Influences
Refused incorporated radical left and anti-capitalist politics, into a sound that paid homage to The Nation of Ulysses and Born Against. 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.
Drummer David Sandström states that before the band formed he was a "glue-sniffing death metal kid" but eventually a fan of Step Forward, the embryo of Refused. As Step Forward called it quits and friendship between David and Dennis Lyxzen grew stronger, Dennis took him home and made him listen to Youth of Today's We're Not in This Alone album over and over again in a room alone.
The album This Just Might Be the Truth was mostly influenced by popular American hardcore bands of the time (such as Earth Crisis) as well as various bands from the New York hardcore scene. By the time of its release, the band already had a strong anti-establishment profile.
On their second album, Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent, the band had a heavier sound, largely due to Dennis adopting a screaming style rather than shouting.
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Famous quotes containing the word influences:
“I am fooling only myself when I say my mother exists now only in the photograph on my bulletin board or in the outline of my hand or in the armful of memories I still hold tight. She lives on in everything I do. Her presence influenced who I was, and her absence influences who I am. Our lives are shaped as much by those who leave us as they are by those who stay. Loss is our legacy. Insight is our gift. Memory is our guide.”
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“I don’t believe in villains or heroes, only in right or wrong ways that individuals are taken, not by choice, but by necessity or by certain still uncomprehended influences in themselves, their circumstances and their antecedents.”
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“However diligent she may be, however dedicated, no mother can escape the larger influences of culture, biology, fate . . . until we can actually live in a society where mothers and children genuinely matter, ours is an essentially powerless responsibility. Mothers carry out most of the work orders, but most of the rules governing our lives are shaped by outside influences.”
—Mary Kay Blakely (20th century)