Photo by Tim Tronckoe

Earlier this year, Swedish pillars Refused experienced a serious confrontation with mortality when frontman Dennis Lyxzen had a heart attack in June. While the band was due to reunite and perform a succession of shows during that time, plans were forced to go on pause as Lyxzen had to prioritize his health. 

The long, enduring tenure of Refused can be split into two formative stretches. From 1991 to 1998, the band delivered influential releases including This Just Might be... The Truth, Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent and the seminal, The Shape of Punk to Come. The band would go on an extended hiatus, reuniting in 2012 to release two more entries in Freedom in 2015 and War Music in 2019. 

Now, the band that helped usher in a new era of hardcore punk is calling it a career with the announcement of their farewell tour. Set to kick of March 21st, 2025, Refused will embark on a focused trek that includes select cities in North America to close what has been a historic run. The tour will include support from Quicksand and will mark the band's final live performances. 

Preceding the band's final go round, Refused will mark 25 years of their lauded record, The Shape Of Punk To Come with the release of a limited collector’s edition. The release will include exclusives, unreleased demos and alternate versions of songs on a 3 LP colored vinyl variant.

Additionally, the release comes with a 12-song tribute compilation, The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated which features covers, remixes and reimagined versions of the album's vital tracks from bands like Quicksand, Zulu, Gel, IDLES, Touche Amore and more.  Both Dennis Lyxzén and David Sandstrom provide commentary in the form of liner notes, providing context on the weight of the album and each of the new band's fresh take. 

The band shared of the significance of The Shape of Punk to Come, “Whatever the record means to everyone else, it represents a remarkable time in our lives when we were young and devil-may-care, we were taking risks, wanting to prove our mettle, and more than anything else we want to celebrate that: the madness, the wild combinations, the pure creativity of it all. So we asked a bunch of artists we love and respect to actually take liberties with the songs and either rearrange or deconstruct the material completely, to take the engine apart essentially and not be precious about it. And they weren't, and to us this is the only tribute to our record that matters: heroes of ours, young guns as well as old friends and peers complimenting our music by uncovering new possibilities and new meaning within it. These bands are all caviar for the general and we are honored they took time to be a part of this. Thank you all."

The special limited edition of The Shape of Punk to Come and the tribute album The Shape of Punk to Come Obliterated are limited to just 2000 physical copies. Fans can pre-order the release - HERE

Tickets for Refused's farewell tour are set to go on sale September 13th at 10am local time. See below for a complete list of dates and cities.