Shotgun Messiah may be the perfect ’90s band. Too high praise for a Swedish duo on an indie label? Well, let me explain. Music progresses by the melding of different sounds from the past into an entirely new whole, not by leaps into the darkness, regardless of what the ads tell us; even punk had its antecedents in ’60s garage bands and heavy metal. The point is, musicians pick through their their personal pasts and create their own futures. New sounds emerge, bandwagons roll and the press and populace go wild (e.g. Nirvana).
As the Pistols now epitomize punk and Nirvana grunge, so Shotgun will eventually epitomize a yet unnamed new style, fusing the frenetic energy of punk, the aggressiveness of industrialism with a driving techno beat, all wrapped up in memorable songs with striking lyrics.
New Breed is the Messiahs’ third album, and if there’s any justice in the world it’ll be topping the alternative charts. It has the power to unite the alternative audience (minus the Belly fans) back under one banner, even headbangers should love it.
And all this without a drop of compromise or hint of commercialism. So, whether you pounder the excellent industrial effects, the superb guitar work (an industrial band with a guitarist!), or just dance to it, Shotgun Messiah will convince you that, violent or not, they are the new breed for the future.
Jo-Ann Greene
