Customer Reviews

Killing Is My Business

5 star:		(24)
4 star:		(18)
3 star:		(18)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Allright, I have the remastered version of this album. And you know what? I think it sucks. Why does someone want to have a THRASH metal album remastered? Thrash metal sounds best with a raw production. I really don't understand how people say they can't hear the instruments clearly on this original release. Do you need a hearing aid? I can hear the instruments just fine. I do agree that the drums are a little in the background, but that is the only problem I have with this version of the album. Think about it, many of the great metal albums have bad productions. Noone complains about those, but they sure have whined about this one ever since it was released. Oh well, I'll talk about the album and quit complaining myself.

This album is not quite your average metal music. It is highly technical and fast. It doesn't sound like ANYTHING you've heard before. There is nothing average about this album, and it is raw, reckless and totally unpredictable. There are NO other bands that have this kind of musical originality. Dave SHREDS on this album. His solos scream. Gar Samuelson is THE drummer on this album. To put it one way, this kind of music honestly makes you want to kill. I have never heard such a truly angry album like this. People say Slayer is brutal, but they just are too cheesy sounding for me. This album possesses true anger. If you want to hear something different from the same old predictable beats, try this out. When you hear the beginning of Loved to Death, you'll know what the attitude is.

I'll keep this short. This is a great thrash album and a groundbreaker of the genre. It easily compares to Metallica's "Kill 'Em All" and definitely influenced the entire thrash scene. It also contains some great songwriting and has a very "hungry" performance.

I would *NOT* however, recommend that you begin your Megadeth experience here. The album is somewhat poorly produced, with some midrange EQ problems that make it sound a bit like somebody is playing it in another room than the one you're in. They also added a bit too much reverb, presumably to cover Dave's voice up. Dave's voice is raw, to say the least. But the lo-fi actually works to a degree and if you like raw production (i.e. black metal fans) it shouldn't bother you greatly.

Note that the older copies have "These Boots" which is a great cover/adaptation of the old Nancy Sinatra hit. You will *NOT* get that song on the newer releases.

I recommend this to round out your Megadeth collection after getting the other albums up through and including "Rust in Peace." Or if you just like early, raw thrash, it's a good listen.

This is the strongest, angriest Megadeth album of them all. It has "REVENGE" written all over it in blood. When Dave Mustaine got kicked out of Metallica and saw them making hits out of his own songs he decided enough was enough. He formed Megadeth and played faster, heavier and better than Metallica. Noticeably, "Mechanix" is the perfect example of Mustaine's thirst for vengeance, as it pissed all over Metallica's slower version, "The Four Horsemen".
Dispite the production the whole album was very solid... until Nancy Sinatra heard the spoof of one her songs, "Boots Are Made For Walking". Her agents demanded ludicrous royalties and so the band made the difficult decision of dropping the song from further copies of the album. Even thought it later reappeared on the deluxe edition, it was censored. The Sinatra gang believed the new lyrics were unacceptable and would not allow Megadeth to use the song unless they dropped the words.
However, if you have a CD burner, do what I did... Buy this version if you can't find the original in second hand shops, then download "These Boots" and burn a new copy with the song as track 4. Try a european version of that search engine (the one with a black dog... can't tell you what it's called) and type "Megadeth Boots" in the mp3 section, they'll deliver a pretty good quality file.
I hope I don't get my arse kicked for advertising here.

I was only 4 when Dave Mustaine got booted from Metallica and to this day, i'm 26 now, you can't mention the name Megadeth without someone being a smartass and throw dirt at you like you talked about a communist party in the american parlament. Metal fans should unite because we have more in common than what separates us. For the record, Megadeth's music is unique and not a watered down version of Metallica's as some ignorant people put it that have never actually heard a Megadeth song in their life.

Moving on to the music...

Megadeth's debut album can best be described as an uncontrolled beast let out on mayhem. The raw energy of this album is unique from anything else that i've heard.
The guitars spark and the solos are in your face shreiking and the drums add a dimension being jazzy yet metal from the late Gar Samuelson whom had his roots in jazz music.
On this album you can hear the first of Dave Mustaines amazing abilities as a composer with inticrate arrangements and classic riffs.
The lyrics are somewhat infantile on many songs and you can hear that Dave Mustaine has yet to master the art of writing lyrics. All in all this is a classic album in the genre of thrash.
Unfortunatley the production is not the best and it appears as the music is coming from one mic placed in a corner of the room far away from the instruments. Not very good at all. Considering that the band members where heavy drug addicts at the time you can't really blame them for fireing the producer half way through the recording process doing things their own way. For it is also part of the history and myth that they created being gods of metal. Well they were a few years ahead of themselves...

I really didn't like this cd at first. I thought it sounded horrible, and I couldn't understand a single word said. But it grew on me rather fast and it is now one of those discs that is always in my car when I'm going somewhere. Dave and crew are remastering this cd, so I expect a better sounding version to be out within the next 6 months. And please, lets get something straight here... Mustaine was in Metallica, and Mechanix was his song. Its on the "No Life Till Leather" Metallica demo tape from when Dave was still in the band. Metallica did use a lot of stuff Mustaine contributed to though... Look at the liner of "Kill Em All" and you'll see.

