by: Frank Godla
UPDATE: They are not getting back together, just reissuing their albums. More info here.
HOLY CRAP! In what seems like a late arrival to the reunion bandwagon, Sweden's hardcore heroes, The Refused, have been dropping hints online concerning their return.
The band has been relatively inactive since their abrupt break up while on a U.S. tour back in 1998, however in the last couple days, they have been releasing "Coming Soon…" messages. In addition, anonymous sources close to the band have been talking of a European Festival return, and MTV/BBC's DJ Zane Lowe tweets "This. Is. HUGE!!!!!, Refused have reformed."
Now I'm not one to buy into speculation, but The Refused are one of my favorite hardcore bands of all time. They were one of the first bands to begin bridging other elements like metal, funk, and electronics into a scene that was strictly made of tough guy sing-a-longs and dumb down 3 chord songs. Daring, chaotic, and in your face was their game, and despite only releasing 3 LPs and 5 EPs between 1991 and 1998, they wrote an anthology of great music that's left everyone talking about The Refused still to this day.
While there is no official statement from the band just yet, it's anyone's guess as to what this could all mean. Some argue the band is simply talking about The Shape of Punk To Come re-issue on Epitaph Records, while others seem to be set on their return. Considering the band had declined a $500,000 offer in 2009 for one gig, it's hard to throw eggs into a single basket, but it also wouldn't be the first time I've heard about a band say they'll never do something…. only to do it a couple months later.
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