Refused - Gig Review & Photo Gallery 4th December @ Northcote Theatre, Melb VIC

Refused
Northcote Theatre, Melbourne VIC
December 4, 2025
Support: Delivery and Baby Mullet

Sometimes a band comes along, completely changes music and then breaks up. Boo. But, if you’re lucky, that band comes back after years and years of people begging for it, finally gets to tour their genre-defining album, release a few more excellent records and then break up again with a world tour send off. I tossed and turned for a few months about making the trek to the northern hemisphere to catch one of Refused’s farewell shows but couldn’t make it happen at the time. So, when it was announced that they were jumping on Good Things Festival this year and treating Melbourne to their launch headline show ever outside of their hometown in Umea, Sweden, it felt like it was meant to be.

I’ll be completely honest here, both supports (Baby Mullet and Delivery) were really solid bands, but I was so fired up and excited for Refused that I was craving bigger and more aggressive energy. Cool bands, but not quite what I was hoping for on the night.

I don’t think there’s another frontman in punk or hardcore that matches the swagger of Dennis Lyxzén. Where the other three members of Refused were happily dressed casually in band shirts, Dennis rolled onstage in a frilly shirt and blazer to thunderous applause, then delivered an explosive performance on the mic for 90 minutes.

Naturally, the setlist was shaped largely around songs from The Shape Of Punk To Come but with touches of every surrounding era throughout, and not once did the energy drop. I was surprised and hyped to hear them open with ‘Poetry Written In Gasoline’, a 7-minute cut from the New Noise EP, which lead straight into ‘The Shape Of Punk To Come’ and ‘The Refused Party Program’. By the end of the opening trio of songs, the crowd was well and truly heated up.

I’m not going to lie, there were so momentous moments throughout this set and it’s such a testament to the power and impact of this band and these songs. ‘Rather Be Dead’ had feet off the floor and voices blaring as loud as possible. Seeing the band so elated with the crowd response to the likes of ‘Liberation Frequency’, ‘Summerholidays vs. Punkroutine’ and ‘The Deadly Rhythm’ had me grinning ear to ear. The inclusion of Slayer’s iconic ‘Raining Blood’ in the place of the latter’s bebop jazz break was super fun and the crowd ate it up.

While it’s easy to focus on tracks from The Shape Of Punk To Come, I have to say that it was excellent to hear earlier and later eras of the band touched on throughout the set. The band never had a chance to tour the War Music album down here, so hearing ‘Blood Red’ and ‘Economy Of Death’ live for the first time as well as tracks from the very early days.

As we got deeper into the setlist, Dennis took many a moment to reflect of the band’s long legacy. Speaking about their humble beginnings simply wanting to sound like a New York hardcore band, using their music as an outlet for rebellion and how he never thought they would be that band playing 90-minute headline sets on the other side of the world. He noted how it’s somewhat sad that songs they wrote over 25 years ago now are still poignant and relevant because of the state of the world but was happy that people find such unity in the music and how we simply need to support each other. The way he spoke was wonderfully earnest and genuine, cementing one of the many reasons why this band is so cherished.

In the finest of forms, Refused closed out their set with some serious impact. ‘Worms of the Senses/Faculties of the Skull’ is just an absolute banger, ‘Elektra’ picked the energy up with it’s intensity and odd time prowess. But then the moment came, the moment that everyone in the sold out crowd had been waiting for all night. From the second the iconic staccato riff of ‘New Noise’ kicked off, the room was on fire and every single person was singing at the top of their lungs. Bittersweet really, to hear such a genre and generational defining song live for the last time, but absolutely a memory to cling to. Selfishly, I was very happy that the set didn’t end there as ‘Tannhäuser/Derivè’ is one of my favourite Refused songs, so closing out with that was divine.

For a little added value at the end, the band returned to the stage for ‘Coup d’état’ and ‘Pump The Brakes’, and 1500 punk fans rolled out of Northcote Theatre energised yet mournful. When I was introduced to Refused in the early 2000’s, I had resigned to the fact that I was never going to see them live. Very grateful as a 35 year old man that I not only going to see them a half dozen times in the end, but that I witnessed their final headline show in the southern hemisphere.

Refused are (almost) fucking dead, but the incredibly powerful legacy they leave behind will live forever.

Review by Nicholas Simonsen @blackechomusic

Photo Gallery by Michael 'Piky' White @thirtytwo_creative. Please credit Wall Of Sound and Michael White if reposting photos.