Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good! [Remixed] [PA] [Remaster] (CD - 1985)

Producers: Dave Mustaine, Karat Faye.

Recorded at Indigo Ranch Studios, Malibu, California and Crystal Sound Labs, Hollywood, California in December 1984 & January 1985. Includes liner notes by Dave Mustaine, Scott Ian, and David Ellefson.

Digitally remastered by Tom Baker (Precision Mastering).

Personnel: Chris Poland, Dave Mustaine (vocals, guitar, piano); David Ellefson (bass guitar, background vocals); Gar Samuelson (drums, timpani).

Audio Mixer: Bill Kennedy.

Audio Remasterer: Tom Baker .

Liner Note Authors: Dave Mustaine; David Ellefson; Scott Ian.

Recording information: Crystal Sound Lab, Hollywood, CA (12/1984-01/1985); Indigo Ranch Studios (12/1984-01/1985); Malibu Sound Lab, Hollywood, CA (12/1984-01/1985).

Photographer: Megadeth.

After his exit from Metallica, Dave Mustaine regrouped with his own band on this debut album, accentuating his own chaotic, driving rhythm guitar work and careening, lightning-fast solos. The music here is as raw as Megadeth gets, and that can be both good and bad -- Megadeth's later precise, complex riffing and composition aren't completely developed, but the music is performed with a great deal of energy, while Mustaine's vocals (never his strong point) are amateurish at best. Highlights include a retooled version of Nancy Sinatra's "Boots" and "Mechanix," a Mustaine composition written with Metallica, which turned into the latter's "The Four Horsemen." ~ Steve Huey

After guitarist Dave Mustaine was booted out of Metallica in 1983, he immediately returned home to San Francisco and formed Megadeth. The new outfit was instantly compared to Mustaine's former band, and the comparisons haven't subsided since. Whereas both outfits shared such musical elements as muted guitar riffs and speedy rhythms, Megadeth's first album seemed to be more influenced by punk and hardcore. KILLING IS MY BUSINESS AND BUSINESS IS GOOD also saw Mustaine's debuting his lead-vocal skills.

Mustaine must have had a lot of pent-up anger to express, since KILLING is simply explosive from beginning to end. The brutal title track lyrically deals with a sniper who revels in hunting down his unsuspecting prey. Nancy Sinatra's hit "These Boots are Made For Walking" is redone as a blinding speed metal ditty. Other highlights include the album opening "Last Rites/Loved to Death" and the pro-heavy metal "Rattlehead." The album-closing "Mechanix" had previously surfaced-as "The Four Horsemen," with different lyrics-on Metallica's debut KILL 'EM ALL. While not as exceptional as Megadeth's subsequent albums, KILLING proves that Mustaine is a survivor.

If you have the original version of Megadeth's debut record, Killing Is My Business...And Business Is Good!, then there is no reason to go out and buy this slightly remixed 2002 version. Only the most hardcore fan would want to own both. It is a classic metal album, as good if not better than Metallica's or Slayer's debut records. Songs like "Looking Down the Cross" and "The Skull Beneath the Skin" are heavy, while sillier tunes like "Killing Is My Business" and Megadeth's cover of the Nancy Sinatra hit "These Boots" are a lot of fun. The guitar playing all over the record absolutely shreds. This was music from the glory years of metal and Megadeth was at the top of the game with many more and even better albums to come. But this 2002 version released on the rap label Loud suffers because the song "These Boots" has all the bad words bleeped out of it, because the song's original writer, Lee Hazelwood, found them offensive. Rap fans are used to hearing songs with all the bad words bleeped out on the radio, but on this version the bleeping is done very poorly and completely ruins the song. Megadeth could have challenged Lee Hazelwood and released the record as it was, and may have even won if he chose to take them to court or they could have left the song off the record. The least they could have done is have the song properly edited. Otherwise, the new album cover as it was originally meant to be isn't an improvement, the remixing job is not very noticeable, and the demo versions sound very much like demos. Still, this is an awesome album and if it's the only version one can find, it's very worth getting. ~ Adam Bregman minimize