Artist: Gift Dwarf
Label: SAOL
Release: 2011
Runtime: 47:26
Rating: 4/5
Who says metal can’t walk hand in hand with humor, or that a total goofball gag can’t sound damn serious? No, this isn’t a delusion or a rhetorical question. It would make a perfectly good opener for introducing this year’s metal novelty, which at its core isn’t really a novelty at all. German outfit Giftdwarf spent just a year in the garage before hatching and launching their debut. It’s a metal, funny and really easy-to-listen-to bundle of songs, written in the spirit of the movie shenanigans of Tenacious D.
The quintet from Frankfurt is made up of anonymous bassist Natalie Eis, guitarist Olaf Mill and gifted vocalist Gerd Knebel. It picks up an extra dash of intrigue once you name-drop two heavy hitters: drummer Gerd Lücking, who was already a member of Rebellion, and his partner in crime Uwe Lulis, the notorious guitarist of Digger and Grave Digger, and also a former member of the aforementioned Rebellion. So this is a sharpened, seriously listenable bunch of musicians, and they set out to make you laugh while pouring a good dose of quality music into your ears. The album Giftdwarf hits every target of its mission with truly consistent, proverbial German precision. This time, the stuff laid out on the dissecting table is perfectly ordinary everyday topics: conquered age-related erectile problems, botched vacations, Ebay and whatever else hides behind titles like My Mother Looks Like Lemmy, Metal Bürohengst, Bo(w)frostman or iPott. Giftdwarf hit the nail on the head right away, with no mercy and no hesitant awe. Thematically, it’s a hugely fun collection of thoroughly aired-out takes on everyday life. Musically it’s pretty worn-out, but by no means unlistenable. The guitar riffs are stuck in the second half of the eighties, and the worn-out scalps hidden under toupees and inhuman amounts of hair spray manage to marry the already-heard in a very listenable way that’s full of comic effects. Giftdwarf is the album-length German version of the gnome Bolfenk, who gives the bright side of everyday life at home a decent, operetta-style metal treatment. The real extra value lies in the lyrics, which, let’s be honest, are truly genius. Take the song My Mother Looks Like Lemmy, which really sounds like Lemmy himself growled it. The lyrics go something like this: “She got an “Oberlippenbart” on each hairy cheek she got a big wart / She wears black leather and got tattoos / There ain’t nobody gonna light her fuse / She really likes porno and big fast cars / She only drinks whisky and smokes cigars / Two bottles a day – keep you healthy for sure / And if you don’t like it, honey, there’s the door / She ain’t no beauty with a microwave / And the best of all is she don’t gotta shave / Cause she looks like Lemmy from Motörhead”. Anything to add? Maybe just that this original mix of fun and music is very listenable and sharpened down to the last atom. On top of the very catchy choruses, the polished and effortless guitar solos simply won’t leave you cold or indifferent. Did I already mention the pinch of tastefully placed trumpets and harps, the heaps of talent and, above all, the energetic will to party?
You can listen to the rest of the songs HERE.
The joke soon outgrows the bounds of humorous lightness and easily sweeps aside the competition, the ones who take themselves way too damn seriously. We can only hope this isn’t a “one album wonder” and that, in this pile of humor, there are still a few grenades left to keep shelling an audience that’s always been friendly to metal and merrymaking, for the future too!
This review was written in collaboration between RockLine and Rock Hard Slovenija.
Lineup
Gerd Knebel – vocals
Uwe Lulis – guitar
Olaf Mill – guitar, mandolino, trumpet, harp
Natalie Eis – bass
Gerd Lücking – drums, percussion
Production
Gift Dwarf
Tracklist
1. iPott
2. Fritz
3. I Saw It On The News
4. Holiday
5. My Mother Looks Like Lemmy
6. Bo(w)frostman
7. Amtssprache
8. Pavarottis Thoughts
9. Primitive
10. My Place
11. Ebay
12. Two Moons
13. Metal Bürohengst
