Refused: Alive is the new dead
Mar 27, 06
okay, for those of you who don't know (and shame on you, you know who you are), refused was a band. in fact, they looked a lot like this:
anyway, they destroyed themselves almost instantaneously after destroying every fucking crowd they played to. and now, years after the scars have healed (mostly), a dvd that chronicles their final assault on the senses is finally ready for wide release. here's a bit from the press release:
refused are dead. they spent their last year in existence touring godforsaken hellholes scattered around the western world. this is their testament.
in 1997, refused wrote and recorded their farewell record, the seminal "the shape of punk to come", hailed by many as an undisputed masterpiece of the genre.
years of intensive touring were finally paying off some and yet within the band there brooded a feeling of bitter fatigue. weary and tired, refused dutifully put on a series of uninspired peformances, grinding what little energy they still possessed down to nothing. when the police officers finally forced their way through the crowd at their very last show with the intention to shut it down, it seemed a fitting end to a story of revolutionary romanticism and merry rebellion.
however, the bandmembers felt liberated as well as conflicted by the intervention, far from the defiant emotions of their audience.
in this undaunted documentary, refused guitarist kristofer steen retraces the steps of how punk rock's brave new sound forged it's way throuch the swamps and swill on their last campaign in europe and america, rushing like mad dogs to meet with their inevitable doom.
if you're not thoroughly convinced that you fucked up by never seeing them live or you don't own any of their recordings, fear not, good citizens. freedom from purchase is here at last. one free download for whatever senses are left over from viewing the trailer.
get a taste of the mayhem:
refused - new noise (mp3)
godspeed!
-that dude jeff
