Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!

Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! is the debut studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released in June 1985 through Combat and Relativity Records. During the beginning of 1985, the band was given $8,000 by Combat to record and produce their debut album, but this proved to not be enough and so the band were given a further $4,000. Instead, a majority of the budget was spent on drugs, alcohol, and food so thus the band was forced to fire their original producer and produce it themselves. Despite the resulting poor production, the album was a well-received effort that was credited for blending elements of thrash and speed metal. It explores themes of death, violence and social commentary, and received positive reviews from most music critics.

The album featured a controversial cover of "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'" and the track "Mechanix", a song Dave Mustaine originally wrote for Metallica. A deluxe edition, completely remixed and remastered with several bonus tracks, was released through Loud Records in 2002. It features vastly different artwork, with its cover based on the version originally designed by Mustaine in 1985. Several songs from the album have been performed by Megadeth during their various tours. As of 2005, Killing Is My Business had sold over 254,000 copies in the U.S since the beginning of the Soundscan era. (wiki)

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by Steve Huey

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."