Clawfinger is a Swedish
rap metal
Rap metal is a subgenre of rap rock and alternative metal music which combines hip hop with heavy metal. It usually consists of heavy metal guitar riffs, funk metal elements, rapped vocals and sometimes turntables.
History Origins and early ...
band from
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. The group is known for aggressive but melodic music and tackling political and
anti-racist
Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...
themes in their songs.
History
Origins: 1989–1991
The band's origin dates back to mid-1989, when Zak Tell and Jocke Skog met while working together at Rosenlund Hospital in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
. In 1990, they were joined by the Norwegian guitarists
Bård Torstensen and Erlend Ottem who were also working at the hospital. The four soon realized their similar interests in music. Bård and Erlend played previously in a band called Theo in their hometown
Arendal
Arendal () is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder counties of Norway, county in southeastern Norway. Arendal belongs to the Districts of Norway, region of Southern Norway, Sørlandet. The administrative centre of the munici ...
in Norway. They invested their free time exploring the musical world, composing and writing songs while eventually evolving into a band.
''Deaf Dumb Blind'': 1992–1993
Their original demo comprising three tracks ("Waste of Time", "Nigger" and "Profit Preacher") quickly secured local radio airplay for them and consequently brought them to the attention of the music label MVG Records. "Nigger" is an anti-racism statement that caused quite a stir and was a massive success; it was also released as a single.
By the beginning of the 1990s, Clawfinger self-released their debut ''
Deaf Dumb Blind''.
This sold over 600,000 copies worldwide and was critically acclaimed by the Swedish press. With the addition of André Skaug and drummer Morten Skaug, Clawfinger went on tour and played at European festivals, including opening for
Anthrax
Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium ''Bacillus anthracis''. It can occur in four forms: skin, lungs, intestinal, and injection. Symptom onset occurs between one day and more than two months after the infection is contracted. The sk ...
and
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1987 by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney, who later recruited bassist Mike Starr and lead vocalist Layne ...
.
''Use Your Brain'': 1994–1995
The band received many awards, including two Grammies "at home" during the
Swedish Grammy Awards in 1994 for best hard rock band and for best music video. After the subsequent touring, they went straight back in the studio to record their second album, ''
Use Your Brain''. The album was released 1995 and yet another touring campaign followed, most notably participating at
Ozzy Osbourne
John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and television personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adop ...
's Monsters of Rock Festival in Argentina, Brazil and Chile in that year, rocking alongside American metal counterparts like
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along wit ...
,
Faith No More
Faith No More is an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1979. Before settling on the current name in July 1983, the band performed under the names Sharp Young Men and later Faith No Man. Bassist Billy Gould, keyboardist/r ...
and
Alice Cooper
Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...
. Back in Europe they continued the touring campaign by taking part at festivals and countless gigs.
Self-titled album: 1996–1998
![Clawfinger saarbrucken](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3d/Clawfinger_saarbrucken.jpg)
Their self-titled album ''Clawfinger'' was released in 1997. The first song on the album is "Two Sides", which expanded the band's reach by using female choir vocals and a Middle Eastern sound. The rest of the album continues with the band's typical aggressive voice and socio-political lyrics.
''Clawfinger'' contains 12 songs with an additional three bonus tracks on the limited edition. They released three singles and two videos (Biggest & the Best and Two Sides).
''A Whole Lot of Nothing'': 1999–2001
''
A Whole Lot of Nothing
''A Whole Lot of Nothing'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 23 July 2001 through Supersonic Records.
The music uses the same aggressive guitar sounds, with more distortion effects, adding a whole ne ...
'' was the fourth album released on 23 July 2001. The music showcases the same aggressive guitars, with more distortion effects and sounds, adding a new level of diversification. Synthesizers are much more present on this particular album than on any other of Clawfinger's works.
''A Whole Lot of Nothing'' contains 13 tracks and two bonus tracks on the limited edition. Clawfinger also released four singles, two of which are limited editions.
''Zeroes & Heroes'': 2002–2004
''
Zeros & Heroes
''Zeros & Heroes'' is the fifth studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 26 May 2003 through GUN and Supersonic labels.
It offers yet another musical style change. The electronic sound and synthesizers from ''A Whole Lot o ...
'' caused controversy upon its 2003 release in America due to open critique of former head of state
George W. Bush
George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
and US military politics following the
11 September 2001 attacks
The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commerc ...
, particularly in the song "Step Aside". It offers yet another change of style for the listener. The electronic sound and synthesizers from ''
A Whole Lot of Nothing
''A Whole Lot of Nothing'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 23 July 2001 through Supersonic Records.
The music uses the same aggressive guitar sounds, with more distortion effects, adding a whole ne ...
'' are gone and replaced by a more complex and melodic guitar riffing.
''Hate Yourself with Style'': 2005–2006
''
Hate Yourself with Style
''Hate Yourself with Style'' is the sixth studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 18 November 2005 via Nuclear Blast. It continues the path entered on ''Zeros & Heroes'' and is characterized by speedy melodic hard rock gu ...
'' was released in 2005. The album continued the path entered on ''Zeros & Heroes'' and is characterized by hard rock style melodic speedy guitar riffs. The keyboards which particularly characterized ''A Whole Lot of Nothing'' have gone completely.
