Refused are putting out a new album, War Music, later this year, and today they’ve shared a video for the new single “Blood Red.” In a press statement, the band described how the song evolved from an impromptu soundcheck-turned-jam:
At a soundcheck somewhere on the road (Austin?), [Refused guitarist Kristofer Steen] 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.
War Music is the Swedish punk act’s first album since 2015’s Freedom, which marked the end of a 17-year hiatus. It’s out October 18 via Spinefarm/Search & Destroy. Check out the video for “Blood Red” below.
