“My hand got totally trashed. I looked down and could see the bone of my pointer finger. I lost the ability to bend it”: An accident defined Chris Poland’s playing, but it didn’t stop him handling the high demands of Megadeth’s debut

Chris Poland plays a black BC Rich onstage [left] and goes head-to-head with Dave Mustaine, who plays a black Jackson King V.

Calling Megadeth’s debut, 1985’s Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!, a “landmark” album isn’t hyperbole – it’s a fact. It’s a lynchpin of trash metal – and it served as a proper picking of oneself up off the deck for Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine, who had been fired from Metallica in 1983.

The story of the Metallica-related chip on Mustaine’s shoulder has been beaten like a dead horse. But former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland sees it a bit differently.