Megadeth ‎– Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!

Since I'll be finishing with my Slayer series tomorrow (hitting the World Painted Blood album and maybe a few of the singles if I feel like it before I write a prayer book in review form for Haunting the Chapel) I found it fitting to start on a Megadeth series today and cover all the big 4. I'll start by saying I won't mention production much like I did with Slayer as most of my listening will be done with Spotify which only carries Megadeth's remasters unlike Slayer where they have the original recordings. Just doesn't seem like it would be fair to judge classic albums by modern remasters that may have improved or castrated their original sound.

As pointed out by another reviewer it seems this album was made to outdo Metallica. Honestly this seems like the only way for Megadeth to have gained much traction. They came out in the middle of thrash revolution, the only bands who had definitive futures at this point were Exodus for practically inventing the genre and Metallica for putting it in a form that would reach global marketability. Megadeth had to prove themselves superior to their peers as well as get something that would make them unique. Add to this Dave was just kicked out of one of thrash's most successful bands at the time which made him a hard sell with producers and Metallica claimed to have kicked him out due to him being a drunk (nasty, nasty feud, glad its over), hearing that Kirk played Dave's riffs except faster on Kill Em All probably supported that rumor.

So that leaves Megadeth having to claim their place in the growing thrash scene and prove that they aren't headed by a talentless drunk. What better way then to outplay Metallica in every way. Faster songs, more aggressive and far more technical. Mission accomplished boys, your first album and you've already both outdone Metallica and made a classic. You've also kept it all within reason without out doing yourselves (some of their later material is too flashy and show offish to really work)

The only issues performance wise is vocals and chemistry. Dave gets the job done but he is not an amazing singer, he is emotive though, enough to spit out venom and fire in his performance. He simply cannot be replaced even if his vocals fall a bit flat here and there. The band don't completely mesh yet. It isn't a major problem but its a bit of rust on what would otherwise be a well oiled riff machine, they all fight for attention and to show off. The riffs are fast and calculated with a hint of professionalism. Like whirlwinds ripping their way through the ears of the ill prepared. The solos and rhythm sections too are fast and calculated, shredding technical pieces with a good level of melody added in.

The bass is more audible and utilized then is average. Generally bass just rounds out the sound and/or adds a backbone, here the bass player gets to show his chops, do some flashy stuff of his own. The drummer uses some jazz skills to great effect. I may be a total Metallica fanboy but Lars can suck a duck against this guy. He even manages to pound it out amongst all the technical aspects. The cover track isn't very strong, I'm not sure if it was just the remaster or not but it kept bleeping the 'walking' lyrics. It was obnoxious.

Standout tracks: The Skull Beneath the Skin, Rattlehead and Mechanix