Megadeth - Cryptic Writings review
| Band: | Megadeth |
| Album: | Cryptic Writings |
| Style: | Hard rock, Heavy metal |
| Release date: | May 1997 |
01. Trust
02. Almost Honest
03. Use The Man
04. Mastermind
05. The Disintegrators
06. I'll Get Even
07. Sin
08. A Secret Place
09. Have Cool, Will Travel
10. She-Wolf
11. Vortex
12. FFF
13. One Thing [Japanese bonus]
[2004 re-release bonus tracks]
14. Trust [spanish version]
15. Evil That's Within
16. Vortex [alternate version]
17. Bullpick
This album seems to separate the two sounds of Megadeth in the 90's, with the radio rock and thrash sounds being confined to their own songs rather than Megadeth trying to mix (or abandon one of) the two. This makes for an album that shifts gears every once in a while, with thrash tracks punctuating the more radio-oriented efforts. It also ends up with an album of two halves being merged together, rather than creating one strong whole.
The radio rock songs peak early, with "Trust" and "Almost Honest" being the highlights, two strong songs that deserve their place among Megadeth classics. The rest? Well, they run the gauntlet of cheesy weirdness in "Mastermind" before mostly settling in as middle-of-the-road songs with exotic elements thrown in that don't do much either way, with "Sin" and "I'll Get Even" serving as good examples of this. Sure, having a sitar and samples among other things thrown in does make a song that bit different, but it doesn't elevate the song on its own. This is a common theme throughout the record, with weird effects scattered throughout the album that, whilst serving to make the songs sound more unique, offer nothing to elevate them.
The thrash songs? Well, they're the better half of the album, but are hampered by having the same production job as the radio rock tracks, which ends up blunting these songs quite a bit. The production is perfect for half of the songs, but holds back the others. "Disintegrators" sounds like it's ready to fly off the handle, but the production just means that it ticks over, not reaching that next level that it sounds like it could. The exception to this is "She-Wolf", which managed to rise above with its excellent guitar work to rightfully become a staple to this day.
The end result is a polarizing album; if you like one side of Megadeth you'll enjoy a few tracks but dislike the rest and vice versa, whilst if you like both sides of Megadeth, then prepare for some average material.
Rating breakdown
| Performance: | 9 |
| Songwriting: | 6 |
| Originality: | 7 |
| Production: | 6 |
Written by omne metallum | 07.04.2020
Guest review disclaimer:
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
This is a guest review, which means it does not necessarily represent the point of view of the MS Staff.
Rating:
8.0
8.0
|
Rating: 8.0 |
1997 was the year of the renewal for Megadeth. Dave Mustaine and his three mates came back after three fabulous albums. Yet it must be said that since 1994 and Youthanasia, there had been a period of scarcity. So Megadeth hired a new producer , Dan Huff, a strange choice, for he was mainly known for his work in country-music. At the first listening, the word renewal seems wrong, while summary sounds righter. Cryptic Writings is actually the album of maturity. Read more ›› |
Comments
Comments: 3
Visited by: 41 users
| Bad English Tage Westerlund Posts: 61012  |
Nice and good way that this album sucks. I like a way say radio songs, those 2 are.
---- I stand whit Ukraine and Israel. They have right to defend own citizens. Stormtroopers of Death - ''Speak English or Die''  apos;'[image] I better die, because I never will learn speek english, so I choose dieing
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| Interrobang Chief Sturgeon Posts: 26  |
Good review. Love the first couple of tracks, but rarely make it to the end of the album.
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| sgtrobo Posts: 577  |
Eh, that's a bit harsh overall I think. I'd still give it a 7.5 or so
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