Live Review : Refused + Quicksand + Shooting Daggers @ O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester on October 2nd 2025

Prophetically, Refused’s 1998 third record “The Shape of Punk to Come”, has become the most important punk album since “Never the Bollocks” careered into our collective lives. However, at the time it was a commercial bomb and was scorned by the band’s ferment fanbase. It was so ill thought of, that the derision sent the band into a tailspin that they never recovered from. They partially limped through a traumatic American tour only to implode during an internal flight to Atlanta, Georgia. It was only after their demise that people started to see the astonishing depth of this unparalleled prog punk masterpiece. They eventually reassembled in 2012, emerging into a world that now heralded them as auteurs and musical trendsetters. 13 years on from their miraculous re-ascendance, this tour is about ending things properly. Still suffering from collective PTSD from the way that they split the first time around, they have decided to go out in a blaze of perfect glory firmly on their terms.

Punk is the go-to music for those looking to cast off the shackles of oppression. It has become the soundtrack for rebellion and insurrection. It makes sense then that it has been conscripted by the queer, trans and non-binary community looking to use its insurgent tones to challenge the outmoded and bigoted views of mainstream society. Shooting Daggers wear their politics on their tattooed sleeves and are unafraid to call out the intolerance they see all around them. They are unswerving in their commitment to speak truth to power and to enthuse other members of their community to pick up a guitar and be creative. However, as inspiring as their message is, it can't take away from their version of punk being rather derivative and, in places, downright dreary. It is full of conviction but lacks energy and corrosive force. They have the belief system to rise up against the uninformed; they just need to ratchet up the righteous power.

When they emerged in the early nineties, Quicksand looked to build on the legacy of luminaries such as Helmet and Fugazi. Arriving in the middle of the alt-rock feeding frenzy, they were quickly snapped up by Polydor, hoping for their slice of this now lucrative pie. Whilst second album “Manic Compression” made some commercial headway, they never managed to build up a similar head of steam to their compatriots in Seattle. They ground to a halt in 1995 and, aside from a spluttering short-term return at the end of that decade, they remained dormant until 2012. The original trio of Walter Schreifels, Sergio Vega and Alan Cage returned to the world that now, as with Refused, reverated their style and substance.

Tonight they prove in abundance why they are spoken about with such hushed reverence. They have the energy and conviction of young carefree musicians as opposed to three fifty-somethings with a barrow load of baggage. The beauty and the curse of a stripped-down triangular set-up is that there is nowhere to hide. Quicksand are beautifully expansive in the reach of their style. Walter’s guitar work is jangly and playful, full of sumptuous, bouncy bridges that feel shot through with joy. Sergio’s bass flirts with funk, sailing close to the exuberant groove of Jane’s Addiction but remaining unique enough not to stray into the waters of perjury. In the middle, Alan Cage stupendously holds it all together with an astonishing display of rhythmic gymnastics. Basically, for 40 minutes Quicksand are apostolically enjoyable. It is not necessarily particularly heavy and is not necessarily particularly stringent in its delivery, but the vibes are astounding, and it all lands ludicrously well. In a nutshell, it is an extremely pleasurable experience and you can't say more than that. 

Dennis Lyxzen has always been an extraordinarily charismatic frontperson, but he is particularly verbose this evening. As a direct result of his constant monologues, tonight becomes Refused's longest ever show at nigh on ninety minutes, they even sacrifice ‘REV001’ to finish before the dreaded curfew. He talks about everything, pausing initially to reference the horrific synagogue attack that happened in this very city earlier on in the day and to state categorically that being pro-Palestine does not stop you from being able to chastise and categorically reject anti-Semitism. He then wanders off down many stream of consciousness corridors, congratulating the political astuteness of his early 20s self and musing on whether their overtly political ramblings over the last 30 years have actually made things worse. He also ruminates about their aspirations to a hardcore act, and how all things would have been different if they had continued down the direction of their initial demos and E.P.’s

But for all Dennis’s frequent bouts of verbal diarrhoea, this is not a spoken word show. By his own admission, this is a celebration of their legacy, and whilst previous visits to this city have seen them concentrate on their newer material, tonight they give us what we want, delving deep into their back catalogue. We get most of the world-changing “The Shape of Punk to Come” and also opener ‘Poetry Written in Gasoline’ from the adjacent “The New Noise Theology EP”. However, as Dennis states, they want to go much deeper than just “the one album we all want to hear”. The title track of the 1994 EP “Everlasting” is unleashed as an attempt to get back to the hardcore band they always wanted to be, and it is perfectly twinned with ‘Pump The Brakes’ from their debut album. Later in the day, Refused would push punk’s envelope wide open, but here their early incarnation is a feast of unadulterated, agitated noise. Sharp, spiky and full of angst and resentment. They also fish out ‘Beauty’ from their sophomore outing, “Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent” being played for the first time since 1995.

For a band that are in their self-inflicted death throes, they are astonishingly tight, astonishingly accomplished and in astonishingly good humour (Dennis joshes that they give the impression of tightness by learning to all finish songs at the same point). They are also exceedingly entertaining. What Refused have always got right is not letting the political bent of their material get in the way of being an astonishingly passionate and pleasurable live act. They may well be screaming at us about the ills and unfair nature of this world, but they do it in such a marvellously compelling and intoxicatingly engaging way. Whilst Mattias Barjed carries the mantle of the new boy drafted in to replace Jon Brabbstrom, his pedigree with the cult heroes Soundtrack of our Lives means that they have hitched themselves up to one helluva guitarist. This evening, he is simply astounding , balancing the simple ferocity of punk with the complex thoughtfulness of prog with ease. He always lives out his own personal Kerry King moment, throwing out the opening riffs of ‘Reign in Blood’ during ‘The Deadly Rythme’.

There is, though a level of shambolic honesty about tonight. Dennis forgets the lyrics to most of Centrepiece ‘Refused are Fucking Dead and the singular encore ‘Elektra’ has to be re-started because everyone seems to forget how it goes, and even when they manage to get it going Magnus Flagge plonks his bass down halfway through and wanders off. But the point is this evening is about celebrating the defiant quality and uniqueness of an astonishing band, warts and all. Refused are going out on their term with all their faculties about them. Dennis has made it very clear in interviews that part of the reason for bringing the band to an end at this point is to ensure that his forty-year friendship with David Sandstrom perseveres. The big hug they give each other at the end speaks volumes. Refused may well again be departing this mortal coil, but they leave an album that managed to reassemble the whole DNA of punk last time they weren’t around. Imagine what it can do this time!!

Check the “In The Flesh” page for more photos!
Refused + Quicksand + Shooting Daggers