Megadeth Vic Skull Chains Cyber Army

Scorpion Q+A 152

Question

Hey scorpion, I am a 13 year old Metal psycho, and was browsing the scorpion archives, and saw that THE ORIGIN OF VIC was never answered.
So tell me, what is the origin of vic, and Why did megadeth choose him as their mascot?

Also: Who would win in a fight?
Iron maiden's Eddie
Megadeth's Vic
Children of bodom's Grim reaper

(in) Formally,
Corpsekiller

Answer

Both Daves explain Vic's origin and the song "The Skull Beneath The Skin" in the 2002 remastered Killing Is My Business liner notes.

Mustaine: I saw a cover of a book in a store once and the title was The Skull Beneath The Skin. I designed our mascot around a few religious and pagan symbols, and the lyrics describe someone being sacrificed in a ritual. This is how our mascot became Vic Rattlehead. The guitar riffing is very progressive to reflect the darkness of the song and it's content.

Ellefson: The title and lyrics are the quintessential description of the formation of our mascot Vic Rattlehead. Because of this description we felt it was imperative that the cover art remain true to our original wishes on this new release. Read them now and you will understand our disappointment with the Combat (Records) cover art as it made these lyrics seem almost pointless.

As to which mascot would win in a fight, the Scorpion is a bit too biased on the subject to say!

Here are the lyrics to Vic's song, "The Skull Beneath The Skin".

Mean and infectious the evil prophets rise
Dance of the Macabre as witches streak the sky
Decadent worship of black magic sorcery
In the womb of the Devil's Dungeon trapped without a plea

See thing in agony necrosis is the fate
Pins sticking through the skin the venom now sedates
Locked in a pillory nowhere to be found
Screaming for your life but no one hears a sound
Help Me!

Prepare the patients scalp to peel away
Metal caps his ears he'll hear not what we say
Solid steel visor riveted cross his eyes
Iron staples close his jaws so no one hears his cries

The skull beneath the skin

Now your drawn and quartered your bones will make the x
Symbol stands for poison and it's chained to your head
And as we fold your arms to make the holy cross
We cross the crucifix religion has been lost

The skull beneath the skin

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