Cryptic Writings

Cryptic Writings is the seventh album on which Megadeth, while keeping thrash-derived tension, heads toward a more organized song construction and striking choruses. Dave Mustaine’s singing and guitar are still aggressive, yet the songs value the flow of melody itself more than before. It is also the record on which the fine drummer Jimmy DeGrasso joined. From the dramatic melody of the opening hit “Trust” and the catchiness of “Almost Honest” to the lyricism of “Use the Man” and the aggression of “She-Wolf,” the songs balance hard riffs and memorable hooks, while a dashing song like “The Disintegrators” gives the album tension. Its appeal is that the tension of hard riffs and the accessibility of catchy hooks fit beautifully on the same screen. The band’s intelligence and rock immediacy coexist at a high level. Pushing a melodic direction while keeping a sure metal core, it is a precise, easy-to-enjoy record representative of late-1990s Megadeth.