The Shape of Punk to Come (A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts) is the most pretentious hardcore album ever made and thus demands a reassessment of “pretentious” as the genre’s dirtiest word. Dennis Lyxzén’s opening words are “I’ve got a bone to pick with capitalism/And a few to break,” and nothing could better summarize Refused’s capability to be physically devastating, politically righteous, and extremely goofy all at the same time. If these Swedes had set out to do no more than inspire sick rail grinds, DOOM adverts, and Paramore songs, their legacy would still be secure as a post-hardcore band on top of their game.

But The Shape of Punk to Come sets its sights far higher, and usually hits the mark, outsourcing its riffs from rap-metal and its ad-libs from professional wrestling. (What is their definitive song, “New Noise,” but Ric Flair fronting Rage Against the Machine?) Even the parts that sound terribly dated or naive—the wonky techno interludes, the awkward anarchist agitprop—are precious reminders of how wrong this could have gone. Capitalism did not crumble as a result of The Shape of Punk to Come; it couldn’t even prevent Refused from accepting Coachella’s filthy reunion lucre in 2012. But the point wasn’t to create a future in their own image: It was to prove that the shape of punk to come is anything you want it to be. –Ian Cohen

Listen: Refused, “Worms of the Senses / Faculties of the Skull”