Ian Glasper

I knew I had a goodie in my hands when, after only three songs, I was moved to ring the press officer to tell him how much I was enjoying this new Refused album. And I really knew it was a goodie when Old Nick was on the blower an hour later, saying, ‘Have you heard it?’ There was no need to ask what “it” was. The last time Da Ed called me up this excited about a ‘Hardcore’ record was for Vision of disorder’s Roadrunner debut, and this has an even more stunning eccentric streak running through it. Yes, ‘The Shape Of Punk To Come’ has arrived like a bomb up the ass of the complacent Swedish Hardcore scene. So, just what the hell is this? Weirdcore, I guess. Maybe if Voivod had been a political Hardcore band, ‘Dimension Hätross’ could’ve sounded like this. But then even their interstellar visions may not have encompassed the extremes polarized here. Think Fugazi letting their hair down, if they had any. Inane comparisons aside, the Umeå kids who urged us to ‘Pump the brakes’ have come a   Read Full Review >>

Kerrang

50 Most Important Albums Of All Time:

13. REFUSED
The Shape Of Punk To Come

ALL BUT overlooked by the mainstream at the time of its release, this has since come to be recognized by musicians galore as one of the greatest heavy albums of all time. The no-nonsense hardcore scene which spawned this Swedish combo collectively shat itself when this mixture of smart-bomb riffing, ambient electronica, leftist politics and near perfect pop was birthed. It was so good, in fact, that the band broke up proclaiming they’d achieved what they set out to do and there was no point carrying on. Which is f**king cool, it has to be said.   Read Full Review >>