Review Summary: “Left naked with nothing but ourselves and contempt for what we're not supposed to be,
not supposed to feel, not supposed to see.”
There is music intended to please the listener and there is also music to wake them from that blissful slumber. Drenched in raw, angry, and devoted emotion Refused pumped out a knee buckling resonance of Anarchistic glory, a harsh epic poem on a crusade to vanquish oppression.
Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent is the audible construct of hot-headed political disagreement, not only lyrically but with instrumental sonic booms blasting those words at your eardrums.
A beautiful aspect of this record is the blatant disregard for beauty. Employing raunchy, ravaging instrumentals and Dennis Lyxzen’s harrowing screams as if the band was a damaged product of a fascist wasteland, suffocating under that cruel dictatorship. Discontent as in the title is the main theme of the album, and exemplifies a hating disposition for conformists and those who’ve created them alike. Typical rebellious cliché is non-existent here, rather Dennis offers metaphorical insight in his wording...
I wanna see you, hear your voice regret the choice
Rejoice in watching you collapse
Destroy the map, falling headlong into the gap
The hunter dying in his trap
The hunter dying in his trap
The hunter dying in his trap
The hunter...
Dead
The album’s lyrics begin with general disputatious expression through the strong opener “Rather Be Dead” and progress into a heated battle against the consumerist and their shepherds. Songs like “Beauty”, “The Slayer”, “Worthless Is The Freedom Bought”, and “Crusader of Hopelessness” especially display this discontent with the modern concept of the unknowingly (to its people) corrupt Oligarchy. Rather be dead, than alive by your oppression; rather be dead than alive by your design. With these poems Mr. Lyxzen leads the band the way a fervent protestor would gather his supporters under the big red
A. His words can be hostile (furthermore empowered by his violent vocal performance), they can be accusing, pained, unsettling and upset, and simultaneously uplifting. His charisma is omnipresent throughout the entire album and during those instrumental sections the listener is waiting in excited anticipation of Dennis’ next deliverance.
Of course this isn’t A Cappella. The rest of the band’s members aide this musical crucifixion by providing havoc at the highest decibel. The instrumental work is basic, because Refused are not a technically fueled band but purely from the heart; their instruments pump their boiling blood without clot. To look at this record in terms of the band’s skill would be taking a rather large detour around the whole point of it, so it is most understood as sonic anger, because in the heads of like-minded individuals, peace is only a dream. Refused will instrumentally revoke your right to oppose Revolution with “Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent”.
These songs are the purest form of unapologetic dissent in music, and while perhaps not the sexual favor for your ears that “The Shape of Punk to Come” is, it can rile up your deepest hatred for the heavily disguised thieves who govern this orbiting rock. Like a shotgun blast, this album fires quickly but leaves widespread damage; it is the soundtrack to armed revolt.
