Kill or Be Killed (song)

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Muse song
Name Kill or Be Killed[1]
Album/single
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 song. The style of it has been compared to Muse's output from the Showbiz, 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. Released as a single by popular demand on July 21st, 2022.

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]

“‘Kill Or Be Killed’ is MUSE at their heaviest! We wanted to update our hard rock sound on this album and with KOBK we found a modern metal sound featuring double bass drum action and even a death growl. Lyrically the song takes influence from my favourite Paul McCartney song “Live And Let Die”, a dark take on how life’s adversity can sometimes bring out the worst human instincts to survival at any costs.” – Matt

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

On November 15th, 2022, it was announced by the Recording Academy that the song'd be nominated for a Grammy award in the "Best Metal Performance" category, going against Ghost's "Call Me Little Sunshine", Megadeth's "We'll Be Back", Ozzy Osbourne's "Degradation Rules" and Turnstile's "Blackout".[5]

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 guitar tone, including the Whammy, also bears resemblance to the likes of Rage Against the Machine. The intro blasts with Dom's thunderous tom fill and heavy guitar riffs, in which the riff was a pure reminiscent of Cave and The Handler with harsher and more aggressive sounds, 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 and also a bit harks back to The Small Print from the chorus part. The tapping solo is similar to other tapping solos in songs like Invincible and Reapers.

The lyrics might indicate a message to listener to adapt with the current hardships that is endured without knowing when it's going to stop and rather, face the problems to shape and matured the strong individual. Seemingly inspired by the pandemic situation where everyone should wear a masks and forced to quarantine themselves, and also revived the basic health protocol by washing hands or take a shower often before and after performing tasks for an unknown period in order to, ironically, "not to be killed".

In other aspects, it also can be interpreted as an uprising theme to fight back the oppressive rules, similar to that of Won't Stand Down, ignites the revolution fire to stand up on the ground to "kill" the abusive power instead of being torn by it. The song is probably influenced by amount of revolts that have happened and still ongoing almost entirely throughout the world, like Black Lives Matter riots, climate change awareness, and some of the revolutionary incident to bring down the corrupted & tyrannical government, which took a perspective from a rioters in the midst of chaos on finding the best option to survive, encountered with dark forces, and how to deal with the havoc despite the dangers inside the conflict.

Matt also added that, lyrically, it was inspired by Bellamy's favorite track from Paul McCartney's (specifically, his band's Wings') song "Live and Let Die". On the further note, he stated "We are at the heaviest moment, adding double pedals, monstrous guitar riffs and deathcore growls in this song". About the song meaning, he implied that this song is describing a human nature during the fallout and adversities, which exhibits the fiend side to survive by instinct and how not to be killed at all costs.

On July 13th, 2022, after the end of the summer festivals tour, it was announced by Muse that Kill or Be Killed would be released on July 21st. The audio of the song was available a day before the official release for those who preordered the album. The preview of the studio version can be heard on TikTok or Reddit.

Instrumentation

Apparently, the second, or perhaps even the heaviest and harshest track that Muse has produced over the past 27 years of their career. One of the most progressive tracks on the Will of the People, that took from tertiary form (A B A B C B A). As such, the song's BPM changes ever so slightly with each section. Additionally, this is the third song that incorporates double pedal kicks, after Dead Inside and Won't Stand Down, and is also the first song after many years to not cut out Matt's inhales.

Many elements of the best records of Muse were mixed together within, the intro was taken from Showbiz (Cave), the guitar had tuned into Origin of Symmetry distortion (Hyper Music, New Born), while the pre-chorus incorporated Absolution's intensity and the chorus section was combined with Black Holes and Revelation arpeggiated synthesizers and Absolution powerful operatic vocals with Drones industrial-based riff

The song's also known for its heavy use of the Whammy pedal. It is most obvious during the main riff, the solo and the post-solo chorus. In the tapping solo, the Whammy is going up and down, mimicking Matt playing sweeping arpeggios. 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. Like Reapers Kill or Be Killed features a siren sound effects, which appears during the intro and bridge parts. It also includes screaming whispers, similar to the final "Won't Stand Down" scream in the song of the same name.

As with most metal songs, the bass and guitar were, for most of the song, deliberately written and produced to have it feel as one instrument. Subsequently, all the low end and the grit during most of it comes from Chris himself. Specific inspirations for this included bands like Gojira, Messugah, TesseracT and Periphery.[6]

Music Video

The music video, released together with the studio version on July 21st, 2022, includes a compilation of footage of Muse performing live during the Will of the People Summer Festivals Tour. It's the first "live" music video in 10 years, since Follow Me and Resistance.

More on this page.

Feilsmann + Tiley Reinterpretation

Produced by German-British electronic duo, Feilsmann + Tiley, who are known for their song reinterpretations, the Feilsmann + Tiley Reinterpretation of Kill or Be Killed was released on digital platforms, on February 10th, 2023. The only element of the original track in the remix are the vocals. It's a complete opposite to the original song, being a much more laid-back and ambient-sounding track. Featuring 80s synths, it's reminiscent to songs like The Void and Verona.

The remix can be heard here.

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

Official lyrics as posted by Muse

Kill or be killed

Cornered, I’m exhausted with fear Our love and compassion dissolved And demons, have materialised in me Can’t fight them, they’re taking control And we’ve tried, oh we’ve tried so hard to be good But the world rewards us when we’re bad

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

Kill or be killed

They’ve driven a stake right through my heart I’m growing so cold and detached And I’ve 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

Yah, Yah Yah Yah, Yah Yahweh Yah Yahweh Yah Yah Yah Yah Yah Yah Ah Eh Yah Yah Yah Yah Yah Kill or be killed War Kill or be killed Yaaahhh Yah Yah Yah Yah Yah Yah Either kill or be killed

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

Live

The lyrics during the live version differ slightly from the studio version

Kill or be killed

Cornered, I'm exhausted with fear Our love and compassion dissolved 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 world, rewards us when we're bad

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

War

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

  1. ↑ https://wontstanddown.muse.mu/api/v1/catalogue/new/
  2. ↑ https://www.qobuz.com/nl-nl/album/will-of-the-people-muse/k02hnfrjhdxrc
  3. ↑ https://youtu.be/BiD9f59oo1w
  4. ↑ https://themusicuniverse.com/muse-announces-will-people/
  5. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/Ck_Z7sJg128/
  6. ↑ https://www.reddit.com/r/Muse/comments/w5qt1t/dont_get_me_wrong_kobk_is_an_absolute_banger_but/ihc83q3/?context=3
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