MEGADETH - Killing Is My Business 12" Vinyl Picture Disc

Musicians:

• Dave Mustaine
• Dave Mustaine – Vocals, Guitars

  Thrash metal’s original grudge match: one guy, one guitar, and enough spite to power Los Angeles for decades.  Read more...

  Dave Mustaine is the razor-edged singer-guitarist who turned getting fired into a lifelong fuel source. To my ears, the story starts in Panic (late 1970s–1981), where those early riffs already sounded like trouble with a pick. From 1981–1983 he was Metallica’s original lead guitarist and co-writer, shaping key early songs before his April 11, 1983 dismissal. Back in Los Angeles he formed Megadeth in 1983 and has fronted it ever since, steering speed, spite, and precision through decades. Side quests like MD.45 (1996) just prove the volume never really drops.

  Dave Mustaine Wiki
• Chris Poland
• Chris Poland – Guitarist

  He snuck jazz-fusion phrasing into thrash, then escaped back into heavy fusion with a grin. Read more...

  Chris Poland is the guitarist who smuggled jazz-fusion grease into early thrash and made it sound like trouble with manners. Before Megadeth, he bounced through Welkin and The New Yorkers (late 1970s–early 1980s), sharpening that slippery legato. I first clocked him in Megadeth (1984–1987), cutting through "Killing Is My Business..." (1985) and "Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?" (1986) with off-angle phrasing and nasty little harmonies. After the split he went progressive with Damn the Machine (1991–1994), then detoured into Mumbo's Brain (1995–1996). He popped back in 2004 as a session ace on Megadeth's "The System Has Failed". Since 2002 he’s kept the fuse lit in OHM and OHMphrey, stretching riffs like elastic and letting the notes argue.

  Chris Poland Wiki
• David Ellefson
• Dave Ellefson – Bass guitarist

  He’s the low-end rivet gun behind Megadeth’s sharpest turns. Read more...

  Dave Ellefson is the bass guitarist who gave Megadeth its steel spine while I watched thrash grow fangs. From 1983–2002, then again 2010–2021, he locked in with Mustaine like a rivet gun—tight, fast, no wobble—and he’s the only other guy who rode every album and tour from 1985 until the band imploded. I hear his pocket in the "Peace Sells" years and the clipped precision of the "Rust in Peace" lineup. Early on he played fingerstyle, later leaning on a pick for that crisp attack. After 2002 he formed F5 (2003–2013), did outside sessions, and in the 2020s jumped into The Lucid (2020–present) and launched Dieth (2022). It’s musical architecture with a street-fight grin.

  Dave Ellefson Wiki
• Gar Samuelson
• Gar Samuelson – Drummer

  He played thrash like a jazz guy who’d just discovered speed and bad decisions. Read more...

  Gar Samuelson (full-name: Gary Charles Samuelson) is the drummer who injected swing, ghost notes, and real feel into early Megadeth when most thrash kits sounded like someone falling down stairs on purpose. I first clocked him coming out of The New Yorkers with Chris Poland (late 1970s–early 1980s), then landing in Megadeth (1984–1987) and turning "Killing Is My Business..." (1985) into something sharper than speed: it breathed. On "Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?" (1986) he played fast without going stiff, accenting like a jazz cat in a leather jacket. After he left, he worked with The New Yorkers again and did sessions through the late 1980s. His legacy isn’t just the beats—it’s the idea that thrash could groove and still hit like a hammer.

  Gar Samuelson Wiki

Tracklisting Side One:

1. Last Rites / Loved to Death
2. Killing is my Business... and business is good!
3. Skull Benath the skin
4. These Boots

Tracklisting Side Two:

1. Rattlehead
2. Chosen Ones
3. Looking down for the cross
4. Mechanix