Album Rating: 5.0
best. cd. ever.
heres an article. (written by me)
ten years and 3 months ago was, the death of kurt cobain. the end of an era some argue. Also around this time, Trent Reznor and Nine Inch Nails were at their peak and making industrial metal popular once again, Metallica and Pantera were still at their strongest in the metal scene, and 'brit pop'bands oasis, blur and even radiohead all became known figures.
this said, no one really expected the, small time swedish band from their native Umeå, Refused, who at this point had released 3 demo's and a month before the loss, their first full length cd 'This just might be... the truth' and a single to accompany called "pump the brakes", to be anything to revolutionary.
Ok, those who had been following this band since 1992 when they formed from the ashes of Dennis Lyxzén (vocals, the (international) noise consipiricy) 's band Step Forward, would know the band, and dennis in particular's strong believes as one of the first 'straightedge' band's to arrive on the hardcore/punk scene and a campaigner against any form of capatalism what so ever. So they had already started their revolution in music, but back then it didnt really mean very much to anyone. How things have changed.
an ep, a split collection with other swedish/hardcore allies, 'Randy', a swedish grammy nomination, and a single, which included the b-side �Jag äter inte mina vänner� (“I don’t eat my friends�) (one of the first vegetarian songs of its time) and they were all set to release their first major cd.
late 1996 saw the release of "Songs to Fan the Flames of discontent". And it was to become one of the best hardcore records of all time. a 30 minute bombardment of aggresive noise, powerfully and scarily touching lyrics, and Refused were now one of the headling hardcore bands in europe. So much so that they were forced to cancel a few shows towards the end of their tour just from exhaustion.
In 1997, sweden's biggest and argueably best record company saw the potential Refused had in them ,and quickly got a deal under their noses. The a&r man of Burning Heart records possibly could of taken an early retirement because of what he had done.
late 1997 saw the beginning of the Record that not only made Refused ledgends of recent music history, but they took the whole **** scene with them. "The Shape of Punk To Come" was released in early 1998, and its it with no question the most important record of hardcore and punk music of the last ten years, but it was one of the most important albums in all of rock and metal of the 1990's.
It was possiably the most passionate record ever created. 12 songs to wake up to in the music industry, to open your ears, to raise a fist, never since Rage Against the Machine had such a political band caused such an uproar in making amazing music, but making a stand.
The album musically was the best anyone could have wanted. Not only did the band successfully do what they are best at, Hardcore straightedge music, they managed to mix it with every possible genre you can imagine. Techno/nu-wave/jazz/blues/break beats/metal/old school punk/contemporary/drum n bass/classical/folk/acoustic it was all there, all in one album, all in 55 minutes that when you listen to you just wish wouldnt stop.
but alas, all great things must come to an end. the album exploded, along with “The new noise theology e.p� and a video for the song was made, which despite rarely being played by MTV, the song is an attack on mtv, was still a pretty famous video. Refused later toured some in Scandinavia and Europe and did some gigs on different festivals. Then there was this seven-week US-tour which turned out to be the last tour Refused ever did. The band decided to cancel the tour because of some “internal conflicts� and they went back home. Refused called it quits shortly thereafter. They played their last gig in Harrisonburg, Virginia on the 6th of October 1998. Refused were ****ing dead.
for a couple of years, the story has no relevance. At first, they just disapeared. I guess one of your final acts as a band is to deman that all pictures of them be burned isnt one of the most popular ways to go out. But, it was the song that could possibly of drove them out in the first place; "New Noise" that made people listen once again. After almost 2 years of boycotting the band, it was "New Noise" that related to so many people, on so many different scales, and suddenly, all hardcore and punk bands were trying to re-create refused. The Shape of Punk To Come may have taken its time to become pure fact. But, they did it, they successfully predicted the future of music, and made themselves the orginal band of the music that we all are enduring now a days.
Refused truely were the prophets of modern music. Their bible may have just under one hour but it was clearly the most important lesson of this generation. You only have to turn on the tv to see hardcore/punk/straightedge band's now.
"Ah, in such an ugly time, the real protest is beauty."
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