Killer Dwarfs | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Oshawa, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Hard rock, heavy metal, glam metal |
| Years active | 1981–1997, 2001–present |
| Members | Russ Graham Darrell Millar Gerry Finn Johnny Fenton |
| Past members | Ange Fodero Bryce Trewin Mike Hall Bad Ronbo Mayer |
| Website | killerdwarfsband |
Killer Dwarfs (stylized as KiLLeR DWaRfS) is a Canadian hard rock band that formed in late 1981 in Oshawa, Ontario, and enjoyed moderate success in their native Canada in the 1980s. The band is known for its offbeat sense of humour (all band members adopted the surname "Dwarf") and was nominated for two Juno Awards during its career. Killer Dwarfs were sometimes compared to NWOBHM acts such as Iron Maiden and Saxon. [1]
Before The Killer Dwarfs formed, the band consisted of Darrell Millar, Bryce Trewin, and Ange Fodero in a group called Sphinx. After Sphinx, Russ Graham entered the picture and they became The Killer Dwarfs. The original line-up consisted of Russ Graham (vocals) and Darrell Millar (drums), along with Bryce Trewin (guitar) and Ange Fodero (bass). Their self-titled 1983 debut album was nominated for a Juno Award and radio stations in the US, particularly in Texas, started to play the album.
Trewin and Fodero left the band shortly afterward and were replaced by guitarist Mike Hall and bassist Ron Mayer. This line-up released the band's breakthrough 1986 album Stand Tall, followed by Big Deal in 1988 and Dirty Weapons in 1990. The band received much recognition in Canada and the United States during the 80's, and its videos were in regular rotation at MuchMusic and on the MTV program Headbangers Ball. Gerry Finn replaced Hall in 1992, and the album Method to the Madness was released later that year. [2]
The band toured for several years but then parted ways. During the mid-to-late 1990s, the band members pursued other projects. Graham formed a band called PennyBlack, and Hall and Finn both became members of the Canadian metal band Helix. Millar went on to drum for the southern rock band Laidlaw before forming his own Bon Scott era AC/DC tribute band Autobon, which went on to become Automan.ca, which provided Millar with a vehicle for recording original material. Mayer became a businessman and moved to the U.S. In 2001, however, the line-up of Graham, Millar, Hall and Mayer reunited to tour across North America. Recordings from these shows make up the live album Reunion of Scribes: Live 2001.'. The band again went on hiatus until 2013, when Graham, Millar, Finn and Mayer released the album Start @ One which had been previously recorded in 1993. Also in 2013, Graham released Wireless in which he sings acoustic versions of popular Killer Dwarfs songs with guest musicians.
On May 26, 2014, the band was returning home after concluding a US tour at the Rocklahoma festival in Pryor, OK. While passing through a construction zone along Interstate 70 in Indiana, the band's pick-up truck, driven by Fenton, struck two other vehicles and crashed into a ditch. Graham was airlifted to a hospital in Terre Haute where he received 24 stitches to close a gash on the left side of his forehead. The rest of the band walked away with cuts and bruises. In a radio interview a month later, Graham said he was healing well, but the area around the gash was still completely numb.
On January 5, 2018, it was announced that Killer Dwarfs had signed to Megadeth bassist David Ellefson's EMP Label Group, which would release a Killer Dwarfs' live album called NO GUFF. EMP also announced that it would reissue the band's independently released START@ONE and vocalist Graham's solo debut Wireless, plus new 2019 studio albums from Killer Dwarfs and Russ Dwarf. [3]
| Title | Album details | Chart | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CAN | US [4] | ||||||||||||||
| Killer Dwarfs |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| Stand Tall |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| Big Deal |
| 90 [5] | 165 | ||||||||||||
| Dirty Weapons |
| — | 151 | ||||||||||||
| Method to the Madness |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| Start @ One |
| — | — | ||||||||||||
| "-" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||||
Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal along with Metallica, Anthrax, and Slayer, responsible for the genre's development and popularization. Their music features complex arrangements and fast rhythm sections, dual lead guitars, and lyrical themes of war, politics, religion, death, and personal relationship.
Anthrax is an American heavy 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 has released 11 studio albums, several other albums, and 26 singles, including collaborating on a single with American hip hop group Public Enemy. According to Nielsen SoundScan, Anthrax sold 2.5 million records in the United States from 1991 to 2004, with worldwide sales of 10 million. Four of the band's studio albums have also achieved gold certifications by the RIAA, including their third full-length record Among the Living (1987), which cemented Anthrax's reputation as one of the most successful thrash metal bands.
So Far, So Good... So What! is the third studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on January 19, 1988 by Capitol Records. It was the band's only album recorded with drummer Chuck Behler and guitarist Jeff Young, both of whom were fired from the band in early 1989, several months after the completion of the album's world tour. So Far, So Good... So What! features music performed at fast tempos with technical ability; lyrically, frontman and guitarist Dave Mustaine addresses a variety of topics, including nuclear holocaust and freedom of speech.
David Warren Ellefson is an American musician, best known for his long tenure as the bassist for American thrash metal band Megadeth.
Chris Poland is an American guitarist, best known as the former guitarist of the thrash metal band Megadeth. Since 2002, Poland has been the guitarist of the instrumental rock/jazz fusion bands OHM and OHMphrey, among others, and has appeared on several projects and albums from a variety of different genres.
