Kill or Be Killed (song)
| 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 | 10th July 2022 |
| Recorded | 2021 |
| Writer/composer | Matthew Bellamy |
| Producer | Muse, Aleks Von Korff |
| Chart position | |
| Song Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| You Make Me Feel Like It's Halloween | < | Kill or Be Killed | > | Verona |
| Album Nav | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simulation Theory (2018) | < | Will of the People (2022) | > | |
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 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.
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]
This is the only song on Will of the People to be both co-produced and mixed by Aleks Von Korff.
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, 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 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. In classic prog-Muse fashion, the song's BPM changes ever so slightly with each section.
On July 13th, 2022, after the end of the summer festivals tour, it was announced by Muse that Kill or Be Killed's studio version would be released on July 21st. It is unknown whether the song will be released as a single or just as a promotional song for the album. The preview of the studio version can be heard on TikTok or Reddit.
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 when we're dead
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