Freedom (Refused album)

Freedom
Studio album by Refused
Released June 29, 2015 (2015-06-29)
Recorded October 2014 (Seedy Underbelly, LA)
February 2015 (Decibel Studios/mxm Studios, Stockholm)
Genre Alternative Rock, Post-hardcore[1] Avant-garde metal [2]
Length 43:04
Label Epitaph
Producer Nick Launay, Shellback, Michael Ilbert
Refused chronology
The Shape of Punk to Come
(1998)		 Freedom
(2015)
Singles from Freedom
  1. "Elektra"
    Released: April 27, 2015
  2. "Françafrique"
    Released: May 26, 2015

Freedom is the 4th studio album by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused, released via Epitaph Records on June 29, 2015. It is the first album released by the band since 1998's The Shape of Punk to Come, as well as the first album to feature bassist Magnus Flagge as a full-time member since Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent (1996) and first to not feature guitarist Jon F. Brännström since This Just Might Be... the Truth (1994).

Background

Further information: Refused and Refused Reunion Tour

After the band's successful 2012 reunion tour, Refused entered a hiatus for the next two years, however, rumours of a return to touring resurfaced after Jon Brännström posted on the group's Facebook page that he was fired some time in 2013. The band announced later in November 2014 that they would perform in a string of festival dates[3] and tour dates in North America supporting Faith No More. Already two weeks before rumours began to surface of a new album, after ...And You Will Know Us By The Trail Of Dead's Autrey Fulbright II posted a photo on Instagram claiming that Lyxzén had been in the studio recording vocals for the album.[4] The post in question was quickly deleted, however in April 2015 the group announced that they would be releasing a new album in June. The album was produced by Nick Launay, who was known for his work with bands such as Public Image Ltd, Killing Joke and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, with two tracks co-written and produced by former Blinded Colony frontman and prolific pop producer Shellback, including lead single Elektra.[5] Other co-writing credits include "Old Friends / New War" with lyrics inspired by Osip Mandelstam and "Destroy the Man" co-written with Anders Lind.

The band released the track Elektra on a "pay what you want" offer, along with pre-orders of the album for donations of over $25, in conjunction with charity Save the Children after the April 2015 Nepal earthquake and subsequent aftershocks.[6] This was followed by the release of Françafrique on May 26,[7] and "Dawkins Christ" by BBC Radio One as the "Hottest Record in the World" on June 11, 2015.

Reception

The album was included at number 33 on Rock Sound's top 50 releases of 2015 list.[8]

Track listing

All tracks written by Refused except where stated. 

No. TitleLyricsMusic Length
1. "Elektra"   Refused, Shellback 3:11
2. "Old Friends / New War"  Refused, Osip Mandelstam  4:26
3. "Dawkins Christ"     4:03
4. "Françafrique"     4:38
5. "Thought Is Blood"     4:17
6. "War on the Palaces"     3:34
7. "Destroy the Man"   Refused, Anders Lind 3:23
8. "366"   Refused, Shellback 5:19
9. "Servants of Death"     3:42
10. "Useless Europeans"     6:31

Personnel

Refused
The Françafrique Children’s Choir
  • Rosie Ford
  • Grace Darces-Mannings
  • Elisa-Jane Pasfield
  • Jack Holman-Brown
  • Bianca Fonti
  • Hugo Roles

Additional musicians
  • Church - additional vocals (tracks 3, 4, 6, 7 and 9)
  • Jennifer Goodridge - additional vocals (tracks 3 and 10)
  • Brian Grover - additional vocals (tracks 3 and 10)
  • Adam "Atom" Greenspan - keyboards, programming (tracks 2 and 9)
  • Robert Columbus - percussion (tracks 3 and 4)
  • Rasmus Lindelöw - keyboards (tracks 5 and 6)
  • Dan Regan - horns (tracks 4 and 6)
  • John Christianson - horns (tracks 4 and 6)
  • Matt Appleton - horns (tracks 4 and 6)
  • Per Nordmark - tambourine (track 7)
Production[9]
  • Nick Launay - production, mixing
  • Adam "Atom" Greenspan - assistant producer, engineering
  • Bernie Grundman - mastering
  • Shellback - production (tracks 1 and 8)
  • Michael Ilbert - production, engineering, mixing (tracks 1 and 8)
  • Nanni Johansson - assistant engineering (tracks 1 and 8)
  • Tom Coyne - mastering (tracks 1 and 8)
  • Gustav Lindelöw - additional recording
  • Jonathon Baker - assistant engineer (The Françafrique Children’s Choir)
  • Christoffer Berg - additional sound design (tracks 3 and 5)
  • Fredrik Söderberg - paintings
  • Daniel Andersson - art design

Charts

Chart (2015) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[10] 10
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[11] 35
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] 37
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[13] 2
US Billboard 200[14] 161
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[15] 18
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[16] 10
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[17] 23
US Top Tastemaker Albums (Billboard)[18] 7

References

Citations
  1. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/freedom-mw0002846024
  2. ↑ http://www.metalinjection.net/latest-news/refused-singer-says-the-future-of-the-band-is-bright-talks-about-working-with-taylor-swift-songwriter
  3. ↑ "Refused Are Unfucking Dead, Again". propertyofzack.com. November 25, 2014. Retrieved November 25, 2014.
  4. ↑ More Evidence That REFUSED Are Working On A New Album Metal Injection. November 11, 2014. Accessed January 3, 2015.
  5. ↑ "Refused Are Back: New Album Freedom Out This Summer, New Track "Elektra" Streaming Now". Pitchfork Media. April 27, 2015. Retrieved April 27, 2015.
  6. ↑ Download new Refused song to Help Nepal Quake Victims Genero.us
  7. ↑ Listen to Refused's new track Françafrique The Guardian. 26 May 2015. Retrieved 26 May 2015.
  8. ↑ Bird, ed. 2016, p. 24
  9. ↑ Album Credits Bandcamp
  10. ↑ "Australiancharts.com – Refused – Freedom". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  11. ↑ "Refused: Freedom" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved July 8, 2015.
  12. ↑ "Longplay-Chartverfolgung at Musicline" (in German). Musicline.de. Phononet GmbH. Retrieved July 5, 2015.
  13. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Refused – Freedom". Hung Medien. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  14. ↑ "Refused – Chart history" Billboard 200 for Refused.
  15. ↑ "Refused – Chart history" Billboard Top Alternative Albums for Refused.
  16. ↑ "Refused – Chart history" Billboard Independent Albums for Refused.
  17. ↑ "Refused – Chart history" Billboard Top Rock Albums for Refused.
  18. ↑ "Refused – Chart history" Billboard Top Tastemaker Albums for Refused.
Sources
  • Bird, Ryan, ed. (January 2016). "Top 50 Releases of the Year". Rock Sound. London: Freeway Press Inc. (208). ISSN 1465-0185. 
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 8/5/2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.