Album of the Day: Shotgun Messiah by, Y’know, Shotgun Messiah
When the movie Machine Gun Preacher starring Gerard Butler (an actor know for such serious roles as Dracula in Dracula 2000) came out in 2011, I got very, very pissed. Here was a perfect opportunity to name a movie Shotgun Messiah, and instead they went for that? I didn’t see the movie, much like the general public at large, but still. So, in honor of that missed chance, I dedicate the Album of the Day to people who weren’t too stupid to seize the moment and name not only their first album but also their actual band Shotgun Messiah.
Once upon a time — 1985, to be more exact — in Skövde, Sweden a band was born. They were dubbed “Shotgun Messiah.” Founded by Harry K. Cody and my darling Tim Skold, they started out as a glam band. After two albums and more member rotations than KISS, these two gentlemen were the last original members left. For their final album, they decided to go a different way. An industrial way. Tim Skold later went on to play in other bands of that ilk, like KMFDM, Marilyn Manson, and the disappointing Hank von Helvete ode to Scientology, Dr. Midnight and the Mercy Cult. Shotgun Messiah and Violent New Breed are the bookends to Second Coming, which had the glorious “Heartbreak Boulevarde,” but on this episode, we’re going to focus on their eponymous first album.
Shotgun Messiah is glam, there’s no question of that. But amongst the screeches and tired entendres, there are glimpses of other influences. Released in 1989, it starts off with the very Motley Crue-esque “Bop City,” which has guitars so hooky as to differentiate them from all the other bands of the era. “Don’ Care About Nothin’” is a similar follow-up, but “Shout It Out” is the first song where there’s something a little different going on. With rapid-fire lyrics and hoodrat attitude, it kind of sounds like Faith No More’s “Epic,” if that song had an older brother who hasn’t realized that the scene is dead yet.
“Squeazin’ Teasin’” comes next, because no hair metal album is complete without some sort of rhyme on the word “tease.” (For the record, the Scorpions’ “Squeeze Me, Please Me” is the best.) This song is where you can really see Zinny J. Zan’s vocal range, because he does have a vocal range, and is able to move Faster Pussycat screeches to a lower Cult-growl. “Dirt Talk,” for example, again sounds like a completely different singer from the rest of the album. Now we edge into L.A. Guns territory. Shotgun Messiah is basically a best of the ‘80s Los Angeles hairmetal scene as imagined by a band 6000 miles away.
The album ends with “I’m Your Love” and “Nervous.” While the former has a nastier edge, complete with a Marq Torien whine (like I said, best of ‘80s LA hair metal), the latter is what a Runaways/Scorpions lovechild would sound like. Angry punk kid chorus chants with a soulful bridge. Probably wouldn’t be the most attractive child (that’s what we’d call “a face made for radio”), but a good listen at any rate. In fact, that’s Shotgun Messiah in a nutshell; not so easy on the eyes, but great personalities all around!
