M EGADET H
Album Review

Cryptic Writings
Guitar World Magazine
July, 1997

IF YOU FELT a bit let down by Megadeth's last offering, the tepid Youthanasia, you'll be glad to hear that Dave Mustaine and Company are back on track on their eighth album. In a funny way, they've gotten there by improving on the Youthanasia formula, toning down the intense, intricate instrumental forays that characterize earlier Megadeth albums, and the focus is on catchy vocal hooks over killer riffs -- though there's plenty of them on Cryptic Writings. The bottom line is, the songs are simply better.

Mustaine's vocals also exhibit a wider range of emotions, and while he's still growling mad on tracks like "I'll Get Even," and "FFF," he manages a tone of wistful vulnerability on "Trust" and "Almost Honest" (both of which deal with the issue of love gone bad)

This might all be too much for diehard Megadeth fans, but Cryptic Writings succeeds because of the wise mix between the thrash and the staight-up metal. No matter the style, every song on this album rocks. A few are granted instant inclusion into the Megadeth Hall of Fame: "She Wolf," a high-octane, speaker-melting thrasher; "Mastermind," a big mangy thing that will beat the shit out of you; and "The Disintegration," which speaks for itself. As for the guitars: While Mustaine and Marty Friedman are still metal's hottest tag-team, more solo time would have been appreciated. Still, if you said the writing was on the wall for Megadeth after their last album, those writings, it turns out, were more cryptic than you realized. --MORDECHAI KLEIDERMACHER


Last updated: July / 4 /1997

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