Refused
Freedom
Epitaph Records
10 song Vinyl LP
"Nothing has changed..." That's a line from the first cut on Freedom, and it couldn't be further from the truth. A lot has changed since 1997, the year that Refused unleashed their last and now-infamous hardcore album, The Shape of Punk to Come. How does one live up to a legendary myth almost 20 years in the making? Honestly, you just can't. It's not possible, nor should a band be expected to do so.
That being said, Refused doesn't try to relive their mountaintop experience. They wisely realize the futility and instead focus on making a killer record without looking back. Where Shape was a wild and reckless venture that flailed away in youthful angst, Freedom is streamlined with laser-like precision and destruction. It's a surgical strike instead of a carpet bombing, and the band has never sounded more determined and powerful.
To put it bluntly, it's one hell of a rock record by a maturing rock band. Refused may not be breaking new ground, but they are making everyone aware that they weren't a flash-in-the-pan or a fluke. Some things just improve with age, and this band is one of them.
MISH MASH Mandate: Liberation Frequency
Refused Website
