Reunited REFUSED Plays Unannounced Show In Sweden; Video Available

Reunited seminal Swedish hardcore band REFUSED played an unannounced show — its first in 14 years — earlier tonight (Wednesday, February 29) at the tiny club The Scharinska House in their hometown of Umeå. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below.

A Swedish-language video report can be seen at SVT Rapport. Check out photos and a short English-language report at Aftonbladet.se.

REFUSED has confirmed a number of shows on both sides of the Atlantic, including an appearance at this year's Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival, to be held for the first time over two consecutive weeks in mid-April.

REFUSED was only together seven years (from 1991 to 1998),but released three full-length albums before calling it quits. Their "The Shape Of Punk To Come" LP is considered one of the best punk albums ever.

The members of REFUSED released a statement in January explaining their decision to reunite by saying, "We never did 'The Shape Of Punk To Come' justice back when it came out; too tangled up in petty internal bickering to really focus on the job. And suddenly there's this possibility to do it like it was intended. We wanna do it over, do it right. For the people who've kept the music alive through the years, but also for our own sakes. We feel that you deserve it and we hope the feeling is mutual."

Two years ago, REFUSED lead singer Dennis Lyxzén told Excite in an interview, "To be in that band is one of those things that half the time I'm sympathetic and understanding towards why people would do it. The other half, it's just such a useless maneuver. It's a defeatist attitude but if your objective is to play music with your friends and have a good time, there's no harm in reuniting your band for a couple of shows. For us, there have always been so many other aspects of what we did, that it always felt like a complete no-no. You can't do that shit. MINOR THREAT never got back together. That's kind of our take on it. With some things, the legend is better than the actual thing."

REFUSED's legacy was chronicled via the "Refused Are Fucking Dead" collection, which featured never-before-seen material and videos. In addition, REFUSED's landmark 1998 album, "The Shape Of Punk To Come", was remixed and remastered in 5.1 surround DVD audio format, and was re-released through Epitaph Records. Also re-released were remastered editions of REFUSED's "Songs To Fan The Flames Of Discontent" and "The EP Compilation" CDs.