Formation and debut album: 1989–1993 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. In April 1993, Clawfinger released their debut album
Deaf Dumb Blind.
Use Your Brain and Clawfinger: 1994–1998 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. 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.
Hate Yourself with Style and Life Will Kill You: 2005–2011 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.
Disbandment, occasional reunions an singles: 2012–2025 In August 2013, Clawfinger announced that the band had disbanded. In May 2014, the band announced that they would perform a one-off show at the
ZAKHID festival in Ukraine on 8 August 2014. 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.
Before We All Die: 2025–2026 On 21 June 2025, Clawfinger announced they had signed a new record deal with Perception Label - A division of
Reigning Phoenix Music, and that they would be releasing a new song,
Scum. The new album
Before We All Die was released on 20 February 2026. ==Members==