MOTORFINGER

One glance at the cover of the EP Coming in Clear by Oslo band Motorfinger, and there is no question what kind of music you will be hearing. Alternative rock, grunge whatever you want to call it. The band is clearly paying homage to bands of the early 1990s.

Their name itself is a reference to Soundgarden’s album Badmotorfinger and the album cover is a spoof of the cover of Nirvana’s Nevermind (replacing the baby with a dog swimming after a 100 dollar bill).

Maurice Adams (vocals), Tommy Fossli (guitars), Morten Felumb (bass), Jon Anders Lundh (guitars) and Jonas Dale (drums) pay tribute to these bands and more including Alice in Chains, Pearl Jam, and Tool (and even a hint of Black Sabbath) while still maintaining a sound that is fresh and uniquely their own.

Adams’ vocals are a highlight, most notably on Arms of The Sun, with qualities similar to Chris Cornell and melody lines like Eddie Vedder’s. The guitars of Fossli and Lundh are beefy and full of heavy distortion and the rhythm section of Felumb and Dale are tremendously tight. My Secrets is sure to be a crowd favorite and has a sound that would make it a very radio-friendly single.

This four song EP is rounded out with Double Rainbow and Never Mine and leaves you wanting to hear more. One could think that a band that named their debut EP Best Of might be a novelty or joke band, but it is clear that they take their music seriously. Four songs leaves the listener wanting more of their modern grunge sound and hopefully we don’t have long to wait for a full-length album by these Norwegian rockers. - Hilary Mahoney

It came clear to me that something good has happened in the past two years. Actually plenty of stuff came about, whether through the world of Metal / Rock music or the other world called reality. I will come back to the fun part, as some of us like to call it the music world. Getting to know the Norwegian squad called MOTORFINGER back in 2011 with their debut EP release of “Best Of”, which didn’t quite fit the criteria of a best release, as it was firstly a mini four tracked casing, and secondly, it wasn’t that stellar to begin with, brought them to me once again and not for a drink. Halfway through 2013 and the SOUNDGARDEN, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, ALICE IN CHAINS and TOOL rejects, rise again with “Coming In Clear”, after polishing their sound engineering process and material, for another round of crude, but last thing to be called filthy, Grunge / Hard Rock with a smite of Stoner emblems.

“Coming In Clear” assimilated my point of view regarding lately distributed Grunge, which after its astronomical success in the early to the midway point of the 90s, that appeared to be as if losing its taste and starting to smell bad with the shitty MTV buffoonery. As a matter of fact, MOTORFINGER, as it was clearly displayed within the boundaries of “Best Of” were able to reassert the pleasures of Grunge other than its sometimes monotonous figure, yet with “Coming In Clear”, this is absolutely a level up. Though ripping off NEVERMORE with the intro to the third on the list, “My Secrets”, with patching up the main riff of “Believe In Nothing”, out of the “Dead Heart In A Dead World” album, I had a great time listening to their small token of honest Grunge. “Double Rainbow” and “Arms Of The Sun” bestowed eloquent modernized riffing, swell mid pace drumming just what the doctor ordered, catchy chorus filled with smooth grooves engraved with Maurice Adams’s Chris Cornell’s pedigree and occasionally a few melodic hints serving as scrumptious appetizers.

Admittedly, this is an easy pick, turn to the band and purchase this EP. Even Metalheads can approach this one with care and without fear; it won’t turn you from Metal I can assure you. Check this one out. This is what I would like to call a slightly developed form of Grunge. (8/10) - Lior "Steinmetal" Stein

Modern Grunge at its best! Wenn auch immer wieder totgesagt, so beweisen MOTORFINGER aus Norwegen doch das Gegenteil!

Nach der Veröffentlichung ihrer Debüt-EP „Best of“ im Jahre 2011 legen MOTORFINGER nun mit „Coming in clear“ eine weitere 4-Track-EP nach, die es mehr als in sich hat. Denn die Alternative-Rocker zelebrieren eine einzigartige moderne Spielart des Grunge.

Ganz bewusst werden die großartigen Traditionen von Bands wie SOUNDGARDEN ('My secrets'), ALICE IN CHAINS oder STONE TEMPLE PILOTS weiterentwickelt, indem die Aktiva dieser Bands extrahiert und mit einer Extra-Portion Kreativität, Dynamik und Genialität zu einem ganz eigenen Sound vermischt werden: Moderner Grunge, der nicht aus der Zeit gefallen ist.

Zu besichtigen zum Beispiel bei der exzellenten Grunge-Hymne 'Arms of the sun', die durch Riffs, Kraft, Härte und rockige Melodie zu überzeugen weiß. Typische Grunge-Riffs mit düsterer Emotionalität, einem Hang zu melodischem Element und songtechnischer Verspieltheit sorgen beim Opener 'Never mine' für ein unbeschreibliches Grunge-Feeling, das in Puncto Härte durch 'Double Rainbow' noch getoppt wird.

Kurz: eine wirklich herausragende EP, die große Erwartungen für zukünftige Veröffentlichungen weckt!
- Kersten Lison

Though there is a common notion that says that 90s Seattle oriented Had Rock, Grunge if you please, is dead, there will be probably a few people that will beg to differ. Well, I am not one of them due to my personal belief that it is dead or at least transformed into a new musical entity that I can’t put my finger on. Nevertheless, listening to the Norwegian MOTORFINGER led me to the belief that every dying Rock subgenre has remains scattered all over the place. Recently the band released their debut independent EP release of “Best Of” that presents a Grungy feel that isn’t too much around to tell much these days.

First of all I have to give it to these folks for their EP’s title. Maybe there is a hidden meaning to the name, which I presume there is because no band will announce a Best Of release after only two years of existence, or maybe it is plainly the best that they could muster out of demos that we probably know nothing about. I consider this an interesting contemplation.

As for the EP itself, it led me back to the glory days of SOUNDGARDEN and FOO FIGHTERS along with the premier years of TOOL and ALICE IN CHAINS. However, I recognized that some of the influence came from the early stages of 70s BLACK SABBATH. “Best Of”, as I felt it, is a pretty chaotic, or better categorized as emotionally negative and rather pleading.

When I listen to a song like “Walk Away”, its music left the impression of end of days for some reason, especially in the solo part. On the other hand, the closing “Come On” told a different story entirely. Though still down in its awareness, it is filled with an American spirit and soaring vocals that paved a road to a Cornell and Dickinson mix. Following a groove mania and a weeping solo, it truly showed me an inspiration taken from the late era of ALICE IN CHAINS. “Fuel” was running in the same vibe as the former and for some reason quite similar to “Come On”, yet, I believe that this is the band’s vocalist, Maurice Adams, greatest performance.

If you have the desire to drown your sorrow, you can choose a nasty, Grungy or whatever to do it with this little EP. MOTORFINGER sounds promising; they didn’t run on the fast lane but chose to take it step by step. It would be interesting to take on a full length of theirs.
- Metal-Temple.com