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From the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

The Shape Of Punk To Come

Refused

1998

The Shape Of Punk To Come

Album Summary

This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.

The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts, often shortened to The Shape of Punk to Come, is the third album by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused, released on 27 October 1998 through Burning Heart Records. The album continues the band's evolution from strictly Punk to more experimental influences, begun on their previous album, Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent. The album received mixed reviews from critics and fans alike upon release, and the band would break up only a few months after the album's release. However, since then, The Shape of Punk to Come has found an audience for the band and largely contributed to their posthumous fame, as well as inspiring many later artists in a wide range of genres. Kerrang! magazine listed The Shape of Punk to Come at #13 on their 50 Most Influential Albums of All Time list in 2003. The album has been described musically as post-hardcore, and hardcore punk, with elements of jazz, punk rock, electronica, post-rock, ambient, and heavy metal. The album marked a sharp and conscious departure from Refused's earlier work. The philosophy of the album, expounded in the ample liner notes and encapsulated in the song "New Noise", was that punk and hardcore music could not be anti-establishment by continuing to package revolutionary lyrics in sounds which had been increasingly co-opted into the mainstream. The sound of the record challenged existing punk sensibilities; it can be seen as "punk" at a fundamental level and includes experimental combinations of post-hardcore, post-punk, techno, and jazz sounds. The album also includes "political interludes" between some songs. The use of more technological sounds or drum and bass music, particularly on The New Noise Theology E.P. which followed the album, is a tactic that various members of Refused have credited to the influence of Philadelphia punk band Ink & Dagger.

Wikipedia

Rating

3.1

Votes

78

Genres

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Reviews

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Jun 05 2025
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4

If you read on the Wikipedia page that an album was a commercial and critical failure at the time, you know you are in for a teat. This is a great (post)hardcore album with a lot of dynamic songs. The subtitle "A chimerical bombination in 12 bursts" could not have been more to the point.

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Jun 16 2025
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5

Absolutely classic punk album should have been on the list and still sounds so good today, can’t believe I’m actually going to rate this higher than the shape of Jazz to come, but think that’s purely down to personal taste, and influence on my current music.

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Jun 05 2025
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4

I loved the variety of the instrumentation - didn't love the screaming. But after a while the music was so engaging that I didn't care as much that I was being screamed at...

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Jun 25 2025
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5

Naming your album after an Ornette Coleman album and promising to be the sound of the future of punk just like "Shape of Jazz to Come" was for avantgarde jazz has to be in the top 5 most pretentious things ever done in the history of humankind, but then actually pulling off something genuinely as progressive and interesting as this is kinda astounding. Jazzy, electronic hardcore punk, loud as fuck, infinite energy. It's a great time and paved the way for a bunch of music I love.

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Jun 25 2025
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5

Good stuff. I wish punk had turned out that shape.

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Jun 05 2025
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4

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Summerholidays vs Pankroutine

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Jun 08 2025
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4

All over the place in the best way possible. Electronic to jazz to screamo to speed metal to punk and then back.

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Jun 08 2025
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4

This is a fun ride. Hardcore at times, electronicish at others? Keeps you on your toes

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Jun 10 2025
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4

Took a bit to settle in, but I actually listened to the whole LP (live tracks and all) because I enjoyed it so much. This album's blistering, frenetic punk veneer rests on a surprisingly technical set of instrumentals and progressions for the label, and each one of these tracks punches above its weight due to the combined effect of such good musicianship. The vocals seem to be everyone's catching point here, but to me they fit in perfectly among the other technically discordant elements – just like a feedback squeal or pinch harmonic, the screaming is just another aggressive instrument in the mix. This isn't the kind of music you can just dip your toes into off the bat as most of the reviews have shown here, but if you're a seasoned vet who's into this kind of thing, this LP is an amazing find and a great add to the list!

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Jun 11 2025
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4

The punk to come is way better than actual punk. Cyberpunk biased. At least 4

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Jun 04 2025
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3

I know I've heard this album before, but I can't remember much about it. I do know that new noise got a bit of alternative radio play here. I remember seeing the clip for it in about 1999-2000. Was kinda a hardcore/groove sound. Yeah ok that's the whole album. Maybe a bit more post-hardcore than the single overall. The dissonance got a bit grating in the end, it goes for almost an hour, but eh 3/5.

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Jun 05 2025
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3

This Krot going back and forth between solid hardcore album and way too aggressive screaming. New noise is the real saving grace of the album as it’s a fantastic combination of the hardcore screaming with great instrumentals. That song alone can get the heart rate downing a bit. Overall it’s a good album with some songs worth revisiting but replaying the whole album is a hard sell. 6.6/10

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Jun 05 2025
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3

Decent hooks and variety of dynamics, but the screaming gets old fast. Might've it been better as an instrumental record? This is very much not one’s thing, never was, and so one can’t speak to “influence.” Production is notably superior to the music making, at least to one’s ears. And if you’re going to have such a title, the music should be better.

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Jun 07 2025
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3

Real rollercoaster, I liked some of it pretty well and really didn't care for other parts at all. Generally the metal-adjacent screamo stuff was not my bag, but it moved around and got into some interesting territory.

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Jun 05 2025
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2

Hardcore punk, post-hardcore. No me ha gustado. Un 2.

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Jun 05 2025
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2

0% my thing but I can respect that it has the song from the bear that they play whenever all the characters lock in.

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Jun 07 2025
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2

A rare DNF, 100 mins plus of being shouted at in a pretty uninteresting way, no thanks. Some of the intros were ok though so saved from 1 star hell

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Jun 10 2025
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2

Interesting period piece: Unfortunately it was prescient with "The shape of punk to come" and that shape was nu-metal. Some great songs I was getting into ruined every time by screaming which was edgy in 1998 and ruined very quicky in the 2000's.

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Jun 16 2025
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2

found this one difficult to get into

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Jun 09 2025
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1

Ugh...not a fan of scream rock. Solid guitars and tight sound, but oh, the screaming

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Jun 21 2025
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1

Listened to it 2 days ago and can’t remember a thing

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Jun 23 2025
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1

It’s a hard no from me, would have given it a zero if I could have

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