Quarter Century Review: Killing Is My Business

Megadeth
Killing Is My Business....And Business Is Good
Combat
Produced by Dave Mustaine and Karat Faye

The album that began the quest of Dave Mustaine to crush his former bandmates in Metallica beneath his bootheels starts with, curiously, a piano. Seconds later, the thrashing begins with "Last Rites/Loved To Deth,". There would be no relenting again. Though Megadeth's legacy in metal is now cemented, in 1985 Dave Mustaine was desperate to succeed and to prove to his detractors that he could be a force to be reckoned with.

If comparing this to Metallica's debut Kill 'Em All, I'll probably give the edge to Metallica. However, Mustaine had a great deal to do with the songs and musical direction of Kill 'Em All, having several songwriting credits. One of theose credits was the classic "The Four Horseman,", the one song that was poached a bit here with the album's closing track "Mechanix,". Musically, the original lineup of Dave Ellefson on bass, Chris Poland on lead guitar, and Gar Samuelson is the second best of many configurations of Megadeth (first being the early-mid '90s lineup). At the end of the day, Mustaine and company definitely made a debut album to be proud of and instantly made a name for themselves as one of thrash metal's best and pioneers of the genre.

Overall Grade = 8.11

The Best Year In Metal Debate

I have found myself recently getting into Slayer more than I have in my life and it brought up a question in my head: What is the greatest year for Heavy Metal music?

Was it 1981, with the arrival of the NWOBHM and other new bands:
Mötley Crüe - Too Fast For Love
Ozzy Osbourne - Diary Of A Madman
Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
Def Leppard - High 'N' Dry
Iron Maiden - Killers
AC/DC - For Those About To Rock (We Salute You)

Kind of impressive but hardly earth shattering or plentiful enough to be considered the greatest. Maybe 1983:
Def Leppard - Pyromania
Iron Maiden - Piece Of Mind
Metallica - Kill 'Em All
Mötley Crüe - Shout At The Devil
Dio - Holy Diver
Ozzy Osbourne - Bark At The Moon
Slayer - Show No Mercy
Motörhead - Another Perfect Day

Um, no. Especially with terrible records from Black Sabbath and AC/DC (the albums don't even deserve mention) that year and it being just the beginning for Slayer and Metallica. Most metal heads will point to 1986 and, with this list of classics and strong efforts, who can argue:
Metallica - Master Of Puppets
Slayer - Reign In Blood
Megadeth - Peace Sells...But Who's Buying?
Iron Maiden - Somewhere In Time
Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
Samhain - November-Coming-Fire
Europe - The Final Countdown (!?!)

While that is a landmark year for metal, I contend that 1988 was actually better in terms of album quality and quanitity. Metallica came back with their commercial breakthrough (and arguably better album, though I don't believe so). Slayer returned with another thrash lesson, while Megadeth and Iron Maiden had better efforts than their '86 albums. Ministry is a bit of a stretch since all of their previous efforts were techno.

Danzig
Metallica - ...And Justice For All
Iron Maiden - Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son
Megadeth - So Far, So Good, So What
Ministry - The Land Of Rape And Honey
Slayer - South Of Heaven
Ozzy Osbourne - No Rest For The Wicked
Anthrax - State Of Euphoria

So, while I do believe that Master Of Puppets is the finest masterpiece of any on all these lists, I think the output of 1988 is more impressive. Any submissions, comments, votes?

Reviews: Metal Edition

Megadeth
Endgame
Roadrunner
CD

I know that I'm a bit late on this one but in a year where two thrash metal giants release albums as strong as these and with a supergroup making (good) noise, it seemed best to wrap them together. Everyone knows the story by now about the genesis of Megadeth and how it roots in founder Dave Mustaine's jealousy and anger towards wiping Metallica off the planet. For the better part of this millenium, Mr. Mustaine should have rested easy, as his former bandmates experimented themselves into near irrelevence. With Risk closing out the '90s and The World Needs A Hero starting this decade, it seemed as though the mighty 'Deth had lost its way. But despite being "born again", Mustaine has proven to be reinvigorated since his sleeping accident that almost took away his ability to play guitar. He has followed those "efforts" with now 3 strong, politically charged albums: The System Has Failed, United Abominations, and Endgame. While the band most likely will never reach the heights of Countdown To Extinction again, there is certainly nothing to be ashamed of in this present incarnation. The musicianship is as tight as in the Rust In Peace era and the material is nearly as strong. This is a relentless assault that you don't mind being hit with. And speaking of relentless...


Slayer
World Painted Blood
American
LP/CD

Admittedly, I have never been much of a Slayer fan. I have seen them perform and it is quite an experience but being put on record seems to bottle up their fury. This album, somehow, pulverizes me just the right way. Slayer has zero pop sensibilities. Their idea of a chorus is to slow down enough so that the listener can maybe catch a few of Tom Araya's yells so that they know the song title. Dave Lombardo is easily the best drummer in metal and the guitars of Hanneman and King serve their purpose. Their strength as a band is their unrelenting beating upon the eardrums almost forcing a listener to submit, maybe, rather than enjoy. Well, I give. I give. And I enjoy.


Shrinebuilder
Shrinebuilder
Neurot
LP/CD

I know I said "supergroup" but bear with me. The lineup is Scott "Wino" Weinrich from Saint Vitus, Dale Crover of the Melvins, Scott Kelly of Neurosis, and Al Cisneros of OM. I realize this is hardly a who's who of metal but, believe me, the combo shows a lot of promise. Crover has been a solid drummer for over 20 years and Weinrich was a fixture at SST Records in the glory years, so there's definitely some cred here. While definitely slowing it down from the thrash legends reviewed above, there is a dirge quality to the tracks reminiscent of Black Sabbath along with growling that is far more overtly evil than the wailings of Osbourne or Dio. A solid debut from grizzled vets that doesn't outdue any of the bands mentioned here but will make them sleep with one eye open.


The Grades:

Megadeth

1. Dialectic Chaos – 7.7
2. This Day We Fight! - 8.0
3. 44 Minutes – 6.7
4. 1320' – 8.4
5. Bite The Hand – 7.2
6. Bodies – 7.4
7. Endgame – 7.5
8. The Hardest Part Of Letting Go...Sealed With A Kiss – 8.3
9. Head Crusher – 8.6
10. How The Story Ends – 8.8
11. The Right To Go Insane – 8.2

Overall=7.89

Slayer

1. World Painted Blood – 8.5
2. Unit 731 – 7.3
3. Snuff – 7.1
4. Beauty Through Order – 7.4
5. Hate Worldwide – 8.1
6. Public Display Of Dismemberment – 7.8
7. Human Strain – 6.7
8. Americon – 8.4
9. Psychopathy Red – 8.0
10. Playing With Dolls – 7.6
11. Not Of This God – 8.3

Overall=7.75

Shrinebuilder

1. Solar Benediction – 7.8
2. Pyramid Of The Moon – 7.1
3. Blind For All To See – 6.7
4. The Architect – 8.0
5. Science Of Anger – 8.6

Overall=7.64