Dwarves began in Chicago as a teen garage rock outfit called
the Suburban Nightmare, a sound that was partially carried over into the first
Dwarves release, 1986's
Horror Stories. After the first album,
Dwarves blazed across the country for seven more years, leaving a trail of blood from their own self-inflicted gashes, a trail of drug stories (according to popular myth, bassist XXXXX disappeared in Detroit on a crack binge during a 1992 tour, never to be heard from again), a trail (or tale) of bizarre stage-show sex acts, and a trail of numerous 15-minute-long live shows.
Dwarves unsurprisingly self-destructed shortly after a failed hoax, whereby the band issued a press release stating that guitarist
He Who Cannot Be Named had died. The album
Sugarfix also carried a tribute to the guitarist, who was actually very much alive. Sub Pop was not amused and dropped the band, which later re-formed for 1997's
Young and Good Looking.
Come Clean followed in early 2000. Four years later the band returned with
The Dwarves Must Die, including guests
Dexter Holland from
the Offspring,
Nick Oliveri from
Queens of the Stone Age,
Nash Kato from
Urge Overkill, and voice actor
Gary Owens. ~ Matt Carlson, All Music Guide