Shotgun Messiah was a Swedish hard rock band whose story began in Skövde, Sweden, during the 1980s under the name Kingpin. The group was built around guitarist Harry Cody and bassist Tim Skold, then known as Tim Tim, with vocalist Zinny J. Zan and drummer Stixx Galore completing the early lineup. After releasing Welcome to Bop City as Kingpin in Sweden, the musicians relocated to Los Angeles, signed with Relativity Records, and changed their name to Shotgun Messiah. A reworked version of the album was released internationally as Shotgun Messiah in 1989, introducing the band to a wider hard rock audience.

The lineup soon changed when Zinny J. Zan departed and Tim Skold moved from bass to lead vocals. Bassist Bobby Lycon joined for the band’s second album, Second Coming, released in 1991. Songs such as Heartbreak Blvd., Don’t Care ‘Bout Nothin’, and Living Without You captured the band’s mix of melodic hard rock, glam metal attitude, and sharp guitar work. Harry Cody’s playing became one of the group’s defining musical features, while Skold increasingly emerged as a central creative force.

Shotgun Messiah changed direction considerably for its third and final studio album, Violent New Breed, released in 1993. By then the group had effectively been reduced to Cody and Skold, who incorporated industrial rock and electronic elements into a much heavier and more experimental sound. The shift separated the album from the band’s earlier glam-influenced material but also foreshadowed Skold’s later work in industrial music. Shotgun Messiah came to an end during the 1990s, leaving behind three studio albums that document a band willing to change rather than repeat its original formula.

Authentic Shotgun Messiah guitar picks and memorabilia offer collectors a connection to a distinctive band from the late-1980s and early-1990s hard rock scene. Pieces associated with different tours and performances can represent very different chapters of the band’s short career, from its melodic hard rock beginnings to the darker Violent New Breed period. Browse our collection of authentic Shotgun Messiah guitar picks and memorabilia below.