Clawfinger | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
Genres | |
Years active | 1989–2013, 2017–present |
Labels | Nuclear Blast, WEA/WMG |
Members | Zak Tell Jocke Skog Bård Torstensen André Skaug Micke Dahlén |
Past members | Henka Johansson Erlend Ottem Morten Skaug Ottar Vigerstøl |
Website | clawfinger |
Clawfinger is a Swedish rap metal band formed in Stockholm in 1989. Considered pioneers of the rap metal genre, the band had their international and commercial breakthrough in 1993 with the release of their debut album, Deaf Dumb Blind . [6] The band's musical style is described as aggressive, melodic and groovy, with lyrics tackling politics, social issues, racism and war. [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] Clawfinger has released seven studio albums and sold over 1.5 million albums worldwide. [12] [13]
Clawfinger's origin dates back to mid-1989, when Zak Tell and Jocke Skog met while working together at Rosenlund Hospital in Stockholm. In 1990, they were joined by the Norwegian guitarists Bård Torstensen and Erlend Ottem who were also working at the hospital. Based on their similar interests in music, the four formed the first line-up of Clawfinger.
The band's line-up was solidified with the addition of bassist André Skaug and drummer Morten Skaug in 1992. Clawfinger's original demo, comprising three tracks ("Waste of Time", "Nigger" and "Profit Preacher"), quickly secured local radio airplay and consequently brought them to the attention of the music label MVG Records. The single "Nigger", an anti-racism statement, caused controversy upon release, but proved to be a massive success. [14] [15] In April 1993, Clawfinger released their debut album Deaf Dumb Blind . [15] Produced by the band and Jacob Hellner, the album sold over 600,000 copies worldwide and was critically acclaimed by the Swedish press. [14] Later that year, Clawfinger performed at several European festivals and opened for Anthrax and Alice in Chains on their European tours. [15] [7]
Following the release of their debut album, the band received several awards, including two Grammis during the Swedish Grammy Awards in 1994 in the categories Hard Rock/Metal of the Year and Music Video of the Year. That same year, original drummer Skaug was replaced by Ottar Vigerstøl. After a headlining tour in support of their debut album, Clawfinger returned to the studio with producer Hellner to record their second studio album, Use Your Brain . [7] The album was released 1995 and a new touring campaign followed. The band notably participated at Ozzy Osbourne's Monsters of Rock Festival in Argentina, Brazil and Chile that year, appearing alongside American metal counterparts like Megadeth, Faith No More and Alice Cooper. After returning to Europe, Clawfinger continued their touring by performing headlining shows and appearing at festivals.
In 1997, Clawfinger's self-titled album was released, their first with new drummer Henka Johansson, who replaced Vigerstøl that same year. The album's opening track, "Two Sides", notably expanded the band's soundscape by featuring female choir vocals and Middle Eastern-influenced sounds, while the rest of the album maintained the band's aggressive metal sound and socio-political lyrics. Clawfinger yielded three singles ("Biggest & the Best", "Two Sides", "Don't Wake Me Up") and two music videos for the singles "Biggest & the Best" and "Two Sides".
Clawfinger's fourth studio album, A Whole Lot of Nothing , was released on 23 July 2001. The album was the band's first collaboration with producer Hellner in six years and saw the band adopting an industrial and electronic sound in a larger scale than previous albums with the use of synthesizers.
In 2002, the band released their fifth studio album, Zeros & Heroes. The album caused controversy upon release in America due to its open critique of then-president George W. Bush and US military politics following the 11 September 2001 attacks. [16] Clawfinger would again experiment with new and different sounds for new recordings, opting for complex and melodic guitar riffs as opposed to the electronic and industrial sound of their previous album. In 2003, lead guitarist Ottem departed the band to pursue a career as a software specialist. [17]
In 2005, Clawfinger released the album Hate Yourself with Style . The album continued the musical style of Zeros & Heroes with a hard rock style of melodic and fast guitar riffs. The album's limited edition featured a bonus disc with live footage from the band's performance at the Greenfield Festival in Switzerland in 2005 and music videos for all of the band's singles up to their third studio album.
In 2007, the band's seventh studio album, Life Will Kill You , was released. The album spawned three singles: "Prisoners", "The Price We Pay" and "Little Baby". In 2008, long-time drummer Johansson left the band after eleven years and was replaced by Micke Dahlén. In August 2009, Clawfinger announced that they had been working on a re-recording of their debut album, Deaf Dumb Blind , that would feature guest musicians, including members of Rammstein and Peter Tägtgren. [16] [18]
In August 2013, Clawfinger announced that the band had disbanded. [19] [20] In May 2014, the band announced that they would perform a one-off show at the ZAKHID festival in Ukraine on 8 August 2014. [21] The band would later perform additional one-off reunion shows, including two shows in 2015, two festival appearances in 2016 at Denmark's CopenHell Festival and Bulgaria's Summer Chaos Festival, and a performance at the Irreversible Festival 2017 in Switzerland.
On 4 August 2017, the band released the single "Save Our Souls", their first new material in ten years. [14] Two years later, a new single, "Tear You Down", was released on 4 October 2019. The band's latest single, "Environmental Patients", was released on 4 March 2022. [14] In June of that year, the band performed at Sweden Rock Festival. [22]
Current line-up
Former members
Anthrax is an American thrash metal band from New York City, formed in 1981 by rhythm guitarist Scott Ian and bassist Dan Lilker. The group is considered one of the leaders of the thrash metal scene from the 1980s and is part of the "Big Four" of the genre, along with Metallica, Megadeth and Slayer. They were also one of the first thrash metal bands to emerge from the East Coast. The band's current lineup consists of Scott Ian, drummer Charlie Benante, bassist Frank Bello, vocalist Joey Belladonna and lead guitarist Jonathan Donais. Anthrax's lineup has changed numerous times over their career, leaving Ian as the only constant member of the band. Ian and Benante are the only two members to appear on all of Anthrax's albums, while Bello has been a member of Anthrax since 1984, replacing Lilker.
