Megadeth – Cryptic Writings

Capitol

1997

On June 17, 1997, Megadeth released their seventh studio album entitled Cryptic Writings. The record was recorded at The Tracking Room in Nashville Tennessee with pop maestro Dann Huff producing and Mustaine co – producing. After the continued commercial success of Youthaniasia, a success which at least in part was due to the stylistic changes embraced by the band on Countdown to Extinction, Cryptic Writings would follow much of the same formula, a kind of commercial rock/metal sound but this time much more refined, verging into almost pop territory and with actual singles being written in mind of achieving that elusive No.1 spot for vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine as Mustaine himself writes in his 2010 autobiography: “I knew when we left for Nashville changes would be made and that as co producer I would be expected to nudge Megadeth in a direction it had never traveled before. I went there anyway… because I wanted a number one hit, I wanted what Metallica had, even if it meant sealing a piece of my soul to the devil… for better or worse, Cryptic Writings was positioned from the outset as a record that would feature at least a few melodic, pop friendly songs”. Cryptic Writings, then, would prove to be part one of a fascinating two album experiment into the fusion of rock and pop. With varying results. However unlike Risk, the follow up to Cryptic Writings released in 1999, Cryptic is not an awful record. Granted there are some filler and misjudged moments, as we will see later, but on the whole I feel that the album is one of Megadeth’s best latter career releases, somewhat unfairly brushed under the carpet and forgotten about.

Cryptic Writings kicks things off with “Trust” an unabashed pop/metal ballad. Beginning with an excellent tribal tom-tom introduction from the late great Nick Menza before being joined in unison by angular metal riffs with a melodic vocal line from Mustaine, before then leading to an interesting Spanish guitar middle section, the track is fairly inoffensive and not entirely bad. It must have been so unusual for old – school fans in 1997 to hear Megadeth recorded a track like this though; sure Countdown and Youth had their fair share of commercial melody, but really nothing as blatant as “Trust”. Nevertheless the track is memorable for that very reason. Next up is “Almost Honest,” another breakup song. Yikes. The track begins with another angular metal riff anchored by David Ellefson’s bass riff throughout. This tune is impossibly catchy and it’s this strange mix of metal riffing and pop sensibilities that permeates throughout much of Cryptic Writings. The lyrics are pretty overwrought and incredibly clichéd much like on “Trust” and it’s clear that on this record we are not going to get the biting political commentary usually associated with the band, yet the music is still excellent and well written.

“Use the Man” follows and it’s a genuinely interesting track; an introspective, maudlin tune the type, perhaps, more usually associated with the grunge bands of the nineties. It’s also nice to hear Mustaine, often a competent rather than outstanding vocalist, challenge himself vocally on this track and for the most part he does a decent job. Musically, the track is a kind of cracked country rock/metal hybrid and is one of the highlights of the record. “Mastermind” follows and it is a fun metal track, featuring a furious bass riff from Ellefson at the beginning before transiting into a gloriously over the top, paranoid and deranged metal tune. After the relative doom and gloom of the previous three track, it’s nice to hear a somewhat old school metal song which harkens back to the day of NWOBHM. Speaking of which, it’s been a while since we had a bit of thrash and we get it with the next track “The Disintegrators”. While only half as innovative as anything recorded on Megadeth’s first four albums, that’s really not the point here; the track is a friendly reminder to the listener that Megadeth can still thrash if they want too, but this is not quite the album for that. The track was clearly written for the live setting with a suitably fast thrash riff and drums and a memorable guitar solo and features apocalyptic lyrics like: “The slayer’s arrived on a black horse of steel, trouble is coming, hell on two wheels”. The track is a fun thrash tune and a memorably catchy one at that.

Things get a bit more somber with the next track “I’ll Get Even”. The track begins with an excellent atmospheric syncopated guitar/bass riff before leading into yet another catchy chorus and lyrically, Mustaine sings of getting revenge on someone… or a particular former band. In any event, the music is memorable and utterly unlike anything the band had recorded before this record and again it is another highlight for this very reason. Next up is “Sin” a straight up rock/metal track with a catchy melodic hook anchored by a satisfying heavy main riff before some guitar trickery courtesy of Mustaine during the song’s middle section. “Sin” is something of an underrated tune and doesn’t outstay its welcome.

The excellent “A Secret Place” follows and it is on this track that the metal/pop formula fully works to great effect. On this track there is just the right amount of everything; atmospheric guitars featuring a memorable solo, melody and pop hooks. It’s far far from being my favorite Megadeth track, however if Mustaine was seeking to write hit records around this time, he and the band pretty much nailed it with this track because this is a song which, for this era of the band, is extremely well written, when-either you consider that a good thing or not is another matter entirely. Sadly the next track, the intriguingly titled “Have Cool, Will Travel” is awful. Mustaine over extends his voice so much in the beginning of this song that I have never listened the whole thing from start to finish, it’s just too painful. The track is utterly redundant and offers absolutely nothing to the listener save for a mildly humable chorus and plods along at a dull pace. Fortunately the excellent “She Wolf” is next, an unashamed straight up metal tune, with memorable lyrics: (The mother of all that is evil, her lips are poisonous venom”) and featuring a cold, razor-sharp riff from Mustaine before leading into a memorable chorus section and more guitar trickery in the songs ending section. “She Wolf” would go on to become something of a fan favorite and has been played many times live as a result.

“Vortex” is next and it’s a fairly so-so track. Almost more alternative metal than anything else on the record, “Vortex” is not a bad track per se and has some good ideas, namely the chorus section, but the track suffers from an awkward time change after the first chorus which makes the song feel disjointed as a result and more a collection of ideas than a cohesive track. Cryptic Writings ends with “FFF” a kind of semi thrash tune and not a particularly good one. “FFF” feels utterly like an after thought, tacked onto the end of an otherwise enjoyable record. The song feels completely dialed in by the band and is lackluster as a result and not even a frantic guitar solo can redeem it.

Cryptic Writings was met with mixed reviews at the time of its release and didn’t chart well over seas but did go gold in America and Canada. However, Cryptic Writings is still an enjoyable record even to this day. There are some classic Megadeth tunes on this album, namely “She Wolf”, “Almost Honest” and “The Disintegrators” and the production has held up very well for an album that is over twenty years old. I consider the record to be the last truly great Megadeth album. I know many fans will disagree with that statement and point to 2007’s United Abominations and 2009’s Endgame as counter points and examples of the band returning to form but I personally find the recorded output after Cryptic Writings to be soulless, granted some decent material in places, but ultimately lacking. Cryptic Writings would of course be the last Megadeth record with Nick Menza who sadly passed away in 2016 and indeed, this would be the last record from the “classic” line up of Megadeth and in my opinion the best. Overall though, Cryptic Writings is one of the better albums to come from the Big 4 of Thrash during the nineties, which was a decade of confusion for musical acts in that genre. It built upon the blueprint laid out by Youthansia and moved the bands soundscape more into the commercial mainstream, eventually collapsing upon itself with Risk two years later. Ughhh. Risk. If it’s a thing that you never got round to listening to Cryptic Writings back in the day do check it out or if you are a new fan looking to get into the band, you would do worse (Risk) then to start off your interest with this record. Then go off and quickly listen to Rust in Peace.

Works Cited:

Joe Layden with Dave Mustaine, Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memior, Harper Collins, London, 2010.