Reissue Redux: Refused "The Shape of Punk To Come"

Along with Neurosis's "Enemy of the Sun" Refused's "The Shape of Punk To Come" was one of the first album's that confused the fuck out of me. I didn't know how to approach it. It was heavy for a bit, then it'd break into some electronic jam. The album would never settle one just one idea and let the listener to just it in. Instead it gracefully bounces around several different moods. The album truly stands a whole, not as separate songs. "The Shape of Punk to Come" is truly a work of art. Thankfully, they re-released it and included some extra goodies, too.

The powers that be packages this deluxe edition with not only TSOPTC, but a live album from the band's last active year AND a freakin' documentary telling the story of their demise. I won't talk about the album because, if you haven't heard it yet, you're missing out, and I feel that deluxe editions are more about the extras than the album itself.

The live disc, from Umeå Open Air, showcases almost the entire TSOPTC album, which would seem a bit tricky seeing as how conceptual the album is. There's elements from that album that I imagined wouldn't translate well in a live setting, but they did it, and very well! The band's energy is on high. I would have killed to be at this show.

The third disc is a DVD documentary entitled "The Refused Are Fucking Dead." The documentary tells the story of the band's last year or so together. If anyone reading this is a fan of Scandinavian film, you'll know what I mean when I say this documentary is Swedish as fuck. It's an work of art on its own. The photography is outstanding and really captures a feeling of the end. The focus of the story seems to rely mostly on the relationship and accounts of Dennis Lyxzén and David Sandström, who helped form the band. They tell a story of a band struggling to continue after outdoing themselves for seven years. The sections on their last American tour is told by a fan who really captures the mood of a band on the brink of demise with such poetry that it made me cringe at times. Although the story doesn't spend much time talking about the actual making of the album (Decibel Magazine does a great job with that in their 'Hall of Fame' segment), the director does a great job of storytelling.