Killing is my Business is the first studio album from Megadeth. I probably first encountered it when it was first released or maybe a couple of years after. Peace Sells…but Who’s Buying was probably my first album with the band.
When listening to it again many years later it is, of course, not the same experience anymore. What was once a speedy Thrash Metal album is no longer that impressive. I might get misunderstood here. The songs are still lightning fast and the guitarwork is fantastic. But the production values and the songwriting technique hasn’t aged very well. The lyrics are somewhat immature but that’s something to be expected.
I’m impressed by the unusual time signatures. Or, at least what it sounds like to me. There is, as in most debut albums, an attitude and an energy that can’t be faked. But you can also tell that the involvement of the band that was to come was a good thing. Dave Mustaine is a great guitar player and no one can take that away from him.
It’s hard to say who plays what on Killing is my Business though. The other guitar is handled by Chris Poland and even though I might not be qualified to judge, I believe he’s also a fantastic guitar player. Bass is handled by David Ellefson and Megadeth was actually founded by him and Dave Mustaine even if Mustaine more or less became synonymous with the band, especially in later years. Gar Samuelson is behind the drums pounding away.
Mustain later evolved more as the vocalist but he does deliver the lines here as well. He’s got one of those voices that you either love or hate I suppose. He’s not a particularly good singer but he gets the job done.
Killing is My Business includes the original version of what Metallica later released as The Four Horsemen, here called Mechanix. Oh and there’s a cover of Nancy Sinatra’s old hit These boots (were made for walking). I leave it to you to interpret the meaning by using this song. But the line “one day these boots are gonna walk all over you” seems pretty vindictive and compatible to me. I think this is Mustaine’s way of saying what the line “Don’t give the prick the satisfaction” in Heartbreak Ridge was saying. But that’s me.
