The Shape Of Punk To Come

If you read on the Wikipedia page that an album was a commercial and critical failure at the time, you know it must be good. 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.

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.

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.

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!

Refused... by my ears...

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

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.

Radical in almost every sense of the word.

It may have failed on release but this is one of those albums that spread’s influence far and wide. A 10/10 classic

What an incredible submission. If we’re talking about albums that belong on the 1001 Albums list, this one should be non-negotiable. Love it or hate it, it’s a landmark and hugely influential to bands across genre's, from At the Drive-In, Glassjaw, Thursday to Rise Against, Enter Shikari and even Muse. At first pass it sounds like a hardcore record, but at following listens you really get listening to the jazz breakdowns, drum & bass glitches, spoken-word manifestos, strings, and sheer chaos stitched into hardcore punk’s backbone. Refused deliberately set out to reinvent what punk and hardcore could be. Of course still with that political bite that more than 25 years later doesn’t sound dated. You can hear the blueprint for modern punk and post-hardcore, metalcore, experimental punk, even electronic-heavy bands that came after. Groundbreaking, deeply influential, and still an absolute thrill.

Another one that should’ve been on the list.

This rocked. Loved it.

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...

Contrary to what the spoken-word introduction to this gem is stating, some classics NEVER go out of style. And it's not the least paradox in this record filled to the brim with them. In its elected genre (mostly post-hardcore, but also so many other styles at once), Refused's *The Shape Of Punk To Come* is indeed one of those classics today. People taking issue with Dennis Lyxzén's voice are just taking issue with the music style itself for me. I can respect that, but they also got to respect how incredibly adventurous this record is, even if it's not to their liking. Just as they have to assess its left-wing topical contents for what they are, i.e. subjects that are still hotly debated today, almost thirty years later. There is of course a self-conscious romantic whiff to Refused's revolutionary lyrics, which can be deemed as "performative" by the most cynical listeners out there. I get the point, but for me, this sort of criticism is still missing one of the most extraordinary feats of this LP, which is how its musical form is so aptly mirroring its lyrical contents. Refused never stay in one single place in that magnum opus of theirs. They can be aggressive or highly melodic, electronic or punk, sinister or elated, down-in-the-mouth or seductive, catchy or challenging. The word "revolution" implies constant 180-degree turns, after all. *Of course*, there's also something a little pretentious here. But the instrumentation grooves like in few hardcore punk records. The sound and production values are clear, precise, surgical, and yet also rich and deep. And however grand the project's concept is, it's the execution transcending the latter that makes this album so valuable in my eyes. Trying to describe the tracklist is like trying to describe an ever-shifting beast. The dark syncopated bursts of opener "Worms of the Senses/Faculties of the Skull" thus lead to the bossanova-inspired pop instincts of "Liberation Frequency"'s verses -- whose restraint allows two loud choruses to explode with devastating might. You know the jumpscare is coming up. And yet could this *not* work? Then, the conceptual tour de force of "The Deadly Rhythm" -- with its crazed-out double bass imitating the rhythm of factory assembly lines -- abruptly switches gears to the airy tones of "Summerholidays vs. Punkroutine", about the joys and hardships of life on the road. Change of tone, change of settings. Yet the same fiery spirit. As for the stern -- yet also tongue-in-cheek -- nü-metal pastiche "New Noise", beating all those dumb nü-metalheads at their own game, it is unpredictable all by itself! That song slaps, but it also twists and turns at times. And this up until its final cavalcade, restless, uncompromising. After that, you've got the sonic barricades of "The Refused Party Program" or "Protest Song '68". You've got the aggro banger "Refused Are Fuckin' Dead". Or you've got the title-track referencing Ornette Coleman... You've got punk rock, but you've also got techno, drum'n'bass, jazz, accordions... Such incredible ambition here. But one that is also aimed at reclaiming people's agency. Of course, you may disagree with Refused's political message. Or conversely, you may consider that they were themselves a postmodernist simulacrum. Maybe they are, who knows? Yet even if they are, their music never fails to inspire those revolutionary emotions for the right audience. All it takes is sincere believers in those progressive agendas Not everyone is such believer, of course. About that, wikipedia has informed me of one thing: "Initially, the album was both a commercial and critical failure, with little media coverage and mixed reception from fans and critics alike; some even refused to rate it because of its stylistic divergence." Really??! In my neck of the woods, I had the feeling this record had made waves from the very start. That it had changed the rules, even. Everyone around me was listening to it around the same time I discovered it. And everyone instantly recognized the milestone that it was for the genre. But maybe us non-Swedes were one or two years late to the party, come to think of it. In those pre-internet (or rather, early internet) days, words of mouth didn't go so fast for underground bands in non-mainstream genres. Hence how Refused couldn't reap what they had sowed at the time. Which leads me to another thing on the album's wikipedia page: "The band went on tour to support the album, a tour described by the band as "emotionally devastating" and "an awful experience", which would result in their breakup after only eight shows." I know what Wikipedia refers to here. It's in that artistic "documentary" made about that awful tour ("Refused Are Fucking Dead"), which probably harbours some of the most depressing scenes I have ever watched in a film about a music band. The album has such dark moments as well, obviously. Yet it's so much more than that, like a manifesto made into sounds. And all it takes to enjoy its various wonders is to have a somewhat revolutionary flame left in your soul. A "chimerical bombination" indeed. "What frequency are you getting? Is it noise or sweet, sweet music?" asks Lyxsén. Well, it's up to you to find out. One thing's for sure, "we want the airwaves back". And by "we", I mean every hardcore punk fan out there. 5/5 for the purposes of this list of essential albums 10/10 for more general purposes (5 + 5) ---- Number of albums from the original list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 465 Albums from the original list I *might* include in mine later on: 288 Albums from the original list I won't include in mine: 336 ---- Number of albums from the users list I find relevant enough to be mandatory listens: 72 (including this one) Albums from the users list I *might* select for mine later on: 88 Albums from the users list I won't select for mine: 169 ---- Émile, tu trouveras ma dernière réponse sous le *Inside* de Bo Burnham.

