"Killing Is My Business..." is divided into two distinct musical sections: a mid-tempo heavy section, and a fast tempoed, thrash section.[3][4] The song alternates between the two during its three minute runtime.[4] The song is in the key of C#, and has swing styled drums.[5] The vocals are double tracked, with the two tracks having an octave difference in pitch.[3][6]
The lyrics for the track were inspired by The Punisher comic book.[7][8][9]Holy Wars... The Punishment Due would later continue the story of this song.[7] The song tells the story of an assassin who completes a job, and then kills the man who hired him.[6]
Controversy
The song caused media controversy when a man named David J. Lefever posted an online request to a radio station to play the tune, saying "Watch the national new (sic) tomorrow I am going to go a shooting spree in Appleton WI," and that the song was "good music to go postal and kill a bunce (sic) of people to".[10][11] The DJ's who were operating the station immediately contacted the police.[12] Lefever was quickly apprehended and arrested due to the threat of a shooting spree.[9][10][12]
Personnel
Production and performance credits are adapted from the album liner notes except where noted.[13]
^ ab"Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good!". Face Off Rock Show. June 11, 2022. Retrieved December 8, 2022. The album's theme song tells the story of a hired killer (why not?) And was influenced by the comic book series "The Punisher". This song managed to create problems for the band from the beginning, when a listener of a radio station asked to listen to the song and stated that it was "good music to freak out with and kill some people ...". The man was later arrested for questioning, because the police feared he would carry out a mass shooting incident.
