1997's Cryptic Writings marked a continued attempt by Megadeth to court the mainstream radio. Despite brilliant sales and a Grammy Award nomination for single Trust, Cryptic Writings began to really alienate some of the band's more hardcore enthusiasts, many of whom were attracted to Megadeth primarily due to their thrash metal roots. The difference between Cryptic Writings and the band's previous release, Youthanasia, is quite marked, and is most notable in the amount of truly memorable songs. As the band's first major step towards a more hard rock sound, Mustaine and the gang hadn't entirely figured out how to write interesting rock tunes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivqKTwmCmks In general, Cryptic Writings comes across as material that was necessary for the band to create in order figure out how to write radio rock, but probably didn't merit its own studio recording and release.
