Refused Call It Quits, Announce New 'The Shape Of Punk To Come' With IDLES, Quicksand & More

Swedish hardcore punk legends Refused are planning to hang up their illustrious career at the end of 2025, drummer David Sandström revealed in a lengthy statement.

At the time of writing, the band’s farewell plans include tour dates in the US in March/April 2025. With most of next year still wide open for touring, the band just wants to say their final goodbye in Sweden at the end of next year.

In addition to announcing their impending breakup, Refused are celebrating the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking, influential album, The Shape Of Punk To Come. The celebrations will include a limited collector’s edition packed with exclusives, including a 3 LP version of the album on exclusive coloured vinyl, unreleased demos, and rare alternate versions of songs.

The anniversary package also includes a 12-song tribute album called The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated, which features covers and remixes by boundary-smashing bands such as Quicksand, Snapcase, IDLES, Touché Amoré, Zulu, Gel, and more.

The anniversary edition will be released on Friday, 8 November. You can pre-order your copy (limited to 2,000) here. Check out the tracklist below.

In a statement sent to the press and posted on social media, Sandström shared that the initial plan was to prepare for their big farewell this year. The day after an intimate secret show in Uppsala, he got a call from vocalist Dennis Lyxzén’s wife: Dennis had a heart attack.

From there, Sandström reflected on Refused’s impressive career, from their first show in 1992 to the band’s first breakup in 1998, a period during which the members played over 500 shows across Europe and the US.

“To say that the band changed our lives would be a gross understatement, and to say that we got to know each other in those seven years is as well,” Sandström wrote. “A band that tours becomes like a family, especially when you do it in a van, with maps, scrambling to find a squat in Halberstadt where you were supposed to have started playing an hour ago. And family relations can be difficult. So it was with us.”

Refused returned in 2012 after making a “decent splash” in the ‘90s. Admitting that their initial breakup was “very sudden and chaotic” and the band had unresolved feelings towards the “shitshow” that was that tumultuous period, Refused gave it “several shots” between 2012 and 2024.

“We all have different takes on how it went and what the legacy of the reformed band will be, but personally, I felt we couldn’t quite agree on what we were supposed to do musically, and we were still struggling with that when the pandemic hit,” the drummer continued. “[Guitarist] Kristofer [Steen] felt that he’d done what he wanted to do and left the band in August of 2020 and although there was a delayed effect to the death blow, a death blow it was.”

At the beginning of 2024, Refused devised a plan to have “one last big hurrah” so the band could have a “fun, generous, indulgent affair.” And then disaster struck after one thrilling show.

Sandström added, “I visited Dennis in the hospital the day after he was admitted, and true to form, he was not happy about the hospital gown he was forced to wear. Hooked up to all these machines, unshaven with tousled hair, I swear the first thing he said was: (pointing to the gown) ‘I mean, this is not great.’ I guess they don’t let you wear suits or Negative Approach t-shirts in the hospital.

“So, on to the good news: Dennis is doing great. He’s one of the healthiest dudes I know, he can’t sit still, exercises a lot and it follows that his recuperation would be swift. He’s gotten excellent care, and his doctor has run all the physical tests on him, and they all indicate he’s making a full recovery.”

On the impact of The Shape Of Punk To Come, the band said: “Whatever the record means to everyone else, it represents a remarkable time in our lives when we were young and devil-may-care, we were taking risks, wanting to prove our mettle, and more than anything else we want to celebrate that: the madness, the wild combinations, the pure creativity of it all.

“So, we asked a bunch of artists we love and respect to actually take liberties with the songs and either rearrange or deconstruct the material completely, to take the engine apart essentially and not be precious about it. And they weren't, and to us, this is the only tribute to our record that matters: heroes of ours, young guns, as well as old friends and peers complimenting our music by uncovering new possibilities and new meaning within it.

“These bands are all caviar for the general, and we are honoured they took time to be a part of this. Thank you all.”

Refused - The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated Tracklisting

Gel – Worms Of The Senses / Faculties Of The Skull
Quicksand – The Liberation Frequency
Brutus – The Deadly Rhythm
Snapcase – Summer Holidays Vs. Punkroutine
Idles – New Noise (remix)
Ho99o9 – New Noise
Fucked Up – Refused Party Program
Zulu – Protest Song ’68
Cold Cave – Refused Are Fucking Dead
IGORR – The Shape Of Punk To Come
Cult Of Luna – Tannhäuser / Derive
Touche Amore – The Apollo Programme Was A Hoax

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