Refused: 'We'll See You in the Pit' With New Song 'Blood Red'

Along with striking new song "Blood Red," Refused released a statement Friday (Aug. 2) promising to "see you in the pit" once the Swedish punk pioneers' fifth album War Music rolls along on Oct. 18.

Elsewhere in the screed, it's revealed the band's supercharged new single was actually the first written for War Music, their second album since 2015 comeback Freedom. (Before that, their last release was 1998's The Shape of Punk to Come.) Ready to hear "Blood Red" and hit the pit? Watch the video down toward the bottom of this post.

If that's not enough to hold you over until the record's fall release, consider the following pledge. In April, Refused frontman Dennis Lyxzen offered a glimpse of what listeners could expect with War Music.

"I think this is the record that people wanted us to do last time, but I think it's good that we did Freedom last time," the singer said. "It's not like we're gonna do The Shape of Punk to Come 2 — cause that's not it."

Earlier this month, Refused contributed fresh track "Chippin' In" (under the alias Samurai) to the soundtrack for upcoming video game Cyberpunk 2077. Read the band's latest statement below.

We didn't play a single show during the making of the last album. It was a long time to be away after the addictive chaos of our reunion shows in 2012. Playing to houses packed with maniacs losing their minds right in front of you is a narcotic to rival actual narcotics we'd venture. (Not our field of expertise, but Keith Richards definitely seems to feel that way, and he's an expert on both.) So as we went out on tour in the summer of 2015 we were getting pretty high on our own supply (of songs that is). It was amazing, simply put.
But it was also obvious that 'Freedom' was, for the most part, a studio record. A great record, to us, but there was something missing as we started playing it live - something visceral, direct, relentless. At a soundcheck somewhere on the road (Austin?), Kristofer started playing this riff and we all got into it (jamming, as it were). After a while we noticed that our crew had stopped working and that the people working at the venue were standing around watching us play. Now, people at venues usually hardly notice you, they've seen a thousand bands more famous than you fool around with their precious ditties as they're re-stocking the bar or setting up barricades.
So as we were settling into the riff proper and it started rolling and bouncing the way you're hearing it today, whatever we felt had been missing, it was clear that we had begun to fill that gap. The riff turned into 'Blood Red,' the first song we finished for the new record and the first song we played live off of it. It's fitting that it's now the first song you're gonna hear from the new record because it was truly inspired by you, our live audience, the old and the new, who come out and help us turn every venue into a boiling hot mess. This one's for you.
If I fall, you'll help me up, ok?
Welcome to 'War Music.' We'll see you in the pit.

Refused, "Blood Red"

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