Customer Reviews

Violent New Breed

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I cannot stress strongly enough how totally overlooked this album was... certainly because SM dropped its metal edge and went straight to their (genuine) industrial core. This now two-some beats the HELL out of any work put forth by Filter, KMFDM, Stabbing Westward, and maybe even NIN (a hard comparison of brilliance, but Trent Reznor never rocked this hard or well). This may be the strongest industrial effort of all time... a work of pure raw genius, a snapshot of the last furious collaboration between Skold and Harry Cody.

Every track is beyond description or compare. Just give this one a shot. I rarely ever give a 5-star review to anything, but this work deserves it. If you're disappointed, write me, and I'll find some way to make it up to you. That's how confident I am that this is an objective classic.

I should start by pointing out that I was a child of the '80s, and a diehard guitar freak, so I went through every rock music trend there was...I knew this band both before and after this album, and I must say, this is the only Shotgun Messiah album that matters, and an industrial milestone that should have mattered, but didn't.

Let's face it kids, hard rock (especially glam rock and hair metal) pretty much sucked. Sure, it had hooks, but it was basically cheesy. When the nineties hit, they really did pop music a favor in a lot of ways....Shotgun took a drastic step in the right direction, dropped the "Oooh baby" schtick of their previous efforts, got pissed and put out a NIN-meets-hard-rock and metal album. Does it work? I'll tell you what, this disc is a permanent fixture in my CD collection, and I have worn out 3 copies. KMFDM and Ministry only wish they could have grooved like this...it is much better than a lot of the popular industrial bands of the '90s. A forgotten classic, mixing elements of rock, industrial and electronica, metal and good-old fashioned American anti-establishment angst. I'll always love this album on those days when you just want to be mad about something....classic!

I snagged this disc as soon as it came out. Let me tell you. I am going to give this five(wish I could give it 500)stars for several reasons. First the Quality of this disc is so far above anthing I have ever heard. I have had my copy for almost 15 years and it is old and scratched to hell. It plays louder and better than any new release out there. Bet my life on it. Second. This is the fourth disc by these guys. Yes Kingpin was a little on the sissie side, but this is a sound that should not have been ignored. I do not like industrial music. I think Sampling sucks. I hate bands like NIN and all those other no count screwheads that cant play so they push the button. But Skold and company had clearly proven themselves by releasing this monster. I Love this disc and try as I may I can not find anything that comes close to it. As far as the snotwad that says Tim Skold sounds like he is singing in a bottle or from a well. Well let me see, there is a such thing as sound effects and I honestly believe that is what he was going for. HEHE What a dork!

This disc is without a doubt the musical lost city of Atlantis. Along with Spread Eagle who why for the life of me did not get a break either. Well Messiah did, but they self destructed in the end.

This is the disc to have, this is where it is at and this is the core of raw and creative purity. A GEM

If you are a fan of rock/metal listen to this cd several times before you decide if you like it. If you are a fan of Rammstien, Rob Zombie, or Dope you should be head over heals with the first listen!! This is a true bridge between industrial, and straight forward rock. These songs gallop and flow like a herd of wild horses on stampede. If you listen in your car watch your speedometer.

I bought this album the day it came out in 1993 after having liked the more glam metal Second Coming album. It took a few listens since I already had an idea what I thought a Shotgun Messiah album should sound like. My opinion is that this album was sooo far ahead of its time. This could easily be a Tuesday release in 2011. Every few years I seem to re-discover an old album and I always enjoy rediscovering Violent New Breed. I would recommend this album for anyone that likes their music to smack them in the face and kick their arse. It is a top ten lifetime album of mine and worth paying anything for a copy.

Not usually the case with a lot of music, but this sounds better and fresher that it did when first released. I had this and remember being disappointed in it because I liked their album 'Second Coming' with its energy and party type anthems. It sounded tired to me then.

Listening to this now, it really sounds good. Granted everyone uses effects and loops in songs but they were pretty 'Industrial' on this disc before there was even a term for it. Personal Faves are 'Enemy In Me', 'Revolution', 'Rain', 'Overkill' and the excellent 'I Come In Peace', which has a great vibe to it. The songs are energetic and slightly melodic in the choruses. The vocalist sounds good with his snotty / punkish style. The tracks are a heavy blend of Metal and effects, and at the time it may have seemed like too much for their fans to comprehend (myself included).