Satyricon is a Norwegian black metal band formed in Oslo in 1991. Satyr and Frost have been the band's core members since 1993. The band's first three albums typify the Norwegian black metal style. Since its fourth album in 1999, the band has strayed from this style and included elements of traditional heavy metal in their sound. Satyricon was the first Norwegian black metal band to join a multi-national record label (EMI).
Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Despite an innovative and pioneering body of work in the latter half of the 1970s, the band struggled with indifferent record production and a lack of major commercial success until 1980, when their sixth studio album British Steel brought them notable mainstream attention.
Blind Guardian is a German power metal band formed in 1984 in Krefeld, West Germany. They are often credited as one of the seminal and most influential bands in the power metal and speed metal subgenres. Nine musicians have been a part of the band's line-up in its history, which currently consists of singer Hansi Kürsch, guitarists André Olbrich and Marcus Siepen and, since 2005, drummer Frederik Ehmke.
Voivod is a Canadian heavy metal band from Jonquière, Quebec. The original line-up consisted of vocalist Denis "Snake" Bélanger, guitarist Denis "Piggy" D'Amour, drummer Michel "Away" Langevin and bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault. The band has had numerous members changes throughout its 42-year career, with Langevin as the only consistent member. Their current line-up includes Langevin, Bélanger, Daniel "Chewy" Mongrain (guitar) and Dominic "Rocky" Laroche (bass).
DragonForce are a British power metal band from London. The band was formed in 1999 by guitarists Herman Li and Sam Totman, and are known for their long and fast guitar solos, fantasy-themed lyrics and retro video game-influenced sound. The band themselves refer to their music as "extreme power metal".
In Flames is a Swedish heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990. Their lineup has changed several times, with vocalist Anders Fridén and guitarist Björn Gelotte being the only consistent members since 1995. Alongside At the Gates and Dark Tranquillity, In Flames has pioneered the genres known as Swedish death metal and melodic death metal, and as of 2008, has sold over two million records worldwide.
Stone Sour was an American rock band formed in Des Moines, Iowa, in 1992. The band performed for five years before disbanding in 1997. They reunited in 2000 and since 2015, the group has consisted of Corey Taylor, Josh Rand (guitar), Christian Martucci (guitar), Johny Chow (bass) and Roy Mayorga (drums). Longtime members Joel Ekman and Shawn Economaki left the band in 2006 and 2011, respectively. Former lead guitarist Jim Root left in 2014. The band has been on an indefinite hiatus since 2020.
Deaf Dumb Blind is the debut studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger. It was released on 21 April 1993.
Clawfinger is the third studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 29 September 1997 through WEA and MVG labels.
A Whole Lot of Nothing is the fourth studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 23 July 2001 through Supersonic Records.
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 guitar riffs. The keyboards which particularly characterized A Whole Lot of Nothing have completely disappeared.
Jacob Hellner is a Swedish record producer, songwriter and composer. He has worked with acts in the metal, rock, pop, hip hop and electronic genres, including Rammstein, Apocalyptica, Clawfinger, Dead by April, Entombed A.D. and Mustasch. Hellner is known for his extensive collaboration with Rammstein, which saw him produce every album released by the band from Herzeleid (1995) to Paris (2017), and assisting in the production of albums from Rammstein members' side projects Emigrate and Lindemann. He was previously part of the Swedish production duo BomKrash together with Carl-Michael Herlöfsson.
Hymns is the sixth studio album by English industrial metal band Godflesh. It was released on 23 October 2001 through Music for Nations and was the band's final album before breaking up in 2002. In 2010, Godflesh reformed and in 2014 released their comeback album A World Lit Only by Fire. Hymns had a troubled production and was intended to be distinct departure from Godflesh's intensely regimented industrial sound to something more traditionally hard rock. It was the band's second and final album to feature a live drummer rather than a drum machine.
Life Will Kill You is the seventh studio album by Swedish rap metal band Clawfinger, released on 27 July 2007 through Nuclear Blast. It was recorded by Clawfinger in Fear and Loathing Studios Spånga – Sweden by themselves. The record is the last album released by the band before their breakup in mid-2013.
Anders Odden is a Norwegian musician. He is the co-founder and guitarist of the early Norwegian death metal band Cadaver and is considered to be one of the pioneers of Norwegian metal. Odden is also one of the founders of industrial rock band Magenta, heavy metal band Doctor Midnight & The Mercy Cult, and black metal band ORDER. He has also been a member of synth-pop band Apoptygma Berzerk, touring member of Satyricon and Celtic Frost, and appeared as a guest with several different bands, including The Young Gods and Ministry. In addition to his work as a musician, Odden has worked as a consultant in the music business, seminar speaker, tour manager, and festival and conference organizer.
Bård Torstensen is a Norwegian guitarist and record producer, best known as a founder and longtime member of the rap metal band Clawfinger.
The discography of Clawfinger, a Swedish/Norwegian rap metal band, consists of 7 studio albums, 19 singles and 19 videos.
"Nigger" is the debut single by Swedish metal band Clawfinger. First released on a three-track demo before appearing as the opening track on their 1993 debut album Deaf Dumb Blind, the song was an immediate success for the band, reaching No. 4 on Norway's singles charts and No. 22 in Sweden.