Shotgun Messiah started out in life known as Kingpin in
their Swedish homeland and their CD Welcome To Bop City from 1988 gained
them a great following and fanbase there.
They opted to shift their operations to the late 80’s glam scene of Los Angeles in search of
fortune and fame that never came. Upon
their arrival the Kingpin moniker was abandoned and the Welcome to Bop City
recording re-worked and re-released under the new heading of Shotgun Messiah.
Comprising of members Zimmy J. San on vocal, Tim Tim Skold
handling bass guitar, the aptly named Stixx Galore drumming and the guitar
stylings of Harry K. Cody the band pushed out three CD’s in their career, all
with distinctly different musical styles.
Their recordings were met with varying receptions by fans and critics
and I have seen them referred to as “Bandwagon Messiah” as they changed their
sound to follow the musical trends.
The self titled debut was the most successful, placing at
#99 on the Bilboard Chart and hit in 1989.
The pop flavoured Bop
City is the lead off
track and sets the tone for the album.
There are some stand-out rockers on here though and all in all it is a
light, but enjoyable listen. Check out
the heavily glam video for Shout It Out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y70fTOQrDxU&feature=player_detailpage
Does anyone else hear The Beastie Boys here?
Vocalist Zimmy J. San parted company allowing Tim Tim Skold
to lay aside the bass and step into the front man role, leaving newcomer Bobby
Lycon to fill in the void bass shoes.
The next release, Second Coming, had a more sleaze rock sound and
reached a commercially disappointing #199 according to Bilboard even though it
spawned the rock radio hit and arguably best known tune Heartbreak Blvd. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cXgeGlMGxTA&feature=player_detailpage Second Coming, released in 1991, is
widely considered to be the peak of their creativity and has a ton of high
points to it. Once you get beyond the clichéd
album opener of Sex Drugs & Rock & Roll, some of the best songs
on the disc are offered in Trouble, Heartbreak Blvd. and Can’t Fool
Me. I Want More is a gem
clocking in at over six minutes long, carrying only Harry Cody for a writing
credit and is also featured on the punk covers EP of the same title released in
1992.
1993 saw the final output from Shotgun, Violent New Breed. Only Skold and Cody remained in the band by this point. They completed this record using synthesisers and it has a distinct industrial
metal sound ala Ministry. Good driving
tunes or break stuff music, this album moves along well, but it was largely ignored by the record buying public. The opener I'm A Gun sets the tone and doesn't let up from start to finish showing how far ahead of it's time this album was. For me Jihad is the stand-out or best track on the disc. This industrial style is a prelude to the next few years of Tim Skold's career as showcased in fellow Decibel Geek Cameron Cooper's article:
All three Shotgun Messiah albums are worthy listens for any metal-head. The different styles employed on each recording show the diversity of the musicians and there's more than enough great tunes in the repertoire to satisfy all rock tastes!
See you on Heartbreak Blvd.
See you on Heartbreak Blvd.
Cheers,
The Meister
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