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Great album, strange reissue Oct 18, 2007
Originally released in 1990, Dirty Weapons was the fourth studio album from Canadian melodic rockers Killer Dwarfs. It's a shame this band never made a bigger impression, because their Ratt meets Quiet Riot brand of party metal should have gone over quite well in the mid 1980s. Perhaps the band's goofball image kept the average hair metal fan at a distance.
Dirty Weapons is another classy, upbeat melodic hard rock album (it just doesn't seem appropriate to call this kind of music "metal" anymore) on par with what we were hearing from most mainstream rock bands at the time. It's not quite as AOR-ish as Bad English or Tyketto, but not as obnoxious as Warrant or Faster Pussycat either. It's just a very solid, very melodic rock album that should have done a lot better than it did for the band.
Anyone still interested in 80's hard rock and metal really ought to have some Killer Dwarfs in their collection, and Dirty Weapons is as good a place to start as any.
NOTE: The 2000 reissue of Dirty Weapons features half of the band's 1992 album Method to the Madness as bonus tracks (the other half is on the Big Deal reissue). The inclusion of these tracks makes no sense to me. I know Method to the Madness is out of print, but why not just reissue the album separately? It just seems odd to me.
 Great Music by an Overlooked Band Aug 02, 2007
A solid release of 80s Hard Rock/Pop Metal songs that makes you wonder why this group wasn't more well-known. Solid vocals, musicianship, and songs ranging from Ballads to Hard Rockers (mostly Hard Rockers). This is a must-have for any 80s Rock fan.
4 of 4 found the following review helpful:
By far their best, now even better with the bonus tracks! Jan 13, 2006
I remember hearing the song "Dirty Weapons" on some metal compilation and I just thought, what a great song. I had to check out more of the Killer Dwarfs. I remember seeing a video on MTV years and years ago where I think his name is Russ is in box being bounced around town. I can't remember the song but a very interesting video. I never saw it again. Needless to say label support was lacking with this band. That is why they didn't get the video rotation or airplay back then. Evidence is this here album or should I say CD. The material on this is strong rock and even contains a power ballad, "Doesn't Mattter", a prerequisite in the 80's hair band days. The band liked it so much they released it again on the "Method To The Madness" CD, the era from where this recording hails. Anyway let's get to the music.
1. Dirty Weapons 10/10. Just fantastic
2. Nothin' Gets Nothin' 9/10 Great riffs
3. All That We Dream 9/10 Great beat
4. Doesn't Matter 8/10 I am not a huge power ballad fan but a good song nonetheless.
5. Last Laugh 8/10 a good rocker
6. Comin' Through 10/10 Another of the big songs from this release.
7. One Way Out 9/10 very good song that keeps the momentum up
8. Appeal 7/10 one of the weaker songs
9. Not Foolin' 9/10 more great riffs
10. Want It Bad 9/10 great closer
Most if not all of these songs have catchy chorus and just meaty guitar riffs. Very underrated album from the 80's. but wait. There is more. 5 BONUS TRACKS from the "Method To The Madness" CD. Not nearly as good of an album but the 2 best tunes are included here in "Method To The Madness" & "Cowboys And Conmen". The other 3 tracks are competent enough but "Dirty Weapons" the CD was still their best release. Check it out and see if you don't agree with me. The Bonus tracks just help make this an even better CD. Recommended for all fans of 80's metal.
1 of 2 found the following review helpful:
Spectacular rock gem! Sep 06, 2004
This record is really good!!! I wore out my cassette back in the 90's so I had to buy it on disc. Very underrated band that were talented and made really fun, rock music. Dirty Weapons, Last Laugh, Coming Through(my ode to the liberals), Not Foolin and Want it bad are just some of the gems here. A must buy. It should've sold at least 5 million, easy. Oh well, I bought it and that's all that matters. I'm happy and you will be too, so get it, now. This is one of the last real good metal records to come out before the horrible grunge sound ruined it all. This is a must have. Buy it, crank it up and grab a cold one...rock on. Go Dunk!!!
6 of 6 found the following review helpful:
Santa's worst nightmare Oct 21, 2003
With a name like Killer Dwarfs, how could you go wrong? Oh, you've never heard of them? Well, neither did I until 12 years ago when I forgot to send back that damn music club reply card. I found the band's fourth album, Dirty Weapons in my mailbox. To my surprise, they blew me away!
Formed in 1981, Killer Dwarfs established a solid following in their home country of Canada with their self-titled debut. In 1984 the U.S. started to take notice when the band released Keep the Spirit Alive, the first single from their sophomore album entitled Stand Tall. The accompanying video was added to regular rotation on MTV. Later that year Killer Dwarfs were signed by Epic Records to a worldwide deal. The band released their second album for Epic, Dirty Weapons in 1990.
The title track opens the album with a driving metal riff that says, "Let's rock!" (Though the message is highly political.) Russ Dwarf has a great melodic voice, which can be compared to Jack Russell (Great White) but with a much higher range. Guitarist Mike Dwarf tears it up with catchy hooks, and shredding solos in the vain of George Lynch (Dokken) among others. All of the songs including "Nothing Gets Nothing", "All That We Dream", "Last Laugh", and "Coming Through" have the typical metal format: Opening riff, verse, chorus, solo, back to verse. But, isn't that what we loved about 80's metal? "One Way Out" has a 'bluesy' tone to it. As the album winds down with "Appeal", "Not Fooling", and "Want it Bad", the music loses the punch that the earlier songs had, but are still great melodic pieces. The bands biggest hit off the album was "It Doesn't Matter", an acoustic ballad. It went to number one in 13 cities.
If you're a fan of 80's metal, you need to pick up Dirty Weapons. It's a great metal album that got lost in the shuffle.
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