New Music Genre: Hardcore Punk with Refused

A week ago I got a chance to watch a concert of a music genre I hadn't heard before: Hardcore Punk. Most people have heard about Punk all the way from the 70's, with Sex Pistols and the Ramones. From that original genre later came Hardcore Punk: more independent bands, outside of the commercial mainstream, with politically confrontational lyrics and a really, really loud sound.

One good example of that sound is Refused, a Swedish hardcore punk band formed in 1991 that has been touring the world. Lucky for me, they were giving a concert at The Showbox in downtown Seattle, and I managed to get a ticket. I was really curious about them, and they did not disappoint!

To say that you go watch a hardcore punk concert would be incorrect: it's more like that you are attacked by ear blasting sound with incredibly intense lights and other effects, such as lots and lots of smoke and quick changes in the music tempo, to keep you on your toes all the time. I've been to Heavy Metal concerts before, of various subgenres, but I must confess this was the most intense concert I ever witnessed. The band was very good of creating a sensorial overload: the vocalist was screaming (but not shouting) the lyrics, the guitar player was distorting the sound like crazy and the drummer gave the impression that he wanted to destroy his current set of drums.

When it comes to sensory experiences, I can put my own between two extremes: one extreme was when I tried a sensory deprivation tank, and this one was the opposite extreme. However, I liked it! The energy was contagious and the crowd was super excited (in fact, it was the biggest mosh pit I've ever seen). It was also cool that the vocalist from time to time would talk about the band experiences in Sweden, how they came together, where they get ideas for their songs, and, as expected, some political commentary. He seemed like a really cool guy.

I needed some painkillers the next day, but I really liked this experience: I would watch them again in a heartbeat. However, if you don't like loud music and/or very intense lights, this is probably not the best music concert to watch...











Location: Seattle, WA, USA

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