryo of Refused. As Step Forward called it quits and friendship between David and Dennis Lyxzen grew stronger, Dennis took him home and made him listen to Youth of Today's We're Not in This Alone album over and over again in a room alone.
The album This Just Might Be the Truth was mostly influenced by popular American hardcore of the time (such as Earth Crisis) as well as various bands from the New York hardcore scene. By the time of its release, the band already had a strong anti-establishment profile.
On their second album, Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent, the band had a heavier sound, largely due to Dennis adopting a screaming style rather than shouting.
