Sven Olov Dennis Lyxzén (born June 19, 1972) is a Swedish singer, best known as the lead vocalist for the influential
hardcore punk
Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...
band
Refused
Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guita ...
, as well as the bands
INVSN and Fake Names. He is also a former member of bands including
AC4,
Step Forward,
Final Exit, and
The (International) Noise Conspiracy, and co-founded the record labels
Ny Våg and
Desperate Fight Records.
Career
Refused
Following a stint in the short-lived hardcore band
Step Forward, Lyxzén formed
Refused
Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guita ...
in 1991 with drummer
David Sandström
David Sandström (born 2 January 1975) is a Swedish musician best known as the drummer for the hardcore punk group Refused. After Refused first broke up in 1998, he and the other members worked on a project entitled TEXT and released one album. ...
, guitarist Pär Hansson, and bassist Jonas Lindgren. They released three studio albums, ''
This Just Might Be... the Truth'' (1994), ''
Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent
''Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent'' is the second full-length album by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused. It was released in 1996 through Victory Records, Startrec and We Bite on CD, tape and 12" vinyl; and reissued by Burning Heart Recor ...
'' (1996), and ''
The Shape of Punk to Come
''The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts'', often shortened to ''The Shape of Punk to Come'', is the third album by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused, released on 27 October 1998 through Burning Heart Records. The alb ...
'' (1998), the latter of which was heavily influential on later bands but a commercial and critical failure upon release, and the group disbanded that same year.
In March 2010, there were rumours that Refused would be reuniting after a 12 years hiatus,
although Lyxzén dismissed the notion as he and Sandström were busy with the band
AC4. However, Refused unexpectedly reunited in 2012 for the
Refused Reunion Tour, including appearances at
Coachella
Coachella (officially called the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival and sometimes known as Coachella Festival) is an annual music festival, music and arts festival held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California, in the Coachella Valle ...
, the
Way Out West Festival
Way Out West is a three-day music festival held in Gothenburg, Sweden, during August that plays host to a variety of popular music artists mainly from the rock, electronic and hip-hop genres. The main festival is complemented with the club con ...
, the
Fun Fun Fun Fest
Fun Fun Fun Fest (often abbreviated as "FFF" or "F3F") was an annual music and comedy festival held in Austin, Texas, United States. It featured stages that focused specifically on hip-hop / electronica, indie rock, punk / metal, and comedy.
S ...
, and
Groezrock
Groezrock was an annual music festival that took place in Meerhout, Belgium. It started as a small rock music, rock and pop music, pop festival with one stage and a few hundred people attending, but evolved into a large punk rock/hardcore punk fe ...
in
Meerhout
Meerhout () is a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. The municipality only comprises the town of Meerhout proper. In 2021, Meerhout had a total population of 10,279. The ...
, Belgium. While the reunion was intended to be temporary, in 2015 the band released a fourth studio album, ''
Freedom
Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".
In one definition, something is "free" i ...
'', via
Epitaph Records
Epitaph Records is an American independent record label owned by Bad Religion guitarist Brett Gurewitz. A large portion of the record label, known as Hellcat Records, is owned by Tim Armstrong, frontman of the punk rock band Rancid. Several ...
. Speaking on the band's future in 2017, Lyxzén said, "We're not breaking up or anything, we're taking a break to write a new record... But the Australian tour will be the last tour for a while... We'll take some time off, and then we'll start writing some songs but we're not breaking up, no."
On 13 June 2024, Lyxzén suffered a heart attack, leading to cancellation of Refused shows in the following weeks.
Other work
Outside of Refused, Lyxzén has been involved in a number of bands, most notably
The (International) Noise Conspiracy,
INVSN (previously called The Lost Patrol Band), and Fake Names, the latter a
supergroup formed with guitarists
Brian Baker (
Minor Threat
Minor Threat was an American hardcore punk band, formed in 1980 in Washington, D.C., by vocalist Ian MacKaye and drummer Jeff Nelson. MacKaye and Nelson had played in several other bands together, and recruited bassist Brian Baker and guita ...
