Cryptic Writings
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Cryptic Writings is the seventh studio album by heavy metal band Megadeth, released in June 1997, with a remixed and remastered version released in 2004. The album debuted at #10 on Billboard Top 200.
An EP with instrumental versions of five of the songs was released the following year.
Videos were made for the songs "Trust", "Almost Honest", and "A Secret Place".
"Use the Man" includes samples from the song "Needles and Pins" (which was the original name for the album) by The Searchers, although this was removed on the remaster.
Details
Continuing the trend from Youthanasia, Cryptic Writings features fewer songs critical of government and politics in favor of more personal songs. Megadeth's 1990s hard rock style also continues on this album. Some songs, however, recall the band's '80s thrash metal days, such as "The Disintegrators", "She-Wolf", "Vortex", and "FFF", while other songs, especially "I'll Get Even", demonstrate more creative styles. Even though this album is similar in style to Countdown to Extinction and Youthanasia, it is currently still the last Megadeth album to go platinum.
The first 500,000 copies of Cryptic Writings in the U.S. were released with silver background album cover. These releases also included a Vic Rattlehead collectable card which promoted " The Cryptic Writings Of Megadeth" 4- issue run by CHAOS! comics. The latter U.S. pressings features the same artwork with black background album cover. The black background album cover is also featured in the remasters.
Personal relationships and how deceit can make them crumble are explored in "Trust" and "Almost Honest." Social ills like drug use ("Use the Man") and school violence ("Have Cool, Will Travel") are also covered. While songs about specific government criticisms are not included, songs like "The Disintegrators" and "FFF (Fight for Freedom)" are abstract calls for revolution and rebellion. "She-Wolf" and "Vortex" are reminiscent of the dark fantasy and occult themes featured in older songs like "Five Magics", "Elysian Fields", and "Bad Omen".
Instrumentally, the band introduced a more melodic mix than the previous albums. For example, A Secret Place featured a sitar, which added a more dynamic aspect to the song.
Megadeth changed management after releasing Youthanasia, hiring ESP Management. According to the liner notes of the remastered version of Cryptic Writings, Dave Mustaine had to alter many lyrics after A&R director Bud Prager, of ESP, objected. The liner notes suggest Mustaine was not a fan of the changes, but other interviews say the band actively sought and accepted Prager's advice for the album. "I figured maybe this guy (Prager) could help me get that intangible Number One record I so badly wanted," Mustaine wrote in Cryptic Writings' liner notes.
Two bonus tracks from the remastered version, "Bullprick" and "Evil That's Within," were cut because Prager objected to their lyrics, according to the liner notes. The instrumentals of "Bullprick" formed the basis of "FFF," and "Evil That's Within" became "Sin".
This is the first and so far only album where Vic Rattlehead does not appear at all in any tangible form, save for a limited edition collectable card advertising the Megadeth comic distributed by Chaos! Comics, which shows Vic in Hell reading a scroll.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Trust" | Dave Mustaine | Mustaine, Friedman | 5:12 |
| 2. | "Almost Honest" | Mustaine | Mustaine, Friedman | 4:09 |
| 3. | "Use the Man" | Mustaine | Mustaine, Friedman | 4:04 |
| 4. | "Mastermind" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:48 |
| 5. | "The Disintegrators" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:05 |
| 6. | "I'll Get Even" | Mustaine, Friedman, David Ellefson, Brian Howe | Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson, Howe | 4:19 |
| 7. | "Sin" | Mustaine, Ellefson, Nick Menza | Mustaine, Ellefson, Menza | 3:06 |
| 8. | "A Secret Place" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 5:25 |
| 9. | "Have Cool, Will Travel" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:40 |
| 10. | "She-Wolf" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:38 |
| 11. | "Vortex" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:23 |
| 12. | "FFF" | Mustaine | Mustaine, Friedman, Ellefson, Menza | 2:47 |
2004 Bonus Tracks
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Trust" (Spanish version) | Mustaine | Mustaine, Friedman | 5:12 |
| 14. | "Evil That's Within" (alternate version of "Sin") | Mustaine, Ellefson, Menza | Mustaine, Ellefson, Menza | 3:22 |
| 15. | "Vortex" (alternate version) | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:30 |
| 16. | "Bullprick" (alternate version of "FFF") | Mustaine | Mustaine, Friedman, Menza, Ellefson | 2:47 |
Japan bonus track
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "One Thing" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 4:38 |
Personnel
- Dave Mustaine – guitar, vocals
- Marty Friedman – guitar
- David Ellefson – bass
- Nick Menza – drums
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | The Billboard 200 | 10 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Almost Honest" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 8 |
| 1997 | "Trust" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1 |
| 1998 | "Use the Man" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 15 |
| 1998 | "A Secret Place" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 19 |
Live Trax
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Live Trax is an EP by Megadeth released in 1998.
