Kill or Be Killed (song)

MuseWiki, wiki for the band Muse
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Muse song
Name Kill or Be Killed[1]
Album/single Will of the People (7)
Length 4:59[2]
Alternative titles
First live performance 4th June 2022
Latest live performance
Recorded 2021
Writer/composer Matthew Bellamy
Producer Muse, Aleks Von Korff
Chart position


Description

A heavy prog-metal and nu-metal-like song, with heavy use of synth arpeggios. The style of the song has been compared to Muse's output from the Origin of Symmetry, Absolution and Black Holes & Revelations eras, mixed with Drones. The song's title has been "officially" leaked on March 14th, 2022 via the JSON output from wontstanddown.muse.mu.

In a 2022 interview with Zane Lowe, Bellamy said that this track is "the best metal/prog track we've ever done, the best track that could've been on Drones.".[3] The metal-like song was further described in Warner Music's short album recap as having "industrial-tinged" and "granite heavy" guitar riffs.[4]

Additional Information

Kill or Be Killed features a distinct guitar riff during the intro and the verse, similar in style to bands like Limp Bizkit, Slipknot and Korn, while the drum beat is similar to that of New Born, with the snare hitting every beat. The tom-driven pre-chorus parts are similar in style to songs like Stockholm Syndrome, and Assassin's demo version, Debase Mason's Grog, while chorus parts feature a fast double kick drum beat. The song is also, at times, reminiscent of Blockades.

The song has a tapping guitar solo, which, like most of the song, also uses a Whammy pedal, sweeping up and down, and mimicks Matt playing sweeping arpeggios. The tapping solo is similar to other tapping solos in songs like Invincible and Reapers. What's also similar to the latter, is the siren, which appears during the bridge part, followed by a distorted scream, similar to the final "Won't Stand Down" scream in the song of the same name. The chord progression during the solo is similar to that of The Globalist's middle section, while the melody of the guitar during the break of the song, written in phrygian scale and B-minor, is reminiscent to that of Break It to Me's verses.

This is the only song on Will of the People to be both co-produced and mixed by Aleks Von Korff.

Live

The song was first performed live on June 4th, 2022. It is played by Matt on the same specially-tuned guitar as Won't Stand Down.

More here

Lyrics

Unofficial, transcribed from live performances

Kill or be killed

Crawling, I'm exhausted with fear Our love and compassion dissolve Demons have materialised in me Can't fight them, they're taking control

Tried, oh, I've tried, so hard to be good But the war rewards us with your blood

Fate It’s driving me insane It’s forcing me to face I must kill or be killed

Driven a stake right through my heart I'm growing so cold and detached

Tried, oh, I've tried, so hard to spread love But she prefers it when I assert control

Fate Has brought us here to face Our hopes and dreams erased Either kill or be killed

Either kill or be killed

Fate It’s driving me insane It’s forcing me to face I must kill or be killed

Kill or be killed

Kill or be killed

References