As the old saying goes, seminal post-hardcore bands are like busses; you wait over a decade for one to reform, then two turn up at once.
Last night two of the finest punk rock bands in recent memory - Texan five-piece At The Drive-In and Sweden's Refused - both confirmed that they are reuniting this year. Both bands were revealed as part of the line-up of California's Coachella festival, while Refused have also confirmed an appearance at Way Out West festival in their native Sweden.
The two bands share a similar history, both splitting up at the peak of their success shortly after releasing seminal albums. Refused imploded during a difficult tour of the US, shortly after the release of their 1998 classic The Shape Of Punk To Come. ATD-I split in 2001, less than a year after the release of the much-lauded album Relationship Of Command, with the band members dividing to form prog-rockers The Mars Volta and punk band Sparta.
Rumours of both bands' reformations have been circulating for the past week. A few leaked Coachella posters listing Refused's name made it on to the internet a few days ago, while a Russian promoter announced last month that they had booked ATD-I to play 'at least one show.'
This year Coachella takes place across two weekends for the first time. Radiohead, The Black Keys and Dr Dre & Snoop Dogg are set to headline, with Pulp, Noel Gallagher, Swedish House Mafia, Bon Iver and loads more set to play. Check out the full line-up.
Both Refused and At The Drive-In are expected to announce more live dates in the near future. In the meantime check out the videos above and below as a reminder of how great both bands were.
Here's hoping that Fugazi take the hint and complete the set…
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I'm the Managing Editor of Music Technology at MusicRadar and former Editor-in-Chief of Future Music, Computer Music and Electronic Musician. I've been messing around with music tech in various forms for over two decades. I've also spent the last 10 years forgetting how to play guitar. Find me in the chillout room at raves complaining that it's past my bedtime.
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