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.
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."
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.
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.
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.
That intensity is largely absent because Freedom is nothing more than an exercise in competent stadium rock.
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.
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.
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.
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
#15 | / | Decibel |