Rating: 7/10 Best songs: Summerholidays vs Pankroutine

Angry Swedish punk.

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

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

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

Good new take on punk music

Proggy punk has come across this thing before, but these guys actually got the goods. Strong offering, although it does show off a little bit that punk was not spared from the album-too-long-disease that was plaguing metal during the CD era

Sounds very American, right up until they start talking Swedish! A wonderful album, from a band who I only knew in passing, and a great suggestion.

Even though I consider post-hardcore to be one of my favourite genres, I've never listened to this album all the way through before now. I see that I was missing out! Solid work

A revolutionary post-hardcore album that really revitalises the genre by blending it with jazz, electronica, and a heavier metal sound. It’s a hell of an ambitious album title but manages to live up to it, and the whole ethos of the record (‘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’) is pretty rad. Despite its anti-establishment core, it’s still catchy as hell in places, like Liberation Frequency’s refrain demanding the airwaves back. New Noise is the standout single and it’s just a perfectly crafted song - the riff builds tension so magnificently, it bubbles and infuses with that electronic warbling, and then just blows the fuck up with that cry of ‘Can I scream?’

Just class

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.

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

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.

Raw Energy: 10/10 This album doesn’t just bring the heat—it throws gasoline on it and dances in the flames. Pure, unfiltered adrenaline. Melodic, To-the-Point Songs: 8/10 Short, punchy, and surprisingly tuneful beneath the chaos. Like finding a catchy chorus in the middle of a riot. Vocals: 2/10 Now, about those vocals... If screaming at the top of your lungs were an Olympic sport, this album would take gold. But for casual listening—say, anywhere outside a mosh pit—it’s a bit much. The shouting tends to drown out the actual songs, which deserve better. Then again, I might not be the ideal judge of a punk-hardcore classic. I like my rage with a melody and my distortion with a side of nuance

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.

Made me work faster

Not the shape of punk to come

I can definitely hear the influence of this on pop punk that came out in the early 2000s. It wasn't anything super amazing beyond that for me, but it inspired a lot of stuff I enjoy so that's good to have heard. My personal rating: 3/5 My rating relative to the list: 3.5/5 Should this have been included on the original list? Slight yes.

I enjoyed most of The Shape of Punk To Come, New Noise has been a regular on my rotation list for years and is the best track on here, but I'd never really checked them out beyond that. It has a lot of the same energy, doesn't always have the same quality but Refused are Fucking Dead is top and The Deadly Rhythm not far behind, same with The Refused Party Program. Easy 3/5 that might push a low 4 on re-listens, bundles of punk energy and dynamism with a decent amount of musicality for the genre.

It was okay

I like the concept of this and the cover draws me in....... but sadly the screaming gets me every time. Musically there's some interesting sounds here but then again Rage against the machine got there first I think. Still, it woke me up this morning and that's a good thing.

Musically this was pretty great, but I have a really limited tolerance for the screaming. Fave Songs: Summerholidays vs. Punkroutine, The Deadly Rhythm, New Noise, Liberation Frequency, Bruitist Pome #5

Enjoyed it.

Wow, I knew some of this! Should have been on the true list

The last track is literally the author grunting and groaning for several minutes. It's weird music, but sometimes I guess that's what early punk feels like. 3 stars from me.

Post hardcore is not really for me, and I wasn't thrilled with the long runtime on this, but I ended up enjoying this quite a bit. Settled in nicely.

I can see why this didn’t do well commercially when it was originally released, especially in comparison to the pop-punk explosion that occurred at the same time led by Blink-182. It often takes time to see visionary musical advances like this album. Was it enjoyable? It made my throat hurt as I listened.

Favorite songs: New Noise, Worms of the Senses/Faculties of the Skull, Tannhauser/Derive Least favorite songs: Liberation Frequency, Bruitist Pome #5 3/5

Punk-hardcore con intensidad manifiesta. Guitarrero y sucio de voz y de instrumentación. Es mi estilo, pero faltaba que las canciones tuviesen más melodía.

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

live..........................

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

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

I was hopeful with the punk label, but found this very difficult to get into and enjoy anything. The beginning of Tannhauser has a great sound but quickly devolves like the rest of the album. Was happy to get past this.

found this one difficult to get into

Se agradece conocer música de países distintos a los de siempre, pero estos son muy gritones.

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

Agog at this. An explosive 12 loads of punk straight down my ear canal. Who is writer of this? David - Sandström. Well, well, well. What the hell is the fishpaliikki going on here my mother said while listening to this one time probably.

Haft oturen att ha sett dem live. Det mesta med dem är hemskt men så kommer det en å annan låt som ändå är okej. Jag skulle vilja ha Dennis Lyxzéns skivsamling.

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

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

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

Inserting some sort of pun on "Refused" like I'm sure others have... Yeah sorry I agree this is all about exposure and I'm all for it but I've been exposed to enough cookie monster vocals to know I couldn't/can't get through it. Nobody should care enough why but it's just a massive/immediate turn off so let's just agree to see other albums mkay? Reading the wiki entry was interesting though so...yay! 3/10 1 star

I literally couldn’t do more than a minute on any song. This type of music- just a whole bunch of screaming, is why some bands should be told no. How they ever made it out of their moms garage is a mystery to me.