Now I'll be honest, I've always been a bit skeptical about Clawfinger, and with this new release I'm still not sure about the bands intent. You see, back in the day, when Clawfinger's debut “Deaf, Dumb & Blind” landed there was a certain amount of pessimism directed toward the Swedish rap-metal outfit due to their seemingly  wholesale replication of Rage Against The Machines highly successful approach - Clawfinger's debut landed slap bang between RATM's first two albums. 

What was closer to the truth however was that the Scandinavians didn't quite have the lyrical prowess or flow that Zack De La Rocha employed to such great effect throughout RATM's eponymous debut, they also lacked Tom Morello's groundbreaking guitar techniques as well, however  as a saving grace, they did groove with a certain amount of power. 

The biggest indictment that can be leveled towards Clawfinger is that, unfortunately, this still seems to be the case. Over the course of the last 13 years the bands lyrics haven't progressed much, labouring as they do this time around on the premise that, apparently, Life Will Kill You. No really it seems it will and Clawfinger have taken it upon themselves to remind you, dear listener, at almost every opportunity, without any hint of subtlety. 

There is occasional respite, “Little Baby” is a disturbing ode to incestual child abuse set to an almost euro-disco first half. In the main however Clawfinger have chosen to broadcast our own mortality relentlessly  and after the (relative) inventiveness that informs the first four tracks they have decided to do this using the exact same song structures throughout (the aforementioned “Little Baby” being a rare exception to this). 

Anyone looking for a more relevant rap/alt-metal release would be better served by checking out Djevara's excellent Third World War: Cast The First Stone, reviewed earlier this year, as in my opinion Clawfinger aren't offering enough of interest to appeal much beyond their existing fan base.