Last month, the reunited Swedish punk greats Refused had a big announcement to make: They’re about to break up for a second time, but only after one last big tour. They unveiled the dates from their farewell North American run with Quicksand, and they also unveiled the tracklist for a new tribute album that’s dedicated to their 1998 classic The Shape Of Punk To Come. On The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated, bands like Quicksand, IDLES, Fucked Up, Touché Amoré, and Gel will remake or remix every track from the original LP. Today, Refused have shared the first single from the tribute album, and it’s a doozy.

If you look at the tracklist for The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated, the band that probably stands out the most is the one that comes from the band that doesn’t present as punk at all. Veteran Swedish post-metal crew Cult Of Luna come from Umeå, the same city as Refused, and they got started in 1998, the year that The Shape Of Punk To Come came out. For their contribution, Cult Of Luna have covered Refused’s massively ambitious eight-minute track “Tannhäuser / Derive,” and they’ve stretched it out even further, to 10 minutes. The Cult Of Luna version is vast and crushing, and it doesn’t sound much like the Refused original, which is probably the point. Those riffs, it turns out, sound extremely sick in any context. In a press release, Cult Of Luna singer/guitarist Johannes Persson says:

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.

Below check out Cult Of Luna’s cover of “Tannhäuser / Derive,” as well as the Refused original.

The Shape Of Punk To Come Obliterated is out 11/8 on Epitaph.