Cryptic Writings is the seventh studio album by heavy metal

Heavy metal music

Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...

 band Megadeth

Megadeth

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

. The album was released on June 17, 1997 and debuted at #10 on Billboard Top 200. This is the last Megadeth studio album to feature drummer Nick Menza

Nick Menza

Nick Menza is an American drummer best known for his work in Megadeth from 1989 to 1998, appearing on four of the band's studio albums.-Early life:...

. His departure would mark the end of the band's longest lasting lineup to date, having recorded 4 studio albums (beginning with 1990's "Rust in Peace

Rust in Peace

Rust in Peace is the fourth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth. Released on September 24, 1990, it was the third Megadeth album distributed through Capitol Records. The album was the band's only collaboration with record producer Mike Clink who was the first producer to...

"). It is also the first and so far only album where Vic Rattlehead

Vic Rattlehead

Vic Rattlehead is the mascot of the heavy metal band Megadeth. Vic is a skeletal figure who embodies the phrase, "See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil." His eyes are covered by a riveted-on visor, his mouth is clamped shut, and his ears are closed with metal caps.His image appears on several...

 does not appear at all in any tangible form, save for a limited edition collectible card advertising the Megadeth comic distributed by Chaos! Comics

Chaos! Comics

Chaos! Comics was a comic book publisher that operated from 1994 until 2002.-Overview:Their titles included Lady Death, Purgatori, Evil Ernie, Chastity, Jade, Omen, Bad Kitty, Cremator, Lady Demon, and Smiley The Psychotic Button.They also published licensed comics for the World Wrestling...

, which shows Vic in Hell reading a scroll.

A remixed and remastered version, featuring four bonus tracks, was released in 2004.

Writing style

Cryptic Writings is a continuation of Megadeth

Megadeth

Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...

's 1990s transition to a mid-tempo, melodic hard rock style. Some songs, however, recall the band's 1980s thrash metal

Thrash metal

Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...

 era, such as "The Disintegrators", "She-Wolf", "Vortex", and "FFF". This album is similar in style to Countdown to Extinction

Countdown to Extinction

Countdown to Extinction is the fifth studio album by the American heavy metal band Megadeth. It was released on July 14, 1992 through Capitol Records. Countdown to Extinction is Megadeth's best-selling album, eventually achieving double platinum status...

 and Youthanasia

Youthanasia

Youthanasia is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on November 1, 1994 through Capitol Records. A remixed and remastered version, featuring several bonus tracks, was released in 2004....

; it is at present the last Megadeth album to go platinum.

The band utilized a widening range of instrumentation compared to the previous albums. For example, "A Secret Place" features a sitar

Sitar

The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...

, while other songs are augmented by prominent acoustic guitar, strings ("Trust", "Use the Man") and harmonica ("Have Cool, Will Travel").

Megadeth changed to ESP Management after releasing Youthanasia

Youthanasia

Youthanasia is the sixth studio album by American heavy metal band Megadeth, released on November 1, 1994 through Capitol Records. A remixed and remastered version, featuring several bonus tracks, was released in 2004....

. 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.

Album cover

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 collectible 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.

Songs

Mustaine's lyrics explore deceit in personal relationships ("Trust" and "Almost Honest"), drug use ("Use the Man") and school violence ("Have Cool, Will Travel"). "The Disintegrators" and "FFF (Fight for Freedom)" herald revolution and champion rebellion. "She-Wolf" and "Vortex" evoke the dark fantasy and occult themes of older songs such as "Five Magics", "Elysian Fields", and "Bad Omen".

"Use the Man" includes 30 second sample from the song "Needles and Pins" (which was the original name for the album) by The Searchers

The Searchers (band)

The Searchers are an English beat group, who emerged as part of the 1960s Merseybeat scene along with The Beatles, The Fourmost, The Merseybeats, The Swinging Blue Jeans, and Gerry & The Pacemakers....

. 2004 remaster removes this sample.

Videos were made for the songs "Trust

Trust (Megadeth song)

"Trust" is the first song on Megadeth's seventh studio album Cryptic Writings. It was released on May 8, 1997 in both English and Spanish language versions...

", "Almost Honest

Almost Honest (Megadeth song)

"Almost Honest" is the second song as well as the second single of Megadeth's seventh studio album Cryptic Writings. It was released in September 1997. It was later included on the compilation album, Capitol Punishment and the box set Warchest, but it is not on the Greatest Hits: Back to the Start...

", and "A Secret Place

A Secret Place (Megadeth song)

"A Secret Place" is the eighth song as well as the third and last single of Megadeth's seventh studio album Cryptic Writings. The song went up to #19 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart....

".

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".

Reception

Track listing

Japanese bonus track

Remaster bonus tracks

Extended plays

Three extended plays released alongside Cryptic Writings. two of these featured live recordings from the ensuing tour while the other was a studio EP and featured instrumental versions of five of the albums tracks. The live releases were entitled Live Trax, (released on June 30, 1998,) and Live Trax II, (released in 1998 as a bonus disc to Cryptic Writings,) with all songs from a recording taken at the Mesa Amphitheatre, Mesa, Arizona

Mesa, Arizona

According to the 2010 Census, the racial composition of Mesa was as follows:* White: 77.1% * Hispanic or Latino : 26.54%* Black or African American: 3.5%* Two or more races: 3.4%* Native American: 2.4%...

 on July 13, 1997 except the last two tracks of each with Live Trax featuring recordings from the Olympic Auditorium, Los Angeles, California, February 25, 1995 and Live Trax II featuring studio remixes of "Almost Honest". The instrumental EP was released under the title Cryptic Sounds: No Voices in Your Head in Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, Argentina

Argentina

Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...

 and as a bonus disc to the album in Korea

Korea

Korea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...

 with the vocals on most tracks being replaced with extra guitar melodies and with "She-Wolf" being performed in a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 acoustic

Acoustic guitar

An acoustic guitar is a guitar that uses only an acoustic sound board. The air in this cavity resonates with the vibrational modes of the string and at low frequencies, which depend on the size of the box, the chamber acts like a Helmholtz resonator, increasing or decreasing the volume of the sound...

 style for the first half.

