Yet another Canadian band that did okay within Canada, but struggled to scratch the surface elsewhere. Formed in Oshawa in ’81, this is Killer Dwarfs’ debut album released in ’83. I caught the band live a few years ago and it was a good show with a healthy dose of humour thrown in. Vocalist Russ has a similar vibrato to Geddy Lee, but the music is straight up hard rock.
Are You Ready kicks things off with a nice heavy groove, a simple riff, and a catchy hook and chorus. Can’t Lose follows and the vibe and groove are very different, with a great swing to the riff and beat. Drifter has a slow build up which is cool, but the song is quite average and is the weakest on the album. A definite improvement with Prisoner. The main riff and groove is NWOBHM to a T and those Geddy vibes are very evident in this song. Great solo as well! Heavy Mental Breakdown closes out Side 1 and the riff is old school for sure, it reminds me of early Budgie.
Side 2 opens up with Read Between The Lines and again, it’s a decent enough song but the production is seriously lacking. The tunes all sound empty and need filling out. I’m going to move onto my favourite track, Time To Move On. The riff we’ve all heard a million times before, but the sound on this one seems louder than the rest, and the groove of the song is cool.
Not a bad first album and they got way better especially with Big Deal.
6.5/10 from The Grooveman.
