Refused - The Shape of Punk To Come

*Note : Before you get into this, I must warn you it is a lot longer than my usual posts. This is because I love this record. A lot. I actually once wrote a previous, too big review of it for a short lived album review website I had. I did not copy anything from the previous review.


After completing a tour that brought me from St. John's, Newfoundland to Victoria, B.C. and back to Halifax I have decided to celebrate and post one of my all time favorite records. I was introduced to this album by my friend Mike Deon, who told me, upon picking up The Shape Of Punk To Come that "If you don't buy this record right now, I think I am going to have to punch you in the face."

He was right to do so.

There are albums that sell a lot of records (The Eagles' Greatest Hits), there are albums that garner massive artistic respect (Tortoise records, or Matmos) and there are some records that change the way vast amounts of people perceive or interpret music (Velvet Underground & Nico), and sometimes, sometimes, There are albums that achieve all three (Dark Side Of The Moon, Kid A). Though album sales are not as colossal as say, Thriller, for a hardcore record, there are lots and lots of people that own The Shape Of Punk To Come (I would also argue that in 50 years, it will probably still be selling copies).

Refused accomplished something in 2 full length records that some groups spend careers trying to do (and sometimes never achieve). They broke up shortly after releasing this album in 1997, and no one has really topped it since.

It's easy to recognize true passion in the way someone plays music if you know how to look. It's the difference between Pete Townsend and that dude who plays guitar for Maroon 5. It takes a certain amount of skill, artistry, talent, fury and originality to play something that's everlasting, and as cliche as it might sound, the way that David Sandstrom plays drums on this record forever changed the way I interpreted and listened to music, and it totally shifted the way I played drums.

You can saw "aw yeah, whatever, they were just a carbon copy of Nation Of Ulysses", you can try to be arrogant and say "everyone flips out about this album, it's not THAT good." You can say those things but you will sound like an idiot, because in the back of your mind you know that this was the perfect album released at the perfect time, and it helped hardcore music gain respect from the music elite just as much as Fugazi or Husker Du did.

Everything on this album, from the passion, to the power, to the sheer force of the songs is all grounded in Sandstroms playing. The opening track, Worms of The Senses/Faculties of the Skull, is seven minutes of jagged, off center playing that just throws everything into chaos, it opens with huge cymbals, a snare that sounds like a gunshot and flies into quick high hat catches, ride bells and the most snare control I have ever heard in a hardcore band (until Converge came along, at least). It shifts halfway through into a completely different songs, equally as jarring. As the song dissolves into radio waves and techno beats, Liberation Frequency filters in with a completely different drum kit sound. This album not only varies wildly in drumming style, but the way the drums were recorded is different for almost every song. His playing is slightly straighter on this song, with him keeping the kick on quarter notes and being really crash-heavy on the chorus.

Not one to remain in place, David switches it up again for the third track, The Deadly Rhythm. It comes in with a simulated 1930's radio jazz recording (to my understanding, this is also Refused), it then jumps into hard hits and guitar shots, with the ride cymbal keeping the swing going. It's a blending of drumming styles that seem impossible to mix (like an alarm clock milkshake), but somehow Sandstrom makes it work. The song breaks down into a stand up bass solo and full out swing drumming. Then, it kicks back into the fury with one of my favorite guitar riffs on the record, and stacatto, powerful ride bell hits from David.

This leads into a dance punk song, not fairly common at the time in harder music (but by no means unique). This song foreshadows a movement that wouldn't really hit the mainstream until years later with bands like Fall Out Boy or Panic At The Disco (although I doubt any of them know it).

In New Noise, David sits in the pocket a little more, half timing his usual beats, giving the song a lot more meat behind the riffs. This lasts until a big rave up at the end, where you can just feel how hard he is hitting his drums.

Basically, as the album goes on, every song have David
a) rocking the fuck out
b) blending drumming styles that have existed from 1920 to present (and by present, I mean our time, which would have been the future at the time this was recorded).
c) playing something completely unique
d) burning calories

After Refused broke up I heard that Sandstrom moved to a reclusive spot of Sweden and sits in his house all day making weird records (and possibly going slowly insane).

Listen to this record, and this will make complete sense to you.

Audio/Visual Evidence : The Deadly Rhythm, The Shape Of Punk To Come (wait for the band to kick in, it's worth it), New Noise,