Track listings

Personnel

Megadeth Dave Mustaine Dave Mustaine David Scott "Dave" Mustaine is the founder, main songwriter, guitarist, and lead vocalist for the American heavy metal band Megadeth. Prior to Megadeth, Mustaine was the first lead guitarist and a co-songwriter of the heavy metal band Metallica until he was fired from the band in 1983. In 2009, he...  – guitar Guitar The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with... , vocals Singing Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments... , sitar Sitar The 'Tablaman' is a plucked stringed instrument predominantly used in Hindustani classical music, where it has been ubiquitous since the Middle Ages...  on "A Secret Place", co-producer Marty Friedman – guitar, backing vocals Dave Ellefson – bass guitar Bass guitar The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick.... . backing vocals Nick Menza Nick Menza Nick Menza is an American drummer best known for his work in Megadeth from 1989 to 1998, appearing on four of the band's studio albums.-Early life:...  – drums Drum kit A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....

Production Dann Huff Dann Huff Dann Huff is an American musician, session musician, singer-songwriter and producer. For his work as a producer in the Country music genre he has won several awards including the Musician of the Year award in 2001 and 2004 at the Country Music Association Awards and the Producer of the Year award...  – producer Jeff Balding Jeff Balding Jeff Balding is an American audio engineer, mixer and record producer. Primarily known for his work with country music acts such as Faith Hill, Trace Adkins, and LeAnn Rimes, Balding has also worked with top rock acts such as Megadeth and Giant, as well as pop stars such as Amy Grant and Celine...  – recording, mixing Mark Hagen – recording assistant, mixing assistant Bob Ludwig Bob Ludwig Bob Ludwig is an American mastering engineer.He is a well known and respected figure within the music industry. His name is credited on the covers of albums released across the world, and he has won numerous awards....  – mastering Hugh Syme Hugh Syme Hugh Syme is a Canadian Juno Award-winning graphic artist who is best known for his artwork and cover concepts for rock and metal bands. He is also a musician and has appeared in some Rush songs as a keyboard player. Syme is notably responsible for all of Rush's album cover art since 1975's Caress...  – artwork Dimo Safari – photography Bud Prager – A & R direction, E.S.P. management Mike Renault – E.S.P. management Giles Martin Giles Martin Giles Martin is an English record producer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist. He is the son of Sir George Martin, famed producer of almost all of The Beatles' records.- Biography :...  - producer (remaster)

2004 Remix Remix A remix is an alternative version of a recorded song, made from an original version. This term is also used for any alterations of media other than song ....  and Remaster Remaster Remaster is a word marketed mostly in the digital audio age, although the remastering process has existed since recording began... Produced by Dave Mustaine Mixed by Ralph Patlan and Dave Mustaine Engineered by Ralph Patlan with Lance Dean Edited Digital audio editor A digital audio editor is a computer application for audio editing, i.e. manipulating digital audio. Digital audio editors are the main software component of a digital audio workstation.-For use with music:...  by Lance Dean, Scott "Sarge" Harrison, and Keith Schreiber with Bo Caldwell Mastered by Tom Baker

Album

Country	Provider(s)	Peak position
Australia	ARIA Australian Recording Industry Association The Australian Recording Industry Association is a trade group representing the Australian recording industry which was established in 1983 by six major record companies, EMI, Festival, CBS, RCA, WEA and Universal replacing the Association of Australian Record Manufacturers which was formed in 1956...	43
Austria	Media Control Europe	30
Belgium (Wallonia)	Ultratop Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium, and it is also the name of most of those charts...	44
Canada	Billboard	17
Finland	GLF Swedish Recording Industry Association Grammofonleverantörernas förening , or the Swedish Recording Industry Association in English, is an organization representing the music recording industry of Sweden...	2
France	SNEP Syndicat National de l'Edition Phonographique The Syndicat national de l'édition phonographique is the inter-professional organization which protects the interests of the French record industry... /IFOP Institut français d'opinion publique The Institut français d'opinion publique is an international marketing firm, whose motto is "Connection creates value". Its CEO is Laurence Parisot, who is also the current leader of the MEDEF French employers' trade union...	14
Germany	IFPI IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a not-for-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland...	22
Netherlands	GFK/Dutch Charts	48
New Zealand	RIANZ Recording Industry Association of New Zealand The Recording Industry Association of New Zealand is a non-profit trade association of record producers, distributors and recording artists who sell music in New Zealand...	34
Norway	VG Nett	32
Sweden	Sverigetopplistan	15
Switzerland	Media Control Europe	45
United Kingdom	OCC	38
U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...	Billboard	10
U.S. Billboard 200 Year-End	Billboard	177

Certifications

Country	Certification
United States Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America is a trade organization that represents the recording industry distributors in the United States...	Platinum

Singles

Single	Chart	Peak position
"Almost Honest"	U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	8
"Trust"	U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	5
"Use the Man"	U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	15
"A Secret Place"	U.S. Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks	19