Almost two decades since Refused disbanded in the wake of 1998’s The Shape of Punk to Come, the Swedish quartet reappeared with 2015’s Freedom. The anticipation of a follow-up to a record that had since passed into legend was somewhat overshadowed by the collective shock that it could be happening at all. The Shape of Punk to Come was an explosive record made by an imploding band. In the months following its release, Refused fell spectacularly apart—the documentary of which, Refused Are Fucking Dead, makes Metallica’s Some Kind of Monster seem adorable by comparison. The band barely spoke until they reconvened in 2012 for a brief reunion tour, though the novelty of reconnection quickly frayed. By the time they were working on Freedom, long-serving guitarist Jon Brännström had been fired and not replaced, leaving Kristofer Steen to handle all the strings. Having been through 12 bassists prior to their breakup, it was soothingly comical to see Magnus Flagge—who hadn’t played with the group since 1994’s Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent—welcomed as a full-time member. How any of this transpired remains a secret miracle. Vocalist Dennis Lyxzén simply recalled suddenly recording an album in Los Angeles with UK producer Nick Launay; a far cry from the last time they were in the studio scrappily recording to analog tape in their native Umeå—and a purposeful one. Although opener “Elektra” intentionally harks back to Refused’s table-flipping classic “New Noise,” the original disgust that fueled the latter has become revulsion on the former: “Down in the dirt/Nothing has changed,” rages Lyxzén. From that point on, Freedom is fascinated with upending rock music rather than pinning punk up against the wall and demanding that it be more intelligent. Three major things conspired to form their second meta-musical rebellion: Lyxzén’s time fronting his post-Refused band, The (International) Noise Conspiracy (“War on the Palaces” and “Servants of Death” are straight-ahead garage-rock songs). Brännström was chiefly responsible for arranging the more technical passages that first defined the band, and save for “Dawkins Christ” there is precious little of it remaining without him. Conversely and most strangely of all, drummer David Sandström sent the original mixes of “Elektra” and “366” to fellow Swede and Top 40 producer Shellback—who completely rearranged them to a standard that was, by Sandström’s admission, closer to Refused’s identity than they were letting themselves be. That a chart-topping darling who’d taught himself drums by playing along to The Shape of Punk to Come helped retain the shape of that punk on Freedom could not be any more “deported into the deep,” as Lyxzén rails on “366.”