Cryptic Writings was hardly the abrupt faceplant many of our favorite bands had experienced across the decades, but it was nonetheless a massive disappointment for me, and almost immediately cut off my interest in whatever was going on in the Mustaine camp. Even today, as I put this thing back on to cover it, I could barely remember any of the individual tracks, despite numerous attempts through the years. By 1997, there was a lot more going on with metal music, it was starting to 'pick up' again with the progress of death and black metal, power metal was also starting to gather some momentum internationally, and though thrash wouldn't see it's proper resurgence for another decade, a few of the acts were still hanging on where they could.
So an album that largely consists of lukewarm offerings in the Youthanasia style wasn't going to cut it, especially since they were just nowhere near as catchy as on that underrated work. I will say that this album is really well produced, they'd largely cemented themselves into this mid-paced rock style and everything is presented clean and potent. The bass grooves, the acoustics, the rhythm tone, the drums all sound as slick and bacteria-free as whatever pop plastic you were pumping into your CD player at the time. Mustaine's vocals are restrained here, and he's starting to bark out lines that feel like repetitions off previous albums, especially the last two, but he still sounds good, and there's only a little bit of cringe here, his more manic lines like the counter-vocals in "Mastermind" are actually well implemented, and in the goofy backyard barbeque rocker "Have Cool, Will Travel" he actually soars. I'll also say that whenever this record picks up the intensity, like the later-Coroner grooves of that very track, or the flightier fits of speed metal in "The Disintegrators", "Vortex" or "She-Wolf", it gets a lot more fun to experience, but even then they rarely have a chorus payoff that can contend with their greats.
Yes, there's more velocity in places than Youthanasia, so the band doesn't seem entirely committed to phoning in the performances of their limbs, but there are single tracks on Hidden Treasures that are better than anything throughout this whole playtime. They threaten a few power ballads, but always throw in a few heavier hooks to balance them out. Unfortunately this still ends up with some dull tunes like "Use the Man", which has a semi-Western vibe to it but never really hits you with a cross hook of surprise catchiness. "I'll Get Even" fares a little better, but it might as well be a Phil Collins song if you didn't hear Dave's distinct voice. They may have taken the watered down approach a little far here, but also seem to have a little identity crisis as they head back in earlier directions, just lacking the same level of songwriting quality or finesse. It's not a total dud, and pleasant enough to throw on in the background since Mustaine's melodic sneer still demands a modicum of attention...
Hell, compared to the shit show that would follow it two years after, this could be deemed a masterpiece. But Cryptic Writings is clearly, at least to me, the point at which the levee had broken and the flood of mediocrity had started to enter the band's trajectory. It would also be Nick Menza's last with the band, not a high note to end that best known lineup with.
Verdict: Indifference [6/10]
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