When I first heard this album, I wasn't quite sure what to make of it, and I'm still not. It's like punk rock from the year 2045: it's got great production, and it incorporates diverse influences like electronica, jazz, and metal, making it unlike 99% of punk albums out there, including anything else by Refused. I hesitate to call it "important," or "seminal," because, as far as I can tell, no one has been able to touch this sound since, and its "revolutionary" posturing seems a little hokey in a world where Rage Against the Machine became fucking Audioslave. Whatever it is--abrasive, melodic, innovative, weird, and/or charmingly Scandinavian--it's definitely way ahead of its time. Here's a link to New Noise, which was the big single.
RATING: 90%
(Image from www.edtudiants.phy.ulaval.ca, which is pretty much the most Quebecois web address I've ever seen. French people love these guys, God bless 'em.)
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