Swedish punks Refused have cancelled their final-ever festival gig in their home country of Sweden after vocalist Dennis Lyxzén suffered a “massive heart attack” in his hotel room.
Earlier this year, Refused announced they’d perform at the Rosendal Garden Party in Stockholm alongside Turnstile, M.I.A. and more. The festival appearance would have taken place today (14 June).
The band’s festival cancellation was announced on Lyxzén’s Instagram page, where he uploaded a photo of himself in a hospital bed.
“So this morning I had a massive heart attack at my hotel room. It was extremely painful and wildly scary,” Lyxzén wrote on Instagram.
“Thanks [to] the wonderful doctors and nurses at the Uppsala hospital I’m still around to fight another day. Under the circumstances I feel ok. Sore and tired and really shook up.”
On the festival cancellation, Lyxzén continued, “I real [sic] really hate cancelling show but the doctor said no rock for a couple of weeks,” writing that Refused would no longer be performing at the Rosendal Garden Party.
The New Noise singer wrote that the performance cancellation is a “complete bummer” as he was “really looking forward to it. But hopefully I/we will be able to make up to you soon.”
Lyxzén concluded the post, “The good news is that with medication I can get back to my rocking self hopefully sooner than later.
“Life is weird and precious. Take care of each and tell your loved ones that you love them.”
Refused last performed in Australia in 2017. In a review for The Music, Jake Morton said of the band’s show at The Tivoli:
“The group’s surprising and contrasting arrangements provide an intense feeling of empowerment and confusion that somehow magically turns to euphoria in the performance space. Refused are a band of seasoned veterans whose overwhelming live performance should be experienced by all.”
Chris Familton declared of the band’s most recent album, their second post-hiatus release, 2019’s War Music: “War Music solidifies the band’s return to active duty, but it’s a more refined and compact take on the modern rock album. Trimmed of any excess, it rips and roars across ten songs in 35 minutes.”
