Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!
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Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! is the debut album by Megadeth. It was originally released in 1985 on Combat Records. The deluxe edition, completely remixed and remastered, containing the original artwork Dave Mustaine wanted to use, also containing three early demo recordings, was released by Loud Records in 2002.
Track listing
- "Last Rites/Loved to Deth" - 4:40
- "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" - 3:06
- "The Skull Beneath the Skin" - 3:47
- "Rattlehead" - 3:43
- "Chosen Ones" - 2:55
- "Looking Down the Cross" - 5:02
- "Mechanix" - 4:22
- "These Boots"*†
- "Last Rites/Loved to Deth" (demo)*
- "Mechanix" (demo)*
- "The Skull Beneath the Skin" (demo)*
- * - appearing on 2002 re-release.
- † - "These Boots" was on the original version of the album between "The Skull..." and "Rattlehead" but was removed from later pressings. For the re-release, the lyrics that are different from the Nancy Sinatra version are censored (see notes below).
Personnel
- Dave Mustaine - guitar, vocals, piano
- Chris Poland - guitar
- David Ellefson - bass guitar, back-up vocals
- Gar Samuelson - drums
Songs
- "Last Rites" is an instrumental; the title refers to the Roman Catholic tradition of Anointing of the Sick.
- "Loved to Deth" is a song about a man who kills his ex-lover after she rejects him so no one else can have her.
- "Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!" is based on the comic book character, The Punisher, but is rather about an assassin-for-hire who kills his employer after he is paid.
- "Skull Beneath the Skin" is about Megadeth's mascot, Vic Rattlehead, and how he came to be. The song explains the steel visor, the metal caps on his ears, and the iron staples that hold his jaw shut.
- "Rattlehead" is a description of a live Megadeth concert. The last part of the song talks about seeing Vic Rattlehead at the concert.
- "Chosen Ones" is about the scene in the motion picture Monty Python and the Holy Grail when the Knights of the Round Table fight the Killer Rabbit. Many believe it is about Crusaders marching to the Middle East to fight the Muslims, which Mustaine has said is completely false. Chosen Ones is a reference to how King Arthur and The Knights of the Round Table were the ones chosen by God to find the Holy Grail.
- "Looking Down the Cross" is about the crucifixion of Jesus and his final thoughts before He died. In the song, Dave suggests that Jesus might have been wishing for vengeance, but only spoke of forgiveness.
- "Mechanix" is about a horny gas station attendant. It was re-written and recorded with new lyrics by Metallica as "The Four Horsemen" for their first album, Kill 'Em All. The original "Mechanix" can be found on Metallica's rare No Life 'Til Leather demo or Bay Area Trashers bootleg, with James Hetfield singing.
- "These Boots" is a parody of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'." When Killing Is My Business... started selling well after Megadeth became more popular, the writer of the song, Lee Hazlewood, began demanding that the song be cut, due to it being a "perversion of the original song". Dave Mustaine made the point that Hazelwood had been paid royalties for all those years before he made the case, but eventually cut the song anyway. A censored version of the track can be found on the deluxe edition released in 2002.