Econoline Crush is a Canadian rock band from Vancouver, British Columbia, formed in 1992. They have released five studio albums and are known for their charting singles such as "You Don't Know What It's Like", "Home", "Surefire ", "All That You Are (X3)", "Make It Right", and "Dirty". They achieved platinum status with the 1997 album The Devil You Know and also received two Juno nominations, in 1995 and 1998.
Chilliwack is a Canadian rock band centred on the singer and guitarist Bill Henderson. They were active from 1970 to 1988; Henderson re-formed the band in 1997. The band started off with a progressive rock sound that incorporated elements of folk, indigenous, jazz and blues, before moving towards a more straight-ahead hard rock/pop rock sound by the mid-70s. Their six best-selling songs were "My Girl ", "I Believe", "Whatcha Gonna Do", "Fly at Night", "Crazy Talk", and "Lonesome Mary". The band's line-up has changed many times.
Junkhouse was a Canadian rock band, formed during 1989 in Hamilton, Ontario. They released three albums during the 1990s, which spawned numerous charting singles in Canada. They initially disbanded in 1998, and reformed for various one-off shows afterwards.
Combat Records was an American independent record label founded in 1983 and based in New York City.
Evile are an English thrash metal band from Huddersfield, formed in 2004. They have experienced numerous line-up changes over the years, with drummer Ben Carter being the only member of the original line-up to have stayed consistently. The current line-up consists of Carter, lead guitarist and vocalist Ol Drake, bassist Joel Graham, and rhythm guitarist Adam Smith, who replaced Drake's older brother Matt in 2020.
Steeler was an early 1980s American heavy metal band that featured Swedish guitar virtuoso Yngwie Malmsteen upon his arrival in the United States. The band was founded in 1981 in Nashville, Tennessee, by vocalist Ron Keel and released one album on Shrapnel Records in 1983 before morphing into Keel.
James LoMenzo is an American heavy metal bass guitarist. He was a member of the band White Lion, performing with them from 1984 to 1991. He was later the bassist for Black Label Society, Slash's Snakepit, and Megadeth. He was announced as Megadeth's touring bassist in August 2021 and in June 2022 he fully returned to the band. Outside music, he is known for being a contestant on the 21st season of the reality television series The Amazing Race.
American thrash metal band Megadeth has released sixteen studio albums, six live albums, seven compilation albums, one EP, forty-nine singles, ten video albums, and forty-four music videos. After he was fired from Metallica in 1983, guitarist and vocalist Dave Mustaine formed Megadeth along with bassist Dave Ellefson, guitarist Greg Handevidt, and drummer Gar Samuelson. The band toured and gained a following, signing with the independent label Combat Records in late 1984. Megadeth's debut album Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! (1985), sold very well for an independent release, and the group attracted the attention of major record labels. By the end of the year, the group signed with Capitol Records. Megadeth's first major-label album, Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?, was released in 1986.
Waylon Reavis is a former vocalist for American heavy metal band Mushroomhead. He has also performed vocals for the Cleveland-based band Tenafly Viper and the alternative rock band 3 Quarters Dead. Reavis starred in the 2011 movie 13th Sign. He was a featured vocalist on the song "Open Wide" by Black Flood Diesel, "Personal Demons in the Void" by Underlined, and "Letting Go" by Amerakin Overdose.
The Carpet Frogs are a Toronto-based rock band. They are known for their work performing at private events and touring with Randy Bachman and Burton Cummings and have performed on Canada's Walk of Fame, Juno Awards, Live 8 Canada, SOCAN Awards, and more.
Huevos Rancheros were a Canadian surf rock band from Calgary, Alberta, active from 1990 to 2000. Huevos Rancheros performed an instrumental blend of rockabilly, surf, garage and punk music.
Thom Hazaert is an American musician, author/journalist, music executive and radio personality. He was co-founder and president of Corporate Punishment Records and currently runs THC : MUSIC, a management firm and label. With David Ellefson, he relaunched legendary metal label Combat Records, as part of EMP Label Group. Hazaert's work was also influential in the early advent of lifestyle street and viral marketing among rock acts, as an independent consultant for record labels including Flip Records, Interscope Records, Warner Bros. Records, Hollywood Records, Jive Records, and as co-founder of Total Assault Street Teams.
EMP Label Group, also known as Ellefson Music Productions, is an American record label formed in October 2015, which was founded by former Megadeth bassist David Ellefson.
A Killer's Confession is an American alternative metal band from Cleveland, Ohio formed in 2016. The band consist of vocalist Waylon Reavis, drummer Morgan Bauer, bassist JP Cross and guitarist Tommy Church.
Andrew Lawrence Fortier is an American musician, guitarist, filmmaker, actor, and author. He is best known for his work with The Lucid; which he cofounded alongside Vinnie Dombroski (Sponge), David Ellefson, and Mike Heller. He was guitarist for the now late Chuck Mosley. He has directed and edited the documentary Attack of Life: The Bang Tango Movie as well as the David Ellefson produced horror film Dwellers which Fortier also wrote and stars in. He is the author of Dark, Depressing, and Hilarious which is an autobiography on his career thus far.
| General | |
|---|---|
| Other | |
