Seminal Swedish hardcore band Refused may be long gone, but they're certainly not forgotten -- not by their fans, nor, apparently, by screamer Dennis Lyxzén, who will be penning a memoir on his time spent with the group. The singer recently revealed plans to write a book covering a large portion of his tenure in the Umeå, Sweden straight-edge outfit.
"Writing has been a dream of mine and it seems like a good idea to start off with a subject I know well," Lyxzén told STV in a video interview, which you can see below. "A lot of people have talked about it. Not that they're begging me to write a book, more that they're curious about us. I figured that enough time had passed that I could get away with it now."
The band had previously issued a tour documentary, Refused Are Fucking Dead, which chronicled the turbulent final days, culminating with a disastrous U.S. tour in support of their iconic LP The Shape of Punk to Come. Lyxzén hopes his tome will shed a little more light on the rest of their career. He does, however, explain that the book will naturally highlight his time in the band more so than the rest of the group.
"The documentary went in pretty deep, but only covered our last year together," he said. "To me, this is really... It's about me. I can't lie and say it's the complete story of Refused. It's about my life during that period of time, what demons I battled back then and what I liked. It's a closer look at myself as opposed to just listing details like, '[producer] Pelle Gunnerfeldt was in the studio on that one.'"
Much of the book will be presented journal-style, and will reveal that the band wasn't exactly the sweetest bunch of dudes.
"When I read my journal, I understand why people walked out. We were jerks. We were used to doing things fast. The circumstances were insane. Your point of view changes and then you think, 'That's what it was like.' Then you read what you wrote back in 1994 to 1995, and the way we lived was unreal. The things we accepted, 'This is what it's like, being in a band.' Anyone who quit was a wimp. But it was too much to take. Now it's like, 'What on earth were we doing?' Still, it's fun to read about it."
Unfortunately, neither a release date nor a title has been announced for the autobiography.
Thanks to Blabbermouth for the tip.
"Writing has been a dream of mine and it seems like a good idea to start off with a subject I know well," Lyxzén told STV in a video interview, which you can see below. "A lot of people have talked about it. Not that they're begging me to write a book, more that they're curious about us. I figured that enough time had passed that I could get away with it now."
The band had previously issued a tour documentary, Refused Are Fucking Dead, which chronicled the turbulent final days, culminating with a disastrous U.S. tour in support of their iconic LP The Shape of Punk to Come. Lyxzén hopes his tome will shed a little more light on the rest of their career. He does, however, explain that the book will naturally highlight his time in the band more so than the rest of the group.
"The documentary went in pretty deep, but only covered our last year together," he said. "To me, this is really... It's about me. I can't lie and say it's the complete story of Refused. It's about my life during that period of time, what demons I battled back then and what I liked. It's a closer look at myself as opposed to just listing details like, '[producer] Pelle Gunnerfeldt was in the studio on that one.'"
Much of the book will be presented journal-style, and will reveal that the band wasn't exactly the sweetest bunch of dudes.
"When I read my journal, I understand why people walked out. We were jerks. We were used to doing things fast. The circumstances were insane. Your point of view changes and then you think, 'That's what it was like.' Then you read what you wrote back in 1994 to 1995, and the way we lived was unreal. The things we accepted, 'This is what it's like, being in a band.' Anyone who quit was a wimp. But it was too much to take. Now it's like, 'What on earth were we doing?' Still, it's fun to read about it."
Unfortunately, neither a release date nor a title has been announced for the autobiography.
Thanks to Blabbermouth for the tip.
