Mechanix

"Mechanix" redirects here. For other uses, see Mechanix (disambiguation).

"Mechanix"
Song

"Mechanix"
Song

"The Mechanix" is a song performed by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Dave Mustaine originally wrote the song for Metallica, and brought it with him to Megadeth. He was later kicked out of the band right before they recorded their debut album, Kill 'Em All. The remaining members of Metallica then changed the lyrics and added a new bridge section as well as a new, melodic guitar solo, and released it on the album, retitling it "The Four Horsemen". Mustaine was still given credit for the song, although Mustaine claims he asked the band not to use his material, a charge Metallica disputes. [1] The new lyrics refer to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse.

Mustaine formed Megadeth and released the song with its original lyrics a year later on Megadeth's debut album, Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! The lyrics, which are about a gas station attendent who is sexually attracted to one of his customers, use several different automotive phrases and terms as sexual innuendo. This is the way the song was originally written (as can be heard on the early Metallica demo, No Life 'Til Leather), and lacks the bridge added to "The Four Horsemen." Megadeth's "Mechanix" also has a much faster tempo than "The Four Horsemen", being at approximately 276 beats per minute.

Later, after forming Megadeth, Mustaine would sometimes perform the song in concert, differentiating between "their (Metallica's) way" (referring to "The Four Horsemen") and "our way" of playing the song. The line goes: "There are two ways you can hear this next song. There's our way and there's their way. For those of you who think this is their way, the song is called The Mechanix. This can be heard on the Rude Awakening CD and DVD. In some concerts in 2009, Mustaine changed the line to "If there's one thing I want you to take with you tonight, it is that this song is not "The Four Horsemen", this is "The Mechanix".

In the original version of the song, Mustaine screams "Fuck yeah!" at 3:07; however, on the Greatest Hits: Back to the Start, this was cut out.

The different versions of the song are as follows:

• The Mechanix - Metallica - No Life 'Til Leather - 1982
• The Four Horsemen - Metallica - Kill 'Em All - 1983
• Mechanix - Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good! - 1985 (re-released 2002)

Of late, Megadeth has started incorporated the song into others such as "Holy Wars...The Punishment Due" and "Peace Sells". The band plays the song to a key section, changes and plays "The Mechanix" and then finishes the original song.