{{Infobox song | name = I'll Kill You | cover = X I'll Kill You.jpg | alt = | caption = Cover of the 1985 single | type = single | artist = X | album = | released = June 1985 | format = | recorded = | studio = Sound Market | venue = | genre = Speed metal | length = 7:34 | label = Dada | writer = Yoshiki Hayashi | producer = X and Nobukatsu Hayashi | prev_title = | prev_year = | next_title = Orgasm | next_year = 1986 }}
"'''I'll Kill You'''" is a song by Japanese heavy metal band X, written by Yoshiki Hayashi. It is the first song Yoshiki wrote after forming the band in 1982 and has been recorded by them several times, the first of which was distributed as a demo cassette tape in February 1985. Later that year, it was recorded again and released as the band's first 7-inch single in June 1985 by Dada Records. The song was later recorded for X's first album, ''Vanishing Vision'' (1988).
==Overview== "I'll Kill You" is the first song that drummer and bandleader Yoshiki wrote for X after forming the band in 1982 with vocalist Toshi in order to play heavier music with two lead guitarists.<ref name="YoshikiBook">{{cite book|last=Komatsu|first=Narumi|year=2009|title=Yoshiki/Yoshiki|script-title=ja:YOSHIKI/佳樹|publisher=Kadokawa Shoten|language=ja|pages=116–118, 141, 149|isbn=978-4-04-883687-6}}</ref> He first wrote the lyrics in Japanese before translating them into English, asking the smartest students in his high school to help with any difficult parts.<ref name="YoshikiBook"/> After reading them over, Yoshiki realized they were directed at himself.<ref name="YoshikiBook"/>
"I'll Kill You" was first recorded by X in February 1985 as part of a three-track demo cassette tape.<ref name="YoshikiBook"/> The tape was handed out by the band to earn bookings at live venues in Tokyo.<ref name="YoshikiBook"/> After a few months of performing concerts, X was contacted by the independent record label Dada Records about releasing a record.<ref name="YoshikiBook"/> "I'll Kill You" was recorded again and released as a 7-inch single in June 1985.<ref name="YoshikiBook"/> All 1,000 copies of the record sold out in a few days.<ref name="YoshikiBook"/><ref name="JRREarly">{{cite web|title=Indies eXplosion: The Early History of X JAPAN |work=JRock Revolution |url=http://jrockrevolution.com/2007/10/webzine/indies-explosion-the-early-history-of-x-japan-30 |date=2007-10-29 |access-date=2013-03-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150701191249/http://jrockrevolution.com/2007/10/webzine/indies-explosion-the-early-history-of-x-japan-30 |archive-date=2015-07-01 }}</ref> The cover art notoriously features numerous photographs of dead bodies taken during the Vietnam War.
"I'll Kill You" was recorded a third time for inclusion on the band's first album, ''Vanishing Vision'' (1988). Discussing the 1988 version, Yoshiki claimed that the song is not about killing people as the title would suggest, but is a love song in the vein of a disgruntled married couple.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Kawamoto |first=Hirotake |date=June 1988 |title=Track by track analysis of ''Vanishing Vision'' by X |journal=Rockin'f}}</ref>
A different recording of the 1985 single's B-side, "Break the Darkness", was included on the sampler ''Heavy Metal Force III'' in November 1985.<ref>{{cite web| title = HEAVY METAL FORCE III| work = Amazon.co.jp| url = https://www.amazon.co.jp/HEAVY-METAL-FORCE-III-V-A/dp/B00005JYUQ| access-date = 2013-05-22}}</ref><ref name="reminder">{{cite web|title=80年代ジャパメタの既成概念を打ち壊した「Ｘ」の軌跡と奇蹟|url=https://reminder.top/436044991/|work=Re:minder|language=Japanese|date=2021-03-22 |accessdate=2026-05-07}}</ref>
==Reception== Kazuaki Nakatsuka of ''Re:minder'' described "I'll Kill You" as a metal track infused with punk sensibilities, "driven by a straightforward, relentless onslaught of speed."<ref name="reminder"/>
"I'll Kill You" was covered by French symphonic black metal band Anorexia Nervosa as a bonus track for the Japanese edition of their 2004 album ''Redemption Process'' and later included on their 2005 ''The September E.P.'' as well.<ref name="Redemption Process">{{cite web| title = リデンプション・プロセス| work = Amazon.co.jp| url = https://www.amazon.co.jp/リデンプション・プロセス-アノレクシア・ネルヴォサ/dp/B0002YD5AQ/ref=sr_1_3?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1321294590&sr=1-3| access-date = 2011-11-13}}</ref><ref name="September">{{cite web| title = September E.P.| work = Amazon.co.jp| url = https://www.amazon.co.jp/September-E-P-Anorexia-Nervosa/dp/B003O5MOQ6/ref=ntt_mus_dp_dpt_4| access-date = 2013-03-17}}</ref> It was covered by Volcano for their 2018 cover album ''Irregular''.<ref>{{cite web| title = 「速弾くためなら鬼となる…」ボルケーノ初のカヴァー・アルバム『IRREGULAR』を屍忌蛇がユルく解説| work = Young Guitar Magazine| url = https://youngguitar.jp/interviews/she-ja-volcano-irregular/3| access-date =2025-08-17}}</ref>
==Track listing==
{{Tracklist | headline = Side A | title1 = I'll Kill You | writer1 = Yoshiki Hayashi | length1 = 3:21 }} {{tracklist | headline = Side B | title1 = Break the Darkness | writer1 = Yoshiki Hayashi | length1 = 4:13 }}
==Personnel== According to the 1985 single by Dada Records:<ref name="liner_notes">"I'll Kill You" liner notes, 1985-06. Retrieved 2011-11-14.</ref>
'''X''' * Toshimitsu "Toshi" Deyama – vocals * Yoshiki Hayashi – drums * Atsushi Tokuo – bass guitar * Yuji "Terry" Izumisawa – guitar * Tomoyuki "Tomo" Ogata – guitar
'''Production staff''' * Photo – Kazuyoshi Mori * Design – Atsushi Tokuo * Engineer – Mr. Ohzeki * Sleeve Design – Nobukatsu Hayashi
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{X Japan}} {{authority control}}
Category:X Japan songs Category:Songs written by Yoshiki (musician) Category:English-language Japanese songs Category:1985 debut singles Category:1982 songs