Freedom

Refused - Freedom
Critic Score
Based on 23 reviews
2015 Ratings: #897 / 1021
User Score
Based on 61 ratings
2015 Rank: #624
Liked by 3 people
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CRITIC REVIEWS

83
Consequence of Sound
The chances of Refused saving your life these days are next to nil, but they can still make a hell of a soundtrack for figuring it out on your own.
80
Drowned in Sound

The conviction put into every moment of this record, much like that they put into every second of their original reunion shows, makes Freedom a more than worthwhile comeback.

80
Exclaim!

A solid listen front to back, Freedom is the album fans have been waiting for, and proof that Refused are most certainly not "fucking dead."

80
DIY
This may be their biggest gamble yet, but they’ve got a winning hand: Refused are no longer fucking dead.
80
AllMusic

It's not hard to be a bit cynical about Refused choosing to reunite, but Freedom sounds as furiously principled as this group has ever been, and it's a liberating, hard-hitting exercise in punk for smart people.

70
Rolling Stone
It's the exhilarating sound of a band that still lives by its own rules.
60
Sputnikmusic

Although Freedom isn’t the return fans were hoping for, there’s enough experimentation here to at least remind old fans of what made them adore the band in the first place.

60
SPIN

Freedom isn’t free from the looming specter of their last beloved record, and there’s precious little on Freedom that lives up to the inventiveness of The Shape of Punk to Come’s chewed-up post-hardcore.

60
PopMatters
These songs stay well within the Refused wheelhouse, but don’t exactly inspire any confidence that the band has retained their ability to upset punk music standards the way they used to.
54
Pitchfork
Even under the pretense of ironic ear candy, the band's hijacking of commonplace modern rock proves ultimately to be neither subversive nor satisfying. No, Refused are not fucking dead, but it's unclear from this album what they came back to accomplish.
50
The 405

That intensity is largely absent because Freedom is nothing more than an exercise in competent stadium rock.

50
Slant Magazine
It's no surprise a comeback album arising from a reunion tour would be optimized to reach the cheap seats; maybe Lyxzén would even defend the arena as the ideal venue for agitprop. It's too bad the songwriting doesn't match the ambition.
45
The Line of Best Fit

This is not a terrible record, just a bland and misguided one; the band that made The Shape of Punk to Come sound like they want to be in a play-it-straight rock band, and that - frankly - is a tragedy.

43
A.V. Club

While the album contains trace amounts of what made The Shape so canonical, Freedom feels like a concerted effort to dismantle whatever legacy was built during the band’s absence.

30
Under the Radar
Other cuts offer mere Refused-by-numbers or even descend into self-parody, a trait best exemplified by the track title "Destroy the Man." Destroy the legacy, more like.
FritoRio
65

Imagine not releasing an album in over 15 years only for it to be mid, lmfao

grnhll
54

I actually wanted to like this, but this is not a great comeback album. They tried to sound more "mainstream" and accessible, but it doesn't work that well.

PipePanic
81

when they said MURDER MURDER MURDER MURDER MURDER MURDER KILL KILL KILL, I felt that.

I seriously don't understand what all the hate is about. This album goddamn slaps harder then a chair being hit in the back of my head. As soon as this thing started, it was like a shotgun blast to the face of high intensity energy that didn't let up for a single second, while still never having the listener out of breath. It's a exciting listen, but never becomes overbearing in its intensity. While i'm not ... read more

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Track List

  1. Elektra 
  2. Old Friends / New War
  3. Dawkins Christ
  4. Françafrique 
  5. Thought Is Blood 
  6. War on the Palaces 
  7. Destroy the Man 
  8. 366 
  9. Servants of Death 
  10. Useless Europeans 

Year End Lists

#15/Decibel
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Added on: April 27, 2015