Megadeth Cryptic Writings CD

Additional Tracks

Megadeth: Nick Menza (background vocals); Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson, Marty Friedman.
Personnel: Dave Mustaine (vocals, guitar); Marty Friedman (guitar, acoustic guitar, background vocals); David Ellefson (bass guitar, background vocals); Nick Menza (drums).
Audio Mixers: Dave Mustaine; Jeff Balding; Ralph Patlan.
Liner Note Author: Dave Mustaine.
Recording information: The Castle, Franklin, TN; The Tracking Room, Nashville, TN.
Editors: Lance Dean; Scott Harrison; Keith Schreiner.
Illustrator: Hugh Syme.
Photographers: Annamaria DiSanto; Dimo Safari; Neil Zlozower.
With Youthanasia, Dave Mustaine began moving Megadeth away from its thrash roots, incorporating synthesizers into their sound and writing subtle, textured songs. Cryptic Writings continues this evolution, which unfortunately reads better than it plays. Megadeth doesn't quite have the skill or imagination to craft such ambitious material; they sound better playing thrash, which they only occasionally do on Cryptic Writings. Essentially, the band sounds tired and listless instead of reflective, especially since the production is so slick. It's admirable that the group is attempting to move forward, but the music simply doesn't resonate. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
While Metallica was busy climbing to the top of the thrash-metal heap, Dave Mustaine and Megadeth were quietly carving out a niche for themselves, distinguished by intelligent songwriting and a progressive approach that avoids erratic genre-jumping. Mustaine's breadth of song subjects continues to expand on CRYPTIC WRITINGS, with topics ranging from stalkers ("I'll Get Even") and drug addiction ("Use The Man") to Armageddon wrapped in a cloak of punk anarchy ("The Disintegrators")
Some of CRYPTIC WRITINGS' cooler touches include the electric sitar on "A Secret Place" and the acoustic guitar, mellotron and synths on the multi-part opening track "Trust". Throughout the album, guitarist Marty Friedman displays the exponential growth his playing has undergone since his days with Cacophany. His impressive sense of rhythm comes to the fore on "Almost Honest" and "Have Cool, Will Travel."
The remixed and remastered Megadeth albums released in 2004 aren't your typical cash-ins. They're stark improvements over the originals: group leader Dave Mustaine did the remixing and remastering himself, making especially significant revisions to the earlier albums, and he includes insightful liner notes for each reissue, including track-by-track commentary for the bonus tracks, as well as lyrics and period photos. Like the other post-Rust in Peace albums, Cryptic Writings didn't get much of a makeover for its reissue. Recorded in 1997, long after Megadeth had broken into the metal mainstream, the album sounded mighty fine to begin with. The only substantial bonuses here are Mustaine's reflective liner notes and a quartet of bonus tracks: a Spanish-language version of "Trust," an alternate version of "Vortex," and a pair of unreleased tracks. These bonuses aren't substantial enough to warrant a second purchase of this album -- if you already own it, that is. If you don't already own this one, you're not missing too much. Granted, Cryptic Warnings is a fine album. The songs are well written, the musicianship is impressive, and the music itself is quite moody and atmospheric, much like that of its predecessor, Youthanasia. There are also a few really good songs here, most notably the opener, "Trust." All of those merits aside, the same problem plagues Cryptic Writings that had plagued most every other Megadeth album that followed Rust in Peace: longtime fans -- or at least those who remained on board at this point -- simply didn't like it. Yes, that's unfair perhaps, but that's just the nature of rock, and metal in particular -- few bands last beyond a few albums, and those that do, like AC/DC, do so because they don't change what won them fans in the first place. Megadeth cleaRolling Stone (8/7/97, p.64) - 3.5 Stars (out of 5) - "...a snarling brew of nasal yowls, crunchy riffs and speed-of-light guitar solos that would paralyze Yngwie Malmsteen....Megadeth wrap their bundles of spite with enough melody to keep the grooves memorable..."