,
Bad Religion
Bad Religion is an American punk rock band, formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1980. The band's lyrics cover topics related to religion, politics, society, the media and science. Musically, they are noted for their melodic sensibilities and ...
) and
Michael Hampton
Michael Hampton (born November 15, 1956) is an American funk/rock guitarist. He is a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, inducted in 1997 with fifteen other members of Parliament-Funkadelic.
Career
Hampton was born in Cleveland, Ohio, ...
(
Embrace), drummer
Matt Schulz (
Enon), and bassist
Johnny Temple
John Ellis Temple (August 8, 1927 – January 9, 1994) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as a second baseman from 1952 to 1964, most prominently as a member of the Cincinnati Reds, where ...
(
Girls Against Boys
Girls Against Boys is a post-hardcore band which formed in Washington, D.C., and subsequently relocated to New York City shortly after their formation in 1989. The band released albums on the labels Adult Swim, Touch and Go Records, Geffen Rec ...
).
He also revealed in December 2021 that he had formed a new punk band with INVSN bandmate Sara Almgren, with him on
rhythm guitar
In music performances, rhythm guitar is a guitar technique and role that performs a combination of two functions: to provide all or part of the rhythmic pulse (music), pulse in conjunction with other instruments from the rhythm section (e.g., d ...
and Almgren on bass and vocals.
Lyxzén also runs
Ny Våg, an independent
punk
Punk or punks may refer to:
Genres, subculture, and related aspects
* Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres
* Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...
record label he co-founded with former Refused bassist
Inge Johansson, and
produced the 2005 self-titled album by label signee Regulations. He also co-founded the now-defunct labels
Desperate Fight Records and Umeå Hardcore Records.
In 2011, Lyxzén joined Italian electronic act
The Bloody Beetroots
The Bloody Beetroots is an Italian electronic music project of musician and producer Bob Rifo (also Sir Bob Cornelius Rifo and SBCR, born Simone Cogo). Established in late 2005, the Bloody Beetroots were initially a DJ duo consisting of Bob Rifo ...
for their "Church of Noise" tour as a guest vocalist, and was featured on the act's single of the same name.
Lyxzén provided the singing vocals for the character Johnny Silverhand (with Refused portraying the character's band Samurai) in the 2020 video game ''
Cyberpunk 2077
''Cyberpunk 2077'' is a 2020 action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt Red and published by CD Projekt. Based on Mike Pondsmith's ''Cyberpunk (role-playing game), Cyberpunk'' tabletop game series, the plot is set in the fictional metrop ...
.'' He also provided vocals for the track "Silent No More" from the 2022 game ''
Metal: Hellsinger''.
Public image and personal life
As a
punk rock
Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...
frontman, Lyxzén's songs are often of a
counterculture
A counterculture is a culture whose values and norms of behavior differ substantially from those of mainstream society, sometimes diametrically opposed to mainstream cultural mores.Eric Donald Hirsch. ''The Dictionary of Cultural Literacy''. Ho ...
nature, in line with his
socialist
Socialism is an economic ideology, economic and political philosophy encompassing diverse Economic system, economic and social systems characterised by social ownership of the means of production, as opposed to private ownership. It describes ...
politics, although he has explored a variety of topics in his music.
Lyxzén was voted "Sexiest Man in Sweden" in 2004 by
''Elle Magazine''. He is a
vegan
Veganism is the practice of abstaining from the use of animal products and the consumption of animal source foods, and an associated philosophy that rejects the commodity status of animals. A person who practices veganism is known as a ve ...
, having discovered
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all Animal consciousness, sentient animals have Moral patienthood, moral worth independent of their Utilitarianism, utility to humans, and that their most basic interests—such as ...
around 1989 and adopted the lifestyle in the early 1990s.
Associated bands
Current bands
*
Refused
Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guita ...
