Even if 2012 doesn’t bring the second coming of Christ, at least it’s brought the second coming of Refused. The Swedish punk foursome announced yesterday that they've reunited after a 14-year hiatus and will play the Coachella Music Festival in April. They’ll also light up the Way Out West Festival in Gothenburg, Sweden, in August, and a tour is in the works.
And thus, Refused is “not fucking dead” after all, as a press release puts it. A statement on the band’s website explains the band’s resurrection:
It's been a motley 14 years since our band came apart. We've all kept busy in our respective endeavors but we've all remained friends and kept in touch. …
Finally, after a decade and a half hiatus, Kristofer picked up the guitar again. Which made David want to play the drums again. Which in turn led to all four of us suddenly making new music in assorted constellations. As all this was brewing, Coachella got in touch. There were a couple of phone-calls, lots of skepticism, some hesitant enthusiasm before one of us basically said: "– This is ridiculous. There are friends of ours who would murder close relatives just to go see bands there. Let's just do it, one last time." …
Suddenly there's this possibility to do it like it was intended. We wanna do it over, do it right. For the people who've kept the music alive through the years, but also for our own sakes.
The rebooted Refused will announce more tour dates on their website.