If a band ever finds that it is not giving their best effort and playing at the edge of their abilities at all times, then they are not playing the kind of music that they should be playing. – Patrick T. Daly

Refused are fucking dead. This review is a description of the last gig ever played by the hardcore band from Umeå, Sweden, of that name. They were:

Dennis Lyxzén
David Sandström
Kristofer Steen
Jon Brännström.

Refused existed between the years 1991 and 1998. During that period they performed over 400 shows in Sweden, the US and elsewhere across Europe. They were an intense and talented group both lyrically and in composition, and were punk in the true sense – vegan, straight-edged (drug and alcohol-free) and vehemently anti-consumerist. However, what set them apart was their complete lack of regard for any existing hardcore conventions. Dennis is quoted as saying, “Punk is the most conservative musical form there is.” ( http://www.burningheart.com/bands/index.php?id=163&bio=1 accessed 29/10/2007 accessed 29/10/2007”: ). Refused were an avalanche of a band, constantly growing in followers and as a myth. In a rare press interview, Dennis said what you don’t see in the movie [the excellent documentary Refused Are Fucking Dead made by bandmember Kristofer Steen] is the true height of Refused in the mid-90s. “We played in every little town… We built a community all across Sweden.” By the tail-end of their existence, band members had even grown to refer to Refused as more of an entity than a band.

The peak of the group’s expansion was the recording of their final album The Shape Of Punk To Come. Refused rightly claimed this as their unique legacy, as this record was where their disregard for punk convention was most apparent. Though, according to Dennis, the making of the record “[didn’t have a] … very friendly, inclusive or warm atmosphere … [and] the mentality was life and death”, the final result provided new noise for the global hardcore punk community. What can be heard is a seamless combination of complex rhythms, hardcore rage, political activism and an element of electronic ambience. “Think Fugazi letting their hair down, if they had any.”

Upon completing The Shape Of Punk To Come, Refused had reached what they felt was an elevated point. They had a vision of putting on awe-inspiring performances, yet admitted to rarely rehearsing in this final period. Feeling a strong sense of duty to tour the record, Refused travelled to the US in 1998. Their final performance took place in a friend’s basement in Harrisonburg, Virginia to a well over-capacity audience of 400.

There was no magic in the air that night. In fact, there was nothing to set it apart from any other slightly awkward show early on in a new tour. A bang was not what Refused went out with, but rather a jaded sense of acquiescence. It was not their sloppiness that was defining but the fact that they did not exude commitment. For a true punk band, this means everything. “It was tragic because punk rock didn’t save our lives, tragic because the police beat us down”, Kristofer states in Refused Are Fucking Dead. When the time comes to die, who’s ready for it? Refused were. And that is a big part of why they won’t be forgotten. Long live Refused.