When industrial metaller Tim Skold's former band, Shotgun Messiah, relocated from Los Angeles in 1988, their record label, Relativity, marketed them as a fair-hair, pretty boy, glam metal act in the mold of Poison, Warrant and Motley Crue. When that genre became passe and the band attempted to change their style, they discovered they were typecast.
"According to our label, we all lived in our own plush houses and drove fancy sports cars," he says. "But in reality, we shared a two bedroom apartment and spent most of our time there killing cockroaches. If you take the glimpses or moments from every three years of someone's life, it would probably seem erratic or illogical," he continues. "People who came to see us live knew what we were trying to do, but if you were only fed the media version or the version that Relativity created, you saw a different band."

However, Shotgun Messiah changed, recorded an industrial metal album, they were immediately given their walking-papers. The band broke-up soon after.
"It was a friendly split," says Skold. "We knew that whatever work we did together would always be viewed as Shotgun Messiah."
The same year Skold moved to Los Angeles, he began experimenting with samplers and sequencers.
"I kept doing what I wanted to do at the time," he says. "After a while, I realized I had fifteen songs finished. I wanted to take the best ten and play them live somewhere, and I did. Soon after, I started getting calls back from record companies offering me a deal."
Ironically, his new label, RCA, has also tried to downplay Skold's past associations during the promotion of his solo-debut, simply entitled Skold.
"I don't know how to sell or promote records, I just like making them," he says. "People listen to music with their ears. Good music is good music, no matter what you call it."

His debut, which he recorded entirely by himself, has not only been critically acclaimed, but has also recieved regular airplay on alternative rock radio. The albums has been compared to other industrial artists like Nine Inch Nails and KMFDM.
"I remember buying (Nine Inch Nail's debut) 'Pretty Hate Machine' at the same time I bought a Meat Beat Manifesto album," he recalls. "I don't know which influenced me more. Everything I see and hear influences me. Trent Reznor is a genius, but he is not the end of all of machine music."

After assembling a band to tour in support of his self-titled debut album, Skold has only one thing in mind. "I'd like to make another one," he says.