Unlike previous albums, where the limited edition featured two or more bonus-tracks, the limited edition of this album features a DVD with live footage from the Greenfield festival and video clips of all singles up to Clawfinger's third album.
''Life Will Kill You'': 2007–2011
''
Life Will Kill You
''Life Will Kill You'' is the seventh studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 27 July 2007 through Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the Un ...
'' was released in 2007. It has spawned three singles: "Prisoners", "The Price We Pay" and "Little Baby".
In 2008 and 2009, the band played at the biggest open-air festival in Europe (400,000–500,000 rock fans every year)—
Przystanek Woodstock
Pol'and'Rock Festival, formerly known as Woodstock Festival Poland, (Polish language, Polish: ''Przystanek Woodstock''; "Woodstock Station"; English-language materials often referred to it simply to the ''Woodstock Festival Poland'') is an annual ...
in Poland.
Disbandment and reunions: 2012–present
Clawfinger had been working on a re-recording of their debut album ''
Deaf Dumb Blind''. The plan was to re-record all the album's songs, additionally featuring guest musicians. Zak Tell has stated, that talks were held with members of
Rammstein
Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German Neue Deutsche Härte band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, ...
and
Peter Tägtgren
Alf Peter Tägtgren (born 3 June 1970) is a Swedish musician, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer. He is the founder, main songwriter, lead vocalist, and guitarist of death metal band Hypocrisy as well as the industrial metal band Pain i ...
from the bands
Pain
Pain is a distressing feeling often caused by intense or damaging stimuli. The International Association for the Study of Pain defines pain as "an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience associated with, or resembling that associated with, ...
and
Hypocrisy
Hypocrisy is the practice of engaging in the same behavior or activity for which one criticizes another or the practice of claiming to have moral standards or beliefs to which one's own behavior does not conform. In moral psychology, it is the ...
.
On 24 August 2013, the band's Facebook page announced that the group is disbanding.
On 5 October 2013, another announcement was made that Jocke Skog had joined the Swedish death metal band Feared as their new bassist.
In May 2014, the Facebook page of the band announced a one-off show at the
ZAKHID festival in Ukraine on 8 August 2014. The band has been occasional one-off reunion shows since then, performing two in 2015, two in 2016 for Denmark's CopenHell Festival and Bulgaria's Summer Chaos Festival, and most recently on the ''Irreversible Festival 2017'' in Monthey, Switzerland.
On 4 August 2017, the band released the new single "Save Our Souls" via iTunes and YouTube. Another single, "Tear You Down", was released on 4 October 2019. On 11 Juni 2022, they performed at
Sweden Rock Festival
The Sweden Rock Festival is an annual rock/metal festival held in Sweden since 6 June 1992. While having a clear rock/metal focus, the festival is noted for its diversity across these genres, from southern rock bands such as Molly Hatchet to de ...
.
[
]
Members
Current line-up
* Zak Tell – lead vocals (1989-2013, 2017–present)
* Jocke Skog – keyboards, backing vocals (1989-2013, 2017–present)
*
Bård Torstensen – lead guitar (2003-2013, 2017–present), rhythm guitar (1990-2013, 2017–present)
*André Skaug – bass (1992-2013, 2017–present)
*Micke Dahlén – drums (2008-2013, 2017–present)
Former members
*Erlend Ottem – lead guitar (1990–2003)
*Morten Skaug – drums (1992–94)
*Ottar Vigerstøl – drums (1994–97)
*Henka Johansson – drums (1997–2008)
Timeline
Discography
*''
Deaf Dumb Blind'' (1993)
*''
Use Your Brain'' (1995)
*''
Clawfinger
Clawfinger is a Swedish rap metal band from Stockholm. The group is known for aggressive but melodic music and tackling political and anti-racist themes in their songs.
History Origins: 1989–1991
The band's origin dates back to mid-1989, w ...
'' (1997)
*''
A Whole Lot of Nothing
''A Whole Lot of Nothing'' is the fourth studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 23 July 2001 through Supersonic Records.
The music uses the same aggressive guitar sounds, with more distortion effects, adding a whole ne ...
'' (2001)
*''
Zeros & Heroes
''Zeros & Heroes'' is the fifth studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 26 May 2003 through GUN and Supersonic labels.
It offers yet another musical style change. The electronic sound and synthesizers from ''A Whole Lot o ...
'' (2003)
*''
Hate Yourself with Style
''Hate Yourself with Style'' is the sixth studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 18 November 2005 via Nuclear Blast. It continues the path entered on ''Zeros & Heroes'' and is characterized by speedy melodic hard rock gu ...
'' (2005)
*''
Life Will Kill You
''Life Will Kill You'' is the seventh studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 27 July 2007 through Nuclear Blast
Nuclear Blast is a record label and mail order record distributor with subsidiaries in Germany, the Un ...
'' (2007)
References
External links
Official website*
The Belgian Clawfinger pages(in English)
*
{{Authority control
Musical groups established in 1989
Musical quintets
Nuclear Blast artists
Swedish nu metal musical groups
English-language singers from Sweden
Clawfinger
Clawfinger is a Swedish rap metal band from Stockholm. The group is known for aggressive but melodic music and tackling political and anti-racist themes in their songs.
History Origins: 1989–1991
The band's origin dates back to mid-1989, w ...