The other tracks are pretty good as well. This Album (disc) really went nowhere back in the day. "Second Coming' did OK and got some play but this was totally overlooked. They were a decent band that turned into a 2 man vision on this disc and the experiment went well. Worth a second listen if you have it and worth the money if you like this industrial rock stuff. They were onto something with this, unfortunately the sales slumped and they bailed. I credit them for trying something different for its time.

What a difference taking off the "glam band lable" makes, saw them before I had heard them, loved them. Have worn the tape (yes I said tape) out. A awesome roll down the windows and rock out CD, wish there would of been more. Thanks Paul for turning me on to them.

VIOLENT NEW BREED is without a doubt one of the ten best albums I have ever heard, and I listen to a lot of music. Shotgun Messiah started off as a hair metal band, and a pretty good one at that. But with VNB, we see the definitive paradigm of industrial heavy metal. The album itself gives new meaning to both sophistication and aggression, but what Shotgun Messiah has here that makes VNB so superior to everything before it, and everything that came after it (Ministry, KMFDM, Sister Machine Gun, Nine Inch Nails, Stabbing Westward, and so forth) is an uncompromising sense of melody. All the tracks rage hard and fast, but underneath them all is a strong connection to classic, hands in the air arena rock. Beneath all distortion and audio effects, you can actually hum along to "Jihad," and have to fight the urge to bust out your best air guitar skills during the bridge/solo in the titular "Violent New Breed." The majority of industrial rock is tone deaf and too wrapped up in the mystique of adding oppressive layers of sheer noise just to create that "industrial sound." In contrast, VNB maintains a keen connection to classic acts like AC/DC, lending tracks like the aforementioned "Jihad" the same kind of light-on-its-feet rock'n roll feel of "Shoot To Thrill." VIOLENT NEW BREED is a rare beast, and these days finding a copy can be difficult, but fans of this genre and music collectors with a taste for the premium stuff, it's undoubtedly worth it. Shotgun Messiah rocks, and VIOLENT NEW BREED is an album worthy of iconic status.

Ill be honest. I didnt expect much from this album. Don't get me wrong, I loved MDMFK, but I just wasnt sure if Tim could survive on his own. Well I was wrong....very wrong. An adrenaline packed thrill ride from start to finish. These songs start fast and never stop pounding. Sure, some of them do kinda sound similar, but i'll be honest I didn't care. A great album to blast in your car with all the windows rolled down and a great album to show your friends. I'd recommend this album to anyone and everyone, my new favorite headbanger. ;)

SM were originally touted as a hair metal hard rock act. They failed to find success beyond a string of photos in Metal Edge magazine. And every pretty boy pop metal act achieved that, didn't they? Well the bands first album, apparently released while they were still called Kingpin, was called Welcome to Bop City, their second disc Second Coming followed (Kerrang magazine once called it a 'god among records') and then there was the mini LP I Want More.

But the real history of this album starts with the major personnel changes that rocked the band and it's direction as low and behold this is a proto industrial album. I say proto because industrial metal was still open for futher definition in '94. But Shotgun Messiah certainly give it the ol' college try.

The vocals are cutting, the do fire. Of course they are heavily treated and so lose a lot of expression but that's the sub genre in a nutshell isn't it? The 'drumming' attack is certainly persistent but musically it's the guitars that are so nagging, they just don't let up. On some songs they are more like guitar textures - quite reminiscent of NIN. Other tracks are somewhat more conventional in their guitar assault. This is a nice variation and adds mobility to the music. As for the subject matter - well it's undustrial metal and the album title is Violent New Breed - you figure it out.

Do not buy this album if you liked their early hard rock direction unless your prepared for a shock. Archivists of industrial metal should pick this up, it got missed in the first flush of industrial releases. For the casual hard rock fan there isn't a lot here, there are no lyrics as part of the package, heck you don't even get to find out the names of the two guys that made up S/M at this stage. No communication doesn't exactly inspre the newcomer to connect to the band.

But the riffs do shred. Check out track 6..... almost four stars this one and that's from a guy that normally hates industrial.