Refused are continuing the overdue 25th anniversary celebration of their seminal 1998 record with ‘The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated’: a 12-song tribute album featuring covers from prominent names in hardcore, available to stream on November 8th via Epitaph Records.
After approaching 12 bands with the request to “rearrange or deconstruct” each song, today they share a dark and expansive take on the operatic 10-minute saga “Tannhäuser / Derive”, reimagined by fellow Swedes, Cult of Luna.
Cult Of Luna guitarist and vocalist Johannes Persson comments, “I hate covers and I usually am very reluctant to spend any time listening to one band playing another band’s songs. However, I’m very excited by the opportunity to dive into another artist’s writing and see how I can contribute my own creative style. For me that’s the only way to justify making a cover, it needs to have the musical mark of the original artist. You need to take what is someone else’s and make it yours by adding, not merely copying.
We felt very honoured when Refused asked us to cover one of their songs. Not only are they a band that we grew up listening and looking up to but they also were the pinnacle of Umeå hardcore. The scene that was the birthplace of our band. After the recording of “The shape of punk to come” I remember Dennis boasting about this 6 min epic song, their “Tannhäuser”. That’s the reason why I picked the song. If you want “epic” Dennis, we’ll give you epic!!! And thanks for the trust.”
Due to overwhelming demand, Refused are launching a second pressing of the limited-edition ‘TSOPTC’ vinyl re-issue on an exclusive opaque purple variant, expected to ship in March 2025. Limited to just 2000 copies worldwide, you can pre-order exclusively through the band’s webstore:
- Gel – Worms Of The Senses / Faculties Of The Skull
- Quicksand – The Liberation Frequency
- Brutus – The Deadly Rhythm
- Snapcase – Summer Holidays Vs. Punkroutine
- Idles – New Noise (remix)
- Ho99o9 – New Noise
- Fucked Up – Refused Party Program
- Zulu – Protest Song ’68
- Cold Cave – Refused Are Fucking Dead
- IGORR – The Shape Of Punk To Come
- Cult Of Luna – Tannhäuser / Derive
- Touche Amore – The Apollo Programme Was A Hoax