Track 1 was labeled only as "Reckoning Day", making "Peace Sells" a hidden track. Tracks 1-4 were recorded at the Mesa Amphitheatre, Mesa, Arizona, July 13th, 1997. Tracks 5-6 were recorded at the Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, February 25th, 1995.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Reckoning Day" "Peace Sells" (hidden track) | Dave Mustaine, David Ellefson Mustaine | Mustaine, Marty Friedman Mustaine | 8:19 |
| 2. | "Angry Again" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:26 |
| 3. | "Use the Man" | Mustaine | Mustaine, Friedman | 4:24 |
| 4. | "Tornado of Souls" | Mustaine, Ellefson | Mustaine | 5:52 |
| 5. | "A Tout le Monde" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 4:53 |
| 6. | "She-Wolf" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:42 |
Personnel
- Dave Mustaine - guitar
- Marty Friedman - guitar
- David Ellefson - bass guitar
- Nick Menza - drums
Live Trax II
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Live Trax II is an EP by Megadeth released in 1997. Live tracks were recorded at the Mesa Amphitheatre, Mesa, Arizona, July 13, 1997. It was only released in Japan and was sold as a Bonus Disk together with Cryptic Writings album in one package. Apart from live tracks Live Trax II features two previously unreleased remixes of "Almost Honest".
Track listing
- "Almost Honest (Live)" (Dave Mustaine, Marty Friedman)
- "A Tout le Monde (Live)" (Mustaine)
- "Sweating Bullets (Live)" (Mustaine)
- "Symphony of Destruction (Live)" (Mustaine)
- "Anarchy in the U.K. (Live)" (Johnny Rotten, Steve Jones, Glen Matlock, Paul Cook)
- "Almost Honest (Environmental Mix)" (Mustaine, Friedman)
- "Almost Honest (Supercharger Mix)" (Mustaine, Friedman)
Personnel
- Dave Mustaine - guitar
- Marty Friedman - guitar
- David Ellefson - bass guitar
- Nick Menza - drums
Cryptic Sounds: No Voices in Your Head
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Cryptic Sounds is an instrumental EP Megadeth released in 1998 in Japan and Argentina only, and in Korea as a bonus CD of Cryptic Writings, highlighting 5 selections from their seventh studio album, Cryptic Writings.
Vocal tracks on the songs are replaced with guitar melodies, while "She-Wolf" was completely reworked, with the first half of the song performed in a Spanish acoustic style.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Music | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Almost Honest" | Dave Mustaine | Mustaine, Marty Friedman | 4:14 |
| 2. | "Vortex" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:21 |
| 3. | "Trust" | Mustaine | Mustaine, Friedman | 5:30 |
| 4. | "A Secret Place" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 5:29 |
| 5. | "She-Wolf" | Mustaine | Mustaine | 3:07 |
Personnel
- Dave Mustaine - guitar
- Marty Friedman - guitar
- David Ellefson - bass guitar
- Nick Menza - drums
