“Kill Or Be Killed” by Muse
“Kill Or Be Killed” is a song which, by design, is meant to speak to the less-than-ideal state of the world we currently live in. The coronavirus pandemic was such that it of course inspired a number of tracks by popular musicians. But even after that particular issue seemingly passed for the most part, still, a number of other, shall we say global-scale problems have also materialized, such that by this point there doesn’t seem to be any foreseeable end to them in sight.
And such a notion serves as the premise of this piece, why the vocalist feels that he and others are in a “kill or be killed” type of situation. Or as he interestingly puts it, the world has degenerated to a state where being “bad” is rewarded over being “good”.
With all of the above in mind, Matt Bellamy has also implied that this song is supposed to possess a sort of revolutionary slant to it. If so, that sentiment doesn’t really come through in the lyrics. Instead, as presented, the vocalist is more along the lines of someone who has given in to the evil and misfortune which surrounds him and is more or less espousing others to do the same. But it isn’t because he personally is a bad person. Instead, the vocalist is obviously demoralized, and it’s as if by this point he doesn’t see any other way to conduct one’s self.
Release of “Kill Or Be Killed”
This track was officially released on 21 July 2022. Muse, the rock band from England, debuted it in Germany, as part of their Will of the People World Tour, a couple of months earlier. And the reason the band opted to make this one of their singles from their “Will of the People” album is because of how well concertgoers have responded to “Kill or Be Killed”.
The other singles that appear on this album include:
Credits
This song, which was written by Muse frontman Matt Bellamy, is a product of Warner Records. To note, Bellamy has revealed that the track was inspired by a piece Paul McCartney (and Wings) dropped in 1973 called “Live and Let Die”. And the entire Muse crew produced “Kill or Be Killed” alongside Aleks von Korff.
The McCartney song in question centers on how the challenges of life can transform people into inhumane beasts for the sole sake of survival.
