Missing Toof has a bunch of Refused remixes posted for download: http://missingtoof.com/v2/2007/11/15/refused-the-finest-hardcore-punk-of-our-generation-gets-electro-fied-hip-hopd-out-by-shark-attack-hensforth/

MP3: Meleeh - Malign

Musically, I like Meleeh quite a bit. They've got a great balance of aggression and melody and they throw in just enough little rhythmic tricks to keep things interesting without overdoing it. The weak link however, are the vocals. They aren't bad per se, but they're definitely far too screechy for my tastes. Of the many influences they draw from Refused, that's definitely the one I appreciate the least. The syncopated breakdown on "Malign" on the other hand, is pretty damn awesome.

Meleeh - Malign

Check out Volyo, a Swedish experimental all-star group featuring Mats Gustafsson(The Thing, way too many other groups to list), Jens Nordén (Step Forward), Henrik Oja (Säkert!, The Spacious Mind), and David Sandström (Refused, Final Exit, etc.): http://www.myspace.com/volyo
The group was put together by David for the Made-07 Festival in Umeå and the various tracks posted are live recordings from that show.

Path of No Return
The absinthe dreams
Burning Heart Records

Finally, a record worth noticing from Burning Heart again. After lots of mediocre releases, Path of No Return has, judging by the labels own statement, gone full circle with their metal-/hardcore. And I agree in a way. The debut album "Black nights coming", released on the The Mars Volta-label GSR, left me disappointed and indifferent. But after listening to this album, I'm bound to say that they've gone through a huge improvement and have added new dimensions to the music. It's not all about technique and skill anymore; something that was mye overall impression last time around. And from what I've heard, that was the main part to why previous vocalist Adam Hector left the band shortly after the debut. There's a whole different depth to the band nowadays, both when it comes to the music in general, but also in the lyrics and graphics. That is something that I welcome. Musically, it's reminiscent to Swedish colleagues Nine, but also American combos such as Himsa and Snapcase. Yeah, remember those dinosaurs? Hardcore with a metal touch is somewhat the new black these days and, sure, it's easy to accuse the band of jumping on the bandwagon, but having been around since 2001, Path of No Return can be considered veterans in this genre. Not only that, they're veterans with songs! And that's something that lots of other bands in the genre lack. That there are also influences from Swedish hardcore trendsetters Refused is not surprising at all, but they're not making it into a carbon copy except for the bridge in "Broken dances" wherein the guitar melody is similar to the one in Refused's "Last minute pointer". But where that classic Umeå-band always maintained focus throughout every album, that's what this Örebro-band is having problems. A full-length format seems a bit like overkill, instead an EP-release would've probably been in the band's best interest.
- Jonas Appelqvist

MP3: The Process - Mot Sverige i tiden

The Process kicks off their debut EP "Taste the knife" with their best Refused impression. Jagged rhythms, screaming vokills, yadda yadda. Considering it's been nine years since "The shape of punk to come", it's finally safe to start resurrecting that style. When bands like Crazy Town are covering them, you know the shit is way played out. Wait a more years though and it's okay again.
The Process aren't totally by the book, but they aren't really all that progressive either. They make up for a lack of precision with increased anger. Elsewhere on the disc, they play it more straight, fast and furious, throwing the odd little breakdown in here and there. As much as I'm nostalgic for (bad) mid-90s moshcore (such as early Refused), I'm glad The Process has evolved beyond and does not venture even come remotely close to that territory. For a debut EP, this is a fine start. It's not my idea of the future of hardcore, but it's decent, well-played and well-recorded. Good enough!

The Process - Mot Sverige i tiden

The Refused fansite finally got their own domain name: http://www.refusedfan.com/

Festival report: Hultsfred 2007 - The year it all broke down (almost)

If you liked today's mp3 post, read more Refused reminiscing from Hype Beast: http://www.hypebeast.com/stevenvogel/2007/06/14/the-shape-of-punk-to-come/

MP3: Refused - Sunflower princess

Frequent contributor Matt Giordano is taking care of this week's Friday post:

Remember when Dennis Lyxzén knew how to rock? It's been a while, and it sure is sorely missed. This song is amongst the older of the Refused catalogue, and I really have no idea if this EP is still in print [ed: it is]. The release this is from, "Everlasting", served as a logical connector between their very early-90s hardcore sounding debut album "This just might be... the truth" and the heavier "Songs to fan the flames of discontent". Mixing the punk of the former and the more driving metal-influenced rhythms of the latter, "Everlasting" might just be the best of the bands' early material.

Refused - Sunflower princess

Wasted Sounds will be reissuing Final Exit's discography on vinyl. The legendary Umeå-based straight-edge band included both Dennis Lyxzen and David Sandström pre-Refused and will be performing a one-off reunion show at this year's Umeå Open. In other Wasted Sounds news, the label will be sending off new LPs from Knugen Faller, Blinds and Asta Kask to get pressed in the next week or so. For preorder info and tons of tourdates for all Wasted Sounds-affiliated acts, go to their website: http://www.wastedsounds.com/

Straight Edge Terror Force strikes in Umeå: http://www.thelocal.se/5530/
The band is actually supposed to be Final Exit, the group that David Sandström and Dennis Lyxzén were in before founding Refused.

This week's It's a trap! Last.fm/Audioscrobbler listening group top 10 tracks of the week:

01. Damien Rice – 9 Crimes
02. Bloc Party – Banquet
03. The Radio Dept. – It's Personal
04. The Magic Numbers – Take A Chance
05. The Magic Numbers – This Is A Song
06. Damien Rice – Elephant
07. The Shins – Sleeping Lessons
08. Refused – New Noise
09. Damien Rice – Rootless Tree
10. The Knife – Neverland

And the top 10 albums of the week:

01. The Arcade Fire – Funeral
02. The Radio Dept. – Pet Grief
03. The Postal Service – Give Up
04. The Knife – Silent Shout
05. Thom Yorke – The Eraser
06. Beirut – Gulag Orkestar
07. Bloc Party – Silent Alarm
08. Tiger Lou – The Loyal
09. Hot Chip – The Warning
10. The Magic Numbers – The Magic Numbers

Want to make your own playlist count? Join us! Go here to learn more: http://www.last.fm/help/

Cobolt, the Umeå-based slowcore act featuring ex-Refused bassist Magnus Björklund, is now on myspace: http://www.myspace.com/coboltmusic

Swedish music show Musikbyrån celebrates 10 years with a marathon of programming on October 20, including many classic performances from bands such as Refused, Bob Hund and The Hives. Read more: http://svt.se/musikbyran

Ny Våg, the Swedish punk label run by Dennis of Refused/(Int'l) Noise Conspiracy, has started podcasting: pcast://nyvag.com/Podcast/NyVagPodcast.xml