Editing Refused (section)

==Musical style, lyrics, and influences==
[[File:Refused no Optimus Alive.jpg|thumb|Refused performing in 2012]]
Refused started as a "fresh-faced [[positive hardcore]] band" and their music became increasingly progressive and radical, as did their lyrics.<ref name="in effect"/> The record ''[[This Just Might Be... the Truth]]'' was characterized for its "massive hardcore sound",<ref name="tjmbtt">{{cite web|first=Jason |last=Anderson |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/this-just-might-be-the-truth-mw0000018026 |title=This Just Might Be... The Truth - Refused &#124; Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards |website=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=2 July 2015}}</ref> mostly influenced by various bands from the [[New York hardcore]] scene (such as [[Earth Crisis]]).{{Citation needed|date=March 2009}} On their follow-up,'' [[Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent]]'', the band had a heavier, more intricate style, which is generally attributed to their [[Slayer]] inspiration, and Lyxzén adopted [[screaming (music)|screaming]] vocals rather than shouting.<ref name="tjmbtt"/><ref name="tonedeaf">{{cite web|access-date=29 November 2017|url=http://tonedeaf.com.au/refused-greatest-punk-moments/|title=Refused, The Greatest Punk Moments|first=Nicholas|last=Jones|date=8 November 2012|publication-date=8 November 2012|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171129184847/http://tonedeaf.com.au/refused-greatest-punk-moments/|archive-date=29 November 2017}}</ref> With the third album, ''[[The Shape of Punk to Come]]'', "came the leap into the unknown" as the band mixed their previous style with unorthodox chord progressions, [[Sampling (music)|sampling]], "ambient textures, [[jazz]] [[breakdown (music)|breakdowns]]", [[electronica]] and monologues, and other deviations from the hardcore punk music.<ref name="in effect"/><ref>{{cite web|access-date=29 November 2017|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-shape-of-punk-to-come-mw0000043978|first=Blake|last=Butler|website=[[AllMusic]]|title=Refused {{!}} The Shape of Punk to Come|url-status=live|archive-date=29 November 2017|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171129080848/https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-shape-of-punk-to-come-mw0000043978}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|access-date=1 December 2017|url=https://www.avclub.com/refused-the-shape-of-punk-to-come-1798165133|title=Refused: The Shape Of Punk To Come|first=Jason |last=Heller|publication-date=8 June 2010|website=[[The A.V. Club]]|date=8 June 2010 }}</ref>

Refused's lyrics focus on [[far-left politics]], drawing on [[anarchism]], [[socialism]], among other ideologies.{{sfn|Kuhn|2010|pp=58, 59}} By the time of their first album, the band already had a strong [[anti-establishment]] profile.<ref name="tjmbtt"/> The group's members were all [[vegan straight edge]] until their last show in 1998 and a couple of their songs dealt with these topics.{{sfn|Kuhn|2010|p=54|ps=. "Dennis Lyxzén: Refused was a straight edge, vegan, socialist, anarchist sort of band. We were that all along, until we broke up. At the last show, I'm X-ed up, actually."}} Today, some of them no longer follow these lifestyles.<ref>{{cite web|access-date=27 November 2017|url=http://shanghaiist.com/2009/10/01/interview_the_international_noise_c.php|title=Dennis Lyxzén on life in Sweden's grooviest, socialist rock band: The (International) Noise Conspiracy|website=[[Shanghaiist]]|first=Kirsti|last=Jönson|date=October 2009|publication-date=1 October 2009|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120525064924/http://shanghaiist.com/2009/10/01/interview_the_international_noise_c.php|archive-date=25 May 2012}}</ref> In their live performances, vocalist Lyxzén usually delivers political speeches between songs.<ref name=thelineofbestfit/> Before the Umeå hardcore phenomenon went into full bloom, the band was seen as part of the scene centered around youth-oriented venue Galaxen, along with the punk-rock scene as well as metal bands such as [[Meshuggah]].{{citation needed|date=November 2017}}

Refused have cited bands and artists as inflluences, including [[Fugazi]], [[Slayer]],<ref>{{cite web |last=Bray |first=Ryan |date=30 June 2015 |title=Refused's Dennis Lyxzén Revisits Fugazi's Red Medicine |url=https://consequence.net/2015/06/refuseds-dennis-lyxzen-revisits-fugazis-red-medicine/ |access-date=28 November 2017 |website=[[Consequence of Sound]] |publication-date=30 June 2015}}</ref> [[Born Against]],<ref>{{Cite web |last=Bogosian |first=Dan |date=June 23, 2015 |title=Refused's David Sandström and Dennis Lyxzén: The Changing Shape of Punk |url=https://consequence.net/2015/06/refuseds-david-sandstrom-and-dennis-lyxzen-the-changing-shape-of-punk/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240127002310/https://consequence.net/2015/06/refuseds-david-sandstrom-and-dennis-lyxzen-the-changing-shape-of-punk/ |archive-date=January 27, 2024 |access-date=May 11, 2024 |website=[[Consequence of Sound]]}}</ref>{{sfn|Kuhn|2010|p=56}} and [[ManLiftingBanner]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Arold |title=The (International) Noise Conspiracy: music mixed with politics |url=http://www.asice.net/specials/315/ |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081225153056/http://www.asice.net/specials/315/ |archive-date=25 December 2008 |access-date=28 November 2017 |website=Asice.net |publication-date=24 December 2008 |quote=Dennis Lyxzén: [...] it wasn't till I found out about Born Against and most importantly ManLiftingBanner that I really became more political myself. Especially ManLiftingBanner was a big influence to Refused, most people don't seem to know that. But to hear of a European straight edge band with communist ideas, that was so inspiring to us. That really fuelled me and the other guys to do a band as well.}}</ref> Lyxzén has also cited [[Ian Svenonius]]'s projects ([[Make-Up (American band)|The Make-Up]], [[The Nation of Ulysses]] and [[Cupid Car Club]])<ref name="washington">{{cite web |date=March 2014 |title=No Cheap Holiday, These Other People's Ecstasy: A 2014 Dennis Lyxzen Interview |url=https://dayafterdaydc.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/dennis/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20171128091843/https://dayafterdaydc.wordpress.com/2014/06/13/dennis/ |archive-date=28 November 2017 |access-date=28 November 2017 |website=Dayafterdaydc.wordpress.com |publication-date=13 June 2014 |location=Washington, D.C.}}</ref> as personal influences, while Sandström has drawn from [[Snapcase]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.vice.com/en/article/progression-through-unlearning-snapcases-timeless-hardcore-classic-turns-20/|access-date=28 November 2017|quote= "Earlier in the 90s, Tim [Redmond] really set the standard for how high you could tune a snare drum. A lot of drummers got piccolo snares and tortured those tension rods until the drumhead was about to pop," says Refused drummer David Sandström, who toured with Snapcase in '96. "There was a certain stability and propulsion to Tim's beats that really influenced me. He was indefatigable. Felt like he could punch his way through a brick wall." |title=''Progression Through Unlearning'', Snapcase's Timeless Hardcore Classic, Turns 20|first=Dan |last=Ozzi|publication-date=31 March 2017|publisher=[[Vice (magazine)|Vice]]|website=Noisey.vice.com|date=31 March 2017 }}</ref>