Looks Like We Can Lock In Another International Act For Soundwave 2016

While we’re months out from the eagerly anticipated return of Soundwave, which will come back a lot earlier than usual, taking over the Big Day Out’s normal late January slot, the lineup for Soundwave 2016 is already coming together nicely.

We’ve already got local legends Violent Soho and Northlane pretty much confirmed and the slowly expanding roster was given some international muscle when hard rock supergroup We Are Harlot, which features former Asking Alexandria frontman Danny Worsnop, were welcomed to the fold by promoter AJ Maddah.

Now, punk legends Refused have all but confirmed their place on the Soundwave 2016 lineup. Speaking recently to FasterLouder, frontman Dennis Lyxzén said the Swedish veterans are planning on touring their long-awaited fourth album, Freedom, early next year.

“Early next year is the plan,” Lyxzén told FasterLouder. “I love Australia. It is one of my favourites places to play. It’s on the top of the agenda. I’m fucking stoked. The record will have been out for a while and fermented a little so we can actually play new songs and people will know them.”

“It’s gonna be awesome. I’m very excited,” he added. The band last toured Australia back in 2012 following their unexpected reunion at Coachella. The headline tour was promoted by the good folks at Soundwave and AJ Maddah himself says Refused are a shoe-in for Soundwave 2016.

When asked back in April if there was any chance of the band making an appearance at his flagship event next year, Maddah responded with an all-caps “YES.” He later told a fan to “start saving” for a trip to Melbourne as he’d just returned from “their agent’s birthday party”.

Freedom is currently set for release on Friday, 26th June, breaking the almost two-decade gap since the band released their beloved 1998 album, The Shape of Punk To Come, which the group followed-up by breaking up that same year.

The 10-track album was co-produced and co-written with Swedish hit machine Shellback, who’s written #1s for the likes of Pink, Taylor Swift, Ariana Grande, and Britney Spears. The choice “shows our disregard for everything [and] the open minds that we have”, Lyxzén said in a statement.