Megadeth was at the peak of their career and proved to the world that they were the kings of thrash metal.
By the time the 90s rolled around, record companies were pressuring every metal band to follow in the footsteps of Metallica‘s Black Album. Not everyone submitted to their demands, however there were many groups reevaluating their sound and stripping down their tone in order to reach radio listeners.
That was the mindset when Cryptic Writings was being written…
No one knew it would eventually lead to Risk but after the commercial success of Countdown To Extinction, Megadeth continued entering the studio with an open mind.
Back in the day, Dave Mustaine had a clear motive behind each album: Heavier than Metallica and no ballads.
Over the years, the band started giving themselves more legroom in the songwriting process. After Rust In Peace, there’s been a lot more melodic material incorporated into their music. Since then, Megadeth has had a fairly even amount of heavy tracks and radio songs.
For every Skin O’ My Teeth, there was Captive Honour. A song like Black Curtains was followed by Family Tree.
Cryptic Writings was arguably the perfect blend of their early thrash roots and melodic side.
The subject matter mainly surrounds love and hardship in order to connect with more listeners. However, die hard fans will not have too much trouble with this album, because there’s still plenty of headbangers on it.
The Disintegrators and FFF are as pure as thrash metal gets. She Wolf is one of the greatest gems on Cryptic, armed with a galloping riff and Iron Maiden influenced solo. It also embodies the change of the band’s sound in the 90s, intensely heavy songs with catchy hooks.
The transition with Megadeth entering the mainstream isn’t just about moving away from thrash. The band is also interested in making artistic, beautiful songs in their own right. This became more obvious as more and more ballads made their way on post-2000s albums. It wasn’t just about being accepted by a larger audience, there was a real demand for variation in the music.
Trust and A Secret Place are two perfect examples that capture the hard rock vibe in Megadeth‘s songwriting. They’re not as furious as their early material but it’s far from being soft, tons of emotion and atmosphere within these songs.
Mustaine also made room for a political track that speaks out against gun violence. Have Cool, Will Travel describes the tragedy and frustration of school shootings. These topics also assure fans that the attitude and anger in the music was still as strong as ever before.
Megadeth stayed consistent during a decade that buried a lot of other bands for experimenting their sound. They were able to strip down their tone and gather more attention while still remaining at the top of thrash metal’s greatest bands.
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