Hidden Treasures

Hidden Treasures was the last 'cool' Megadeth release before a steady decline in quality of their output for around 14-15 years. Yes, they held out longer than Metallica, whose ascent into vast commercial success came at the cost of creative bankruptcy, and to me they even outlived Slayer, who cease to be relevant for me after 1990 with the exception of popular live performances and an adequate track or two. Is that revenge enough for Dave, who was once thrown from the ranks of what would become the biggest metal band ever? I think on some level, it must be. Granted, this is not a proper studio album, but a collection of odds and ends from soundtracks and tributes that I appreciate because they're not all readily available without bailing out loads of extra cash. Industry: this is how you do a fan compilation correctly!

And I won't lie, even if it's not a 'proper' full-length, I enjoy Hidden Treasures more than any of the albums they have release since, with the exception of Endgame. Though it's not all recorded at the same time, a lot of the material here is quite consistent with the production and songwriting level on Rust in Peace, Countdown to Extinction, and Youthanasia. It's also a lot more ferocious than the album before it, with Dave sounding a lot nastier, the instruments flexing their muscles more, and as much as I did enjoy Youthanasia, this presented a nice snapback, even though I'd already heard most of the songs...hell, these days I think I've even got all of these films on Blu-Ray or DVD, including the crappy old Super Mario Bros. flick which my sons demanded for the collection. So you could say I was in the 'target' audience to experience a lot of these on the big screen, from the cheesy slasher Shocker to Last Action Hero to the Beavis & Butthead Experience. In some cases, the Megadeth tracks were the best parts of the movies, and while the cover choices here are hardly obscure, something like "No More Mr. Nice Guy" is the perfect vehicle for Dave Mustaine to capture his attitude like a fly to the amber of his influences.

But the originals are where this really shines..."99 Ways to Die" is a song I fell in love with the first time I heard it, with the amazing riffs in the verse and the acoustic bridge that leads to one of their most memorable chorus riff/vocal tag-teams ever. "Breakpoint" feels like an exercise in the groovy speed thrash of their Rust in Peace era, "Angry Again" is a cruise control thrasher which wouldn't have felt out of place on their 1992-1994 releases, and "Go to Hell" also has its moments. The one exception for me is the closer "Problems", the previously unheard track which channels a lot of shitty hard rock or blues vibes into a slightly more crunchy thrash riff or two, with a lame punk-like chorus. Both the Black Sabbath and Alice Cooper covers are decent, though, so I just have to end my listens to this about four minutes 'early' so that the experience stays consistent. You can't win 'em all, but I still hold Hidden Treasures as a sort of precipice beyond which there is a rather steep plummet to oblivion. Will they fall straight off the edge to their doom, or maybe grab a lifeline to halt their descent?

-autothrall
http://www.fromthedustreturned.com

If your familiar with 80s and 90s cinema then you would probably argue that these aren't really 'hidden', as they all (except Paranoid) could be found on the soundtracks of movies (and Paranoid on a tribute album). Never the less though, Dave decided to compile them all somewhere where fans could purchase it and save themselves the money and time they would have to spend on tracking down the soundtracks. Its also probably a cash grab on his part, but unlike a normal compilation album where all the songs generally come from previous releases that most true fans already have this is a compilation of material that is a tad bit harder to collect.

As for the music presented, it mostly fits in with Countdown to Extinction and Youthanasia era material. Very midpaced and melodic. Nice catchy hooks and lyrics on the choruses, the type of stuff you can sing along to. Some gang shouts (Go to Hell). Good material for any fan of the two previously named albums.

Alas though there is more to it then that, there are also 3 well done covers. Each performed with energy and enthusiasm showing that Dave truly cared about these songs and wasn't just piggybacking classic tracks for fame and fortune and to that I salute him, his covers (in general, not just these 3) show that he has a wide taste in music beyond just metal (unlike many of his fans unfortunately) and I feel that open mind towards music probably gave him a big boost in his song writing.

Now, I said this already, but please take a second look at the track listing and note that none of these tracks were released on any previous Megadeth albums. Very few of them were even released as singles. If I were to place a bet why Mr. Carrothead chose these songs I would assume its simply because its really the only way to make them readily available to fans and to get a bigger chunk of the pie. Because let's face it, releasing a brand new song on an album featuring 11 other bands who take equal shares of the money and the movie producers who also try to get some money out of it because hey its their movie soundtrack you get a petty amount of money to compensate you for your work.

