MEGADETH — Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! (review)

MEGADETH — Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! album cover

Album · 1985 · Thrash Metal

5/5 · 2016-11-05
Unitron

Not many albums say pure revenge and anger like Megadeth's debut album. It's rough, it spits, and it has all the pissed off energy to deliver a balls-to-the-wall thrash/speed metal album. Plus how can you not love a title that is so campy like this one but still feels like a big middle finger? It's heavier than Kill 'em All, it doesn't feel like a band that hasn't found their sound like Fistful of Steel, and its album cover doesn't out-camp Show No Mercy, and all the better for it.

There's something real cathartic about letting all your built up emotions out in the form of music, and that's exactly what makes Killing Is My Business...and Business Is Good such an enjoyable and aggressive listen. Put yourself in Dave Mustaine's shoes, and I'm sure you'd be pissed to no end too if you got kicked out of a band that you committed yourself to. This certainly has the well-written music to back up that anger though with frantic speeds, killer riffs, colossal drums, Mustaine's signature sneering vocals, and Ellefson's sweet bass grooves.

Probably the most well-known song on the album is "Mechanix", which Mustaine originally wrote for Metallica, and you can tell when listening to it. It would certainly not sound out of place on Kill 'em All, but also fits right in with what would become Megadeth's signature sound. The title cut is one of my favorites, and actually kind of sounds like a precursor to Soundgarden's "Nazi Driver" from 1988's UltraMegaOK. "The Skull Beneath the Skin" is another favorite, with absolutely killer riffing and almost jazzy basslines.

Depending on what's most important, the remaster or the original might be the best choice. The original has a rougher production, but the cover of "These Boots" is completely in it's snarky uncut form. The remaster has a much better and louder production, but unfortunately "These Boots" is censored. The censor is even more obnoxious because it actually has bleeps rather than just cutting of words. So whichever is more important to the listener will determine which version to get.

For me, this is the best of the big four debuts, and the most focused. It's got spitfire angst with great music to back it up. If you're pissed off, and a Pantera album isn't around, grab the next best thing with one of Megadeth's first three albums. Hope you found this review album, feel free to comment!

more than 2 years ago
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Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Dead right. It's in Ellefson's book. He said Mustaine was determined to play faster and faster after seeing where thrash metal was going. Personally, I prefer the Megadeth version.

Warthur wrote:

more than 2 years ago

To be fair, slowing it down to the extent that Metallica do gives it a really different vibe. (I'm 90% sure that Mustaine deliberately played it even faster than intended on here as a way of having a poke at Metallica.)

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Just listened to both songs side by side, and you're right. I wonder why I never noticed that The Four Horsemen basically a slowed down Mechanix.

Vim Fuego wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Psst! Mechanix IS on Kill 'em All, it's just it's called The Four Horsemen!

Unitron wrote:

more than 2 years ago

Yeah, it's not perfect like the following album, but it's certainly a great one.