Cryptic Writings is the seventh studio album by heavy metal band Megadeth. 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. 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"). It is also the first and so far only album where Vic Rattlehead does not appear at all in any tangible form, save for a limited edition collectible card advertising the Megadeth comic distributed by Chaos! Comics, which shows Vic in Hell reading a scroll.

A remixed and remastered version, featuring four bonus tracks, was released in 2004. As of 2005, Cryptic Writings had sold over 787,000 copies in the U.S. (wiki)

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by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

With Youthanasia, Dave Mustaine began moving Megadeth away from its thrash roots, incorporating synthesizers into their sound and writing subtle, textured songs. Cryptic Writings continues this evolution, which unfortunately reads better than it plays. Megadeth doesn't quite have the skill or imagination to craft such ambitious material; they sound better playing thrash, which they only occasionally do on Cryptic Writings. Essentially, the band sounds tired and listless instead of reflective, especially since the production is so slick. It's admirable that the group is attempting to move forward, but the music simply doesn't resonate.