Refused, the Swedish hardcore punk legends, will be going their separate ways in 2025. The band comprises vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. They will embark on their farewell tour in the US during March and April 2025, and will bring it back home to Sweden at the end of the year.
Refused first announced their split in 1998, but got back together in 2012. Now, once again, they announced their split in a press release, drummer David Sandström announced in a statement on September 10. He shared that the band, who is also celebrating the 25th anniversary of their groundbreaking album, The Shape of Punk To Come, was supposed to "do this in June."
"Roll out our modest farewell run, starting with the Rosendal Garden Party in Stockholm and then doing some light touring before calling it quits end of year. The rehearsals had been magnificent, the vibe was great and two days before the show we played a warm up show at Kulturhuset Femman in Uppsala."
Refused is "like a family" that "can be difficult"
David revealed that while no photos or videos were taken in Uppsala, it was a "great show." He also revealed that he and Dennis shared a couple of beers and some stories later that night, but the following morning, it was confirmed that Dennis had a heart attack.
Hence, Refused didn't make it to their upcoming show at Stockholm’s Rosendal Garden Party, or what was also known as “their last festival gig in Sweden. Ever.”
In his statement, David reflected on the band's journey. From their first show in February 1992 as teenagers to now full-grown men announcing their split. He noted that by the time the band parted ways for the first time in 1998, they already had performed over 50 shows. However, he revealed that while the band is like a family, things can be difficult.
"A band that tours becomes like a family, especially when you do it in a van, with maps, scrambling to find a squat in Halberstadt where you were supposed to have started playing an hour ago. And family relations can be difficult. So it was with us."
However, he revealed that while the band gave it their all between 2012 and 2024, they were never on the same page on what to do musically.
He noted that by the time the pandemic had hit, Kristofer "was done," and so, he quit. By the beginning of this year, the band started making plans to have their one last hurrah, he said in the statement.
"We all have different takes on how it went and what the legacy of the reformed band will be, but personally I felt we couldn’t quite agree on what we were supposed to do musically, and we were still struggling with that when the pandemic hit. Kristofer felt that he’d done what he wanted to do and left the band in August of 2020, and although there was a delayed effect to the death blow, a death blow it was."
He revealed that because Dennis' recovery is in full swing, the band wants to hit the road and "finish back home" in Sweden by the winter. There are no other details available for what happens after their first leg in the US in March/April 2025.
Here are Refused's North American Tour dates
Tabulated below are the tour dates for the North America leg; tickets go on sale this Friday, September 13, 2024.
Refused was born in 1991 in Umeå, and is known for their albums Freedom (2015), This Just Might Be... the Truth (1994) and War Music (2019).