When all is said and done though this works as much to the audience's favor as his own. How many people would actually hunt down Super Mario Bros. for one song? Not I.

Dave Mustaine’s militia had sprung up many surprises in the early to mid 90s, a trend that just carried on till the end of the 20th century. Rust in Peace was their finest hour where they really got their act together to release one of the finest thrash metal albums of all time. The follow up Countdown to Extinction was where they got more mainstream recognition helped heavily by the massive radio play and extensive MTV exposure by virtue of their videos. Youthanasia on the other hand was where they bridged the gap between thrash and power metal to release a very steady album.

At the same time they were writing tracks for many movies back then that have become of cult status now. Finding those soundtracks could be quite a trouble and purchasing them for a few good songs worsens all the effort. Megadeth rescued the whole world from all the unnecessary digging by creating a compilation of all those otherwise unreleased tracks, simply known as “Hidden Treasures” and I must admit that I’m thoroughly grateful to them.

What really sparked my interest in this compilation was the fact that the catchy song called “Go to Hell” from the second installment of the “Bill and Ted” series was present on it. The lineup is the same since Rust in Peace and all the musicians seem to be in fine form. Mustaine also sounds better and seems to utilize his limited singing abilities to the fullest without going off key at any point. It’s hard to call this a total thrash metal album as it’s not as full blooded as the band used to be, but having said there are many pure thrash riffs to be found here and there. The production to me sounds very similar to “Countdown to Extinction”, so yeah there are no complaints there.

The track selection is fairly good and most of the songs are very well written indeed. There are loads of catchy riffs and well timed solos spread throughout the compilation courtesy of Mustaine and Friedman, whereas the bass and drum fills by Ellefson and Menza respectively are done in a very tasteful manner. The Alice Cooper cover is not bad at all and is probably one of the better covers I’ve ever heard. “Break Point” has some really interesting riffs but the mid section slowdown for those spoken verses was not required really. As for “Go To Hell”, I simply can’t get enough of this song no matter how hard I try.

The best song to me has to be “99 Ways To Die” that is pure thrash metal bringing to mind their R.I.P days while the weakest link is the weirdly average “Angry Again” on the godly OST of that ironically retarded Arnie flick. The other interesting composition is the groovily eerie “Diadems” that contains some beautifully haunting clean guitars and good hooks making it another strong track. The other two covers are decent, nothing great about them.

The only problem with this compilation is the length of it. It lasts for as little as under 30 minutes. Now for a random metal head who tries to saves up all the dimes to purchase an album, it might be a difficult choice for him to pick this up at a record store. As for a Megadeth completist or someone who likes good heavy metal, this would make a fine hear and as much as the title says its better to uncover these treasures before its too late or god forbid, the release goes out of print. Cash grabber or not, its none of my concern, the music is good!!!!

Even though this release didn't come out until 1995 and technically isn't a Megadeth album, the songs that are present on this compilation showcase what may have been the peak of Megadeth's career both critically and commercially. Not only did guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza prove to be a great fit after the release of "Rust In Peace," the band itself manage to successfully weather the time's grunge takeover and remained in high demand on all sorts of movie soundtracks and tribute albums. This compilation showcases the interesting results of their outside-album endeavors...

In my opinion, the exclusive original songs are what really make this compilation worth hunting down. While most of these songs would still sound somewhat out of place on "Rust in Peace" or "Countdown to Extinction," they are excellently written and even show a bit of the evolution that had taken place between those two efforts. "Breakpoint" is an excellent thrasher that was no doubt an influence on future songs like "Kick the Chair," "Go to Hell" and "Diadems" are both darker numbers with menacing lyrics, and "99 Ways to Die" is an upbeat track with a memorable hook during the chorus that hints at the "Youthanasia" album on occasion. My favorite song on the collection is none other than "Angry Again;" it is one of the greatest Megadeth songs ever written and features a bouncy main riff and an infectious chorus.

On the other hand, the cover songs are where this collection shows its weakest points. That is not to say that these songs are poorly performed, they just sound rather elementary when compared to the successful originals on here. Their cover of Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" is rather sloppy in execution but is made amusing by Dave Mustane's probably drunken banter, a somewhat forced guitar chug and strange vocals (compared to Ozzy's original performance) make their cover of "Paranoid" rather average (though Mustaine's yelling at Menza at the end is pretty funny), and their cover of the Sex Pistols' "Problems" is ultimately forgettable due to a slight lack of attitude. On the bright side, the latter song kicks the crap out of their version of "Anarchy in the UK..."

