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\n<\/p>\nShotgun Messiah began as Kingpin before relocating to Hollywood and changing their name. With their flamboyant fusion of melodic rock and sleazy glam they sold almost half a million copies of 1989\u2019s self-titled debut, then imploded two years later. Now, lead singer Zinny J Zan and guitarist Harry Cody are back with a new collaboration and an album, Beautiful \u2018N Damned.<\/p>\n
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Zinny, why did you leave Shotgun Messiah in 1990? And Harry, how did the band break up three years later?<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n Zinny Zan: It wasn\u2019t my choice to leave. There were differences back then, so I went back to Sweden and Harry and Tim [Sk\u00f6ld, bassist, who became the new frontman] carried on.<\/p>\n Latest Videos From Louder<\/p>\n Harry Cody: Relativity put out [third album] Violent New Breed and then immediately dropped us. I still consider Violent New Breed as the best Shotgun Messiah album, so we felt completely dispirited.<\/p>\n Violent New Breed had a bold, industrial sound. There are still traces of that in Zan\/Cody, but for the most part Beautiful \u2018N Damned is a hard rock album. <\/p>\n You may like<\/p>\n Cody: It is, and that\u2019s by design. It\u2019s where we\u2019ve made our bread and butter in the past, but also there\u2019s cellos and choirs and all sorts of things all over it.<\/p>\n Frontiers Records often engineer seemingly unlikely reunions. Is this another example of that?<\/p>\n Zan: Not at all. We made the album on the hush-hush before seeking labels to put it out. There were a few that were interested. Frontiers was the best of them all.<\/p>\n When it came to making the album, how did it feel to be in a room together again?<\/p>\n Cody: In fact the entire album was made via the internet from separate parts of the globe. We didn\u2019t actually meet again until I flew over for the Sweden Rock gig [June 2026], our first meeting since 1990.<\/p>\n What to read next<\/p>\n Zan\/Cody – “Ride Or Die” – Official Music Video – YouTube Watch On <\/a><\/p>\n Were there any issues to iron out?<\/p>\n Cody: Time had ironed out most of the issues. It was like seeing your long-lost brother again. After thirty-five years the spark was still there.<\/p>\n Why didn\u2019t you bring in Tim Sk\u00f6ld and call the project Shotgun Messiah?<\/p>\n Cody: As an entity, Shotgun Messiah still exists. That is myself and Tim. We have most of an album recorded, but that\u2019s on hold because Tim rejoined Marilyn Manson<\/a>\u2019s band as its bassist. We\u2019ll have to see what happens there.<\/p>\n Do you hear any Shotgun Messiah in much contemporary music?<\/p>\n Cody: There\u2019s a lot of validation. I wouldn\u2019t have guessed it, but at Sweden Rock the guitarist from Clawfinger [B\u00e5rd Torstensen] said he was a huge fan. I hear it in Hardcore Superstar. I hear it in Crashd\u0457et. I\u2019d like to think that we\u2019ve helped shape that sound a little bit.<\/p>\n Tell us about that gig at Sweden Rock, thirty-six years after the last one.<\/p>\n Zan: Harry and I haven\u2019t played together in Sweden since 1988, though I had done Sweden Rock with a couple of other bands.<\/p>\n Cody: It felt so natural. Stepping out on stage, it was a great feeling.<\/p>\n Will Zan\/Cody play in the UK?<\/p>\n Zan: We would love to go there. Absolutely.<\/p>\n Cody: If any promoters feel like whipping out their big wallet, we\u2019re all ears.<\/p>\n Beautiful \u2018N Damned is out now via Frontiers Records.<\/p>\n
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