CLAWFINGER Shares 'Big Brother', Third Single From Upcoming 'Before We All Die' Album

Swedish-Norwegian rap-metal trailblazers CLAWFINGER are back with another explosive taste of their long-awaited comeback album "Before We All Die", their first studio offering in 18 long years. The new single "Big Brother" arrives with a razor-edged video clip and all the pent-up fury you'd expect from a band that helped define the crossover sound of the '90s.

The first album appetizer, "Scum", followed by "Ball & Chain" have already racked up thousands of plays and reactions across digital platforms, hitting with the force of a small online detonation and proving that CLAWFINGER's return is striking a nerve and Zeitgeist. Even with a recent live performance of their hit "Biggest & Best" going viral on Instagram, or frontman Zak Tell performing "The Truth" in a hilarious karaoke video, CLAWFINGER is being rediscovered by a new generation of metal fans, showing that their music remains as powerful and relevant as ever, nearly two decades after their last album.

The new track "Big Brother" hits like a steel-toed boot to the chest. Mechanical, grinding riffs, an industrial undercurrent that pulses like a surveillance camera's hum and Tell delivering one of his most acerbic vocal performances to date: half-rapped, half-snarled, always unmistakably CLAWFINGER. Sonically, "Big Brother" feels like a bridge between the band's classic Use Your Brain ferocity and a darker, more claustrophobic modern edge.

Lyrically, Tell digs deep into the rot of attention-driven culture. He explains: "'Big Brother' is an idea I wrote back in 2007 but it never turned into a finished song. It's about how we trade authenticity and privacy for approval. Fake lives lived on camera, zero substance, 15 seconds of fame and nothing good to say. We binge mindless content, go numb, and don't even question constant surveillance. We've learned to love being tracked, controlled, and fed nonsense 24/7, we don't think even think about it. Who the fuck are we?"

CLAWFINGER are considered pioneers of European rap-metal. Formed in Stockholm in the early 1990s, the Swedish-Norwegian band made an explosive debut with "Deaf Dumb Blind" (1993),blending aggressive guitar riffs with politically charged lyrics and rap vocals. The album sold over 600,000 copies worldwide — more than 250,000 in Germany alone — and won a Swedish Grammis award in the hardrock/metal category.

CLAWFINGER's follow-up, "Use Your Brain" (1995) continued their success with chart placements across Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and Sweden. Over the years, they released seven studio albums, including "A Whole Lot Of Nothing", "Zeros & Heroes", "Hate Yourself With Style" and "Life Will Kill You", selling over 1.5 million records worldwide.

Known for their direct, riff-driven sound and strong political stance, CLAWFINGER address topics such as racism, political delusion, drug policy, environmental destruction, and social inequality. In the 1990s, they toured intensively with acts like ALICE IN CHAINS, MEGADETH and FAITH NO MORE and appeared at major festivals including Rock Am Ring, Roskilde and Monsters Of Rock in South America.

After a brief hiatus, the band returned in 2014 and has since released new singles like "Save Our Souls" (2017) and "Environmental Patients" (2022]) In 2025, CLAWFINGER signed a new label deal with Perception, with more music on the way — still as loud, sharp, and uncompromising as ever.

This past July, CLAWFINGER released the official Rune Foss-directed music video for "Scum". The track, which was mixed by Jocke Skog at the Sunmountain Facilities and mastered by Jens Bogren at Fascination Street, is a clear jab at U.S. president Donald Trump, with such lyrics as "a bad taste in my mouth, a sore sight for my eyes a foul stench in the air, a nasty vibe in the house a bad excuse for a man, a dark time for the earth" and "another pussy to grab, yes that's what you said, a small cock in your pants, no brain in your head".

Tell said in a statement: "'Scum' is a raw, loud, and brutally honest punk rap anthem that goes straight for the throat. It's aimed at the kind of guy who's selfish, sexist, full of himself and somehow still talking. With sharp lyrics and a beat that hits like a punch, 'Scum' says what we're all thinking about that one guy we all wish would just vanish from the face of the earth. It's angry and it's dark. If you've ever wanted to spit in someone's face but lacked the upper-body strength or social permission, this song's for you."

Five years ago, Tell expressed his disdain for Trump while speaking to Germany's Metalogy about the enduring lyrical themes covered on the band's debut album, "Deaf Dumb Blind", which came out more than 30 years ago. He said: "I wish I could say that things have changed [since that record has released]. I guess a couple of things did that too. But if you look at what's going on in the world and how we behave as human beings, I think we haven't made much progress. And it looks like there is a Trump for every Greta [Thunberg] — that's just an example because it's just so much on the news. For every person who wants to improve the world, there is an idiot who wants to turn everything back. It kind of feels like it happens every time. I already thought that maybe this is simply human nature; the constant back-and-forth and colliding. I'm really not sure if things have gotten better. I wish I could say that they were. But I don't think they are. So I think that the 'Deaf Dumb Blind' message is still up to date and that it has stands the test of time quite well. Of course, it's difficult to be objective with something that is a big part of me."

In March 2022, CLAWFINGER released the official music video for its previous single, "Environmental Patients". The track marked the first new music from CLAWFINGER in more than two years.

Prior to the arrival of "Environmental Patients", CLAWFINGER released a single called "Tear You Down" in September 2019 and "Save Our Souls" in 2017. "Save Our Souls" was made available four years after CLAWFINGER announced it was calling it quits.

During the break from the studio, the members of CLAWFINGER were reportedly taking care of their families while performing sporadic reunion shows, mostly at European festivals. "CLAWFINGER no longer is our main job," the band explained at the time. "We all have other jobs and families to love."

CLAWFINGER's last studio album, the aforementioned "Life Will Kill You", was released in the U.S. in July 2008 via Locomotive Records. The CD, which entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 89 upon its European release in 2007, was recorded and produced at Sweden's Fear And Loathing Studios, a facility that CLAWFINGER runs along with the members of MESHUGGAH.

CLAWFINGER is:

Zak Tell - vocals
Jocke Skog - guitar, keyboards
Bård Torstensen - guitars
André Skaug - bass
Micke Dahlén - drums

Photo credit: Peter Bjöns