– lead vocals
(1991–1998, 2012–present)
*
INVSN – lead vocals, guitar
(1999–present)
* Fake Names – lead vocals
(2018–present)
Former bands
*
AC4 – lead vocals
(2008–2013)
* Instängd – drums, percussion
(2008–2011)
*
The (International) Noise Conspiracy – lead vocals
(1998–2009)
* 93 Million Miles From the Sun – lead vocals, guitar
(1997–1998)
*
Final Exit (credited in the band as D-Rp) – bass
(1994–1997)
* By No Means – guitar
(1992)
*
Step Forward – lead vocals
(1989–1991)
* Garbage Pailkids – bass
(1989–1991)
* Afro Jetz – lead vocals, bass
(1987–1989)
* Yonderboy
Selected discography
Refused
Refused (also known as the Refused) is a Swedish hardcore punk band originating from Umeå and formed in 1991. Refused is composed of vocalist Dennis Lyxzén, guitarist Kristofer Steen, drummer David Sandström, and bassist Magnus Flagge. Guita ...
* ''
This Just Might Be... the Truth'' (1994)
* ''
Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent
''Songs to Fan the Flames of Discontent'' is the second full-length album by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused. It was released in 1996 through Victory Records, Startrec and We Bite on CD, tape and 12" vinyl; and reissued by Burning Heart Recor ...
'' (1996)
* ''
The Shape of Punk to Come
''The Shape of Punk to Come: A Chimerical Bombination in 12 Bursts'', often shortened to ''The Shape of Punk to Come'', is the third album by Swedish hardcore punk band Refused, released on 27 October 1998 through Burning Heart Records. The alb ...
'' (1998)
* ''
Freedom
Freedom is the power or right to speak, act, and change as one wants without hindrance or restraint. Freedom is often associated with liberty and autonomy in the sense of "giving oneself one's own laws".
In one definition, something is "free" i ...
'' (2015)
* ''
War Music'' (2019)
INVSN
As The Lost Patrol:
* ''Songs in the Key of Resistance'' (1999)
* ''Songs About Running Away'' (2003)
As The Lost Patrol Band:
* ''The Lost Patrol Band'' (2005)
* ''Automatic'' (2006)
As Invasionen:
* ''Hela Världen Brinner'' (2010)
* ''Saker Som Jag Sagt Till Natten'' (2011)
As INVSN:
* ''INVSN'' (2013)
* ''The Beautiful Stories'' (2017)
* ''Let The Night Love You'' (2022)
AC4
* ''AC4'' (2009)
* ''
Burn the World'' (2013)
The (International) Noise Conspiracy
* ''
The First Conspiracy'' (1999)
* ''
Survival Sickness'' (2000)
* ''
A New Morning, Changing Weather'' (2001)
* ''
Armed Love'' (2004)
* ''
The Cross of My Calling'' (2008)
Final Exit
* ''Teg'' (1995)
* ''Umeå'' (1997)
Step Forward
* ''I Am Me'' (1990)
* ''Does It Make A Difference'' (1990)
* ''
It Did Make a Difference'' (1996)
Fake Names
* ''Fake Names'' (2020)
* ''Fake Names EP'' (2021)
* ''Expendables'' (2023)
Instängd
* ''Mitt Svar På Ingenting'' EP (2007)
* ''Konkret Och Brutal'' EP (2008)
* ''Drag Utan Drog'' EP (2011)
93 Million Miles
* ''93 Million Miles'' (2003)
By No Means
* ''Straight'' (1992)
Garbage Pailkids
* ''Garbage Pailkids'' (1990)
* ''Pailkids on the Block'' (1991)
Other credits
See also
*
Ny Våg
References
External links
The Lost Patrol Bandat
Burning Heart
Dennis Lyxzén – working 9 to 5! Interviewwith Susan Chung at Razorcake
Interview with Dennis Lyxzén at wenn's rockt! WebTVInterview with Dennis Lyxzénfrom Poorboys on The Road
Interview with Dennis Lyxzén: "Most Music Is Heartless, Soulless And Unsexyfrom Poorboys on The Road
Ny VågNy Våg @ Myspace.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lyxzen, Dennis
1972 births
English-language singers from Sweden
Living people
People from Umeå
Refused members
Swedish punk rock musicians
Swedish rock singers
Swedish anti-capitalists
Post-hardcore musicians
Musicians from Västerbotten County