In 1985, Combat Records gave the band $8,000 to record and produce their debut album. After spending $4,000 of the budget on drugs, alcohol, and food, the band fired the original producer and finished the recording themselves.
Despite its low-fidelity sound, Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! was relatively successful in underground metal circles and attracted major-label interest. Music writer Joel McIver praised its "blistering technicality" and stated that the album "raised the bar for the whole thrash metal scene, with guitarists forced to perform even more accurately and powerfully." The front cover marked the debut of band mascot Vic Rattlehead, who regularly appeared on subsequent album artwork.
Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! features "Mechanix", a song Mustaine wrote during his time with Metallica. Though Mustaine told the band after his dismissal not to use the music he had written, Metallica recorded a different version of the song; "The Four Horsemen," with a slower tempo and a melodic middle section. The album also included a cover of Nancy Sinatra's "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'," at a faster tempo and with altered lyrics. Megadeth's version generated controversy during the 1990s, when its writer, Lee Hazlewood, called Mustaine's changes "vile and offensive." Under threat of legal action, the song was removed from pressings released from 1995 to 2001.
What happened on this day in Heavy Metal history. This Day In Metal provides a comprehensive overview of the latest news, interviews, album reviews, and features within the metal music scene.