As for the songs included in this cd, I really like every one of them. I wish I could fast forward through the into "Last Rites" every once in a while, depending on my mood, but that is a minor thing. My favorites are: ever song on the cd. Like I said, it may take a while to warm up to, but once you do, you won't be able to put it down.

To those of you who have read the bad reviews of this cd here on Amazon, I highly recommend that you give it a listen for yourself. Personally, I think this is some of the most unique music in my collection. Buy it.

(...)

This debut from Megadeth is great. Every song on this album is at least a 4 out of 5. And if you ask me, this is 10 times better than Kill 'Em All. Any Megadeth album is better than any Metallica album. My personal favorite from this album is Last Rites/Loved to Death. The opening piano is a perfect opener for a metal album. You'll find a song that sounds like Four Horsemen but don't be fooled. ... I like Mechanix better anyway. Another great song is Looking Down the Cross. The beginning lead guitar riff is awesome. Dave Mustaine displays his aggresion guitarwise on this CD. The Chosen Ones is such a good song. I like the way they use two different leads at the same time. And then the little bass solo by David Ellefson was incredible. It went right into the song. And who could forget about the song which introduces Megadeth's mascot, Rattlehead. This is a pure metal massacre. Everything about this song is perfect. The speed, lyrics, and Dave's voice are all perfect. Dave's screaming on Skull Beneath the Skin was great voicing. I like the whole point of the song in particular. This also a song about Rattlehead Vic. This song tells you what happened and how it happened to Vic. And last but not least, we're down to the self-titled song...Killing is my Business...and Business is Good! this is one of the most powerful elegies Megadeth has to offer. Any sniper would love this song. In review this is definitely a 5 star, classic metal album. I would suggest going out and buying this CD. This is a cd that any metalhead would enjoy.

This album is very intense indeed, excellent work musicians on the music and songwriting. Sure the production was bad, well for the vocals more, but its still great to listen too. Opening with great piano licks of Last Writes/Loved to death-Very deep lyrics and very energetic indeed. Killing is my Business....Well isnt this just a raw song i luv how it ends hearing Dave breath heavily, with excellent timing and capability. Skull Beneath the Skin-Awesome tune with excellent lyrics, and this song fits the album cover well indeed of a skull. Rattlehead-pretty much an average cool thrash song. Chosen Ones-Very interesting lyrics and capability with awesome guitar riffs. Looking Down the Cross-One of the best Megadeth songs all time, a true classic, very interesting, and the opening is really creepy like an omen or exorcist feel. Then closing with Mechanix-Yep same harmonizing as Four Horseman, doesnt matter it was meant to be that way anyway, since dave wrote 4 horsemen originally and couldnt play it since metallica stole it from him, he's gonna pay em back, redoing this this one, its great and u can tell they had a blast playing it too. Well the album is great no denying it, sure its hard to make out what hes saying thats what lyrics to read are for. So if ur a megadeth or even a thrash metal fan, then get this album, its well worth it.

A great album with great songs. Skull Beneath the Skin, rattlehead, and chosen ones are all Megadeth classics. Looking Down The Cross may just be the best Megadeth songs ever. I don't care what other people think Killing Is My Buisness is a great debut album and will remain one of my favorite albums of all time. Megadeth rules the world.

Megadeth's 1985 debut album is frequently disparaged, but it had the misfortune of following Metallica's first two albums which were awesome. Nevertheless, any serious metal fan should give this one a try. This is a short effort (only 27 minutes), and in typical Megadeth fashion the songs are overloaded with fast, complex riffs and jaw-dropping solos. One thing that could be criticized is the production, which is a little thin. But, this doesn't hinder the sheer speed of tracks like 'Skull Beneath the Skin', 'Rattlehead' and 'Mechanix'. The only real criticism that can be made here is that the songwriting simply isn't up to the level that they would attain on their next album. Which is true. This is not the high-water mark of thrash. But it is a solid disc that speed-metal fans should enjoy.

Dave Mustaine has been leading Megadeth for well over 20 years now, and it all started with "Killing is My Business...and Business is Good" way back in 1985. While this album doesn't stack up well against their more famous releases ("Peace Sells...But Who's Buying" and "Rust in Peace" in particular), it does have its own merits and is worth checking out for any fan of their music for at least history's sake.

The production is not particularly good at all which is the main difference between this and latter albums. The musicianship is certainly not that bad, it's just that the sound is very, very raw from start to finish. I guess Metallica and Slayer also had debut albums that were far rawer produced than the rest of their discographies. There are plenty of high speed thrashing riffs and shredding lead work on show. Dave's vocal style can get a little ugly at times and I guess it's a bit of a love it or hate it scenario.

Highlights for me are the raging "Rattlehead" and "Looking Down the Cross". It's worth noting that there are a few different versions of this album out there so make sure you get the one you want. One has a cover version of These Boots complete with multiple swear words, one completely omits the cover and then there's the remastered edition which includes the track albeit with beeped out expletives.

This is not an album I listen to very often. Following albums by Megadeth are far superior (well, most of them anyway) in so many ways and I don't really find value in this one any more. But it served its purpose at the time, and it's certainly a seriously thrashing piece of metal. I guess it's for the really big Megadeth fans out there that have to have all their albums.