Shotgun Messiah
Violent New Breed

THE REVIEW

Shotgun Messiah began their brief career with two street rock albums, starting from their native Sweden to record in Los Angeles, the cradle of such genre. In this third work, they reject their past, draping their music with a good amount of proto-industrial White Zombie and, in some ways, foreshadowing many ideas of Reverend Marilyn Manson, as clearly appears in a track like "Overkill". The picture becomes even clearer when we discover that Tim Skold, the band’s leader, played guitar and wrote the music for "Eat Me, Drink Me", an album by the same Marilyn Manson released in 2007. Track by track, between politically engaged lyrics like the title track and others where the industrial guise is highlighted in catchy rock choruses (see "Jihad", with guitars reminiscent of what would later be done by the likes of Rammstein), "Revolution" appears out of nowhere like a mirage, essentially what Mark Lanegan would write ten years later in a practically identical "Methamphetamine Blues". Not bad for a band forgotten by God... This despite the final part containing a few missteps like "Sex", too light and cheesy compared to the general mood of the other clanging tracks. Nevertheless, we can't help but approve them.