Cult Of Luna release a cover of Refused’s “Tannhäuser / Derive”

In honor of their revolutionary 1998 record’s 25th anniversary, Refused are celebrating with “The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated”, a tribute album that includes 12 covers by well-known hardcore bands. The tribute, which will be available for streaming on November 8th through Epitaph Records, features fresh takes on the original songs. Each band is asked to “rearrange or deconstruct” a song from the album. Get “The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated” on preorder right now. The 10-minute operatic piece “Tannhäuser / Derive” was reimagined by Cult of Luna, and they revealed it today. It’s a gloomy and expansive version.

I hate covers and I usually am very reluctant to spend any time listening to one band playing another band’s songs. However, I’m very excited by the opportunity to dive into another artist’s writing and see how I can contribute my own creative style. For me that’s the only way to justify making a cover, it needs to have the musical mark of the original artist. You need to take what is someone else’s and make it yours by adding, not merely copying. We felt very honored when Refused asked us to cover one of their songs. Not only are they a band that we grew up listening and looking up to but they also were the pinnacle of Umeå hardcore.  The scene that was the birthplace of our band. After the recording of ‘The Shape Of Punk To Come’ I remember Dennis boasting about this 6 min epic song, their “Tannhäuser”.   That’s the reason why I picked the song. If you want “epic” Dennis, we’ll give you epic!!! And thanks for the trust. Johannes Persson