Ultimately, this is an interesting compilation with essential originals and some decent cover songs. Track it down if you can find it. I'll be adding "Angry Again" to the list of songs that I want to cover sometime in my life...

Pros:
1) Excellently written original songs
2) Takes a look at the evolution between "Rust In Peace" and "Countdown to Extinction"
3) Humorous moments do make the covers enjoyable

Cons:
1) The covers' execution is somewhat elementary
2) The originals' lyrics can sound a little generic here and there

My Current Favorites:
"Breakpoint," "Go to Hell," "Angry Again," "99 Ways to Die," and "Diadems"

With song titles like No More Mr. Nice Guy, Breakpoint, Go To Hell, Angry Again, 99 Ways to Die, and Problems, you'd probably think that this was a very dark CD. But in actuality, while the lyrics are at times somewhat serious, the music remains fairly light-hearted and fun throughout.

This EP came out in 1995, but most of the original material had been written and published years before, giving the material more of a Countdown to Extinction sound, rather than the post-Youthanasia someone might expect based on the year of release. It's true that none of the songs are metal masterpieces; most of the songs were made for movie soundtracks, so they have a commercialized slant to them. Having said that, the music on this EP isn't anywhere near a Risk level of commercialism, or a Youthanasia level of passivity. Most of the songs have a solid, metallic, even sometimes aggressive quality to them.

99 Ways to Die is definitely the best song on the album, staying fairly aggressive throughout, having a catchy chorus, and having the most memorable lyrics on the album. None of the other Megadeth originals are terrible, though they are something of a mixed bag. Breakpoint has some good guitar work, though it doesn't quite reach it's potential. Angry Again is a fairly run-of-the-mill, mid-paced song, though I wouldn't call it filler. Diadems is one of the more unique songs that Megadeth have done, with something akin to a groove metal riff in the middle of the song. Go To Hell is also a mid-paced metal song, but it has a certain evil charm to it that puts it above many of the other tracks on the album.

When it comes to the rest of the songs... well, Megadeth have never been particularly good at covers, and what you get here isn't any better than the covers on earlier LP's. The Alice Cooper and Black Sabbath covers aren't bad, they're just stale. The cover of the song Problems, on the other hand, is just plain terrible.

This album isn't really going to get you banging your head, but as a short EP it can be a fun listen every once in a while.

This was one of my earliest MegaDeth purchases, and also one of my most frugal ones at that, as I would have had to buy 7 different soundtracks/compilations in order to get them all. People call this Mustaine's cash grabber, seeing as I saved a ton of cash by getting it, I'm going to refer to it as his cash-saver.

There isn't a bad song on here, and to state for the record, I hate the fucking sex pistols. I'm sorry, I was a pretty steady punk fan in the early 90s, but I never got into the noise these guys put out. "Problems" is probably the weakest of the tracks on here, but it's alot of fun and Dave's vocals keep it interesting.

There are alot of fond memories attached to the individual songs on here. I remember a few weeks ago watching "Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey" with my band's bassist, and remembering the classic MegaDeth song that played when they were sent to hell by Bill's hot yet flaky stepmom. Not to mention the fun yet often ridiculed film version of "Super Mario Brothers", and the high speed thrasher "Breaking Point". Great leads on that one by the way. I remember "Shocker" scaring the hell out of me, although "No More Mr. Nice Guy" is probably the least scary song on here. And the most musically intricate song on the Beavis and Butthead experience "99 ways to die". Love those classical guitar fills on that one, not to mention the unforgettable main riff. They're remake of "Paranoid", which is on probably one of the weakest Black Sabbath tributes I've ever heard, is par for the course, although I did like Marty Friedman's more technically extravagant solo.

However, my all time favorite track on here is "Diadems", by well over a mile I might add. It's one of the slower songs on here, but it has an awesome quiet intro that reminds me a tiny bit of Dokken actually. DemonKnight, the movie it appeared on, is in my top 5 favorite horror/action movies of all time, not to mention the top notch soundtrack (minus the goofy Pantera song).

I was frosted beyond measure to find out that this CD has been taken out of print, because these songs will be extremely difficult to get a hold of, if not impossible in the case of some. Most of the movies that they appeared on were not very successful in their time, although "Shocker" has achieved a sort of cult status amongst horror movie fans. If you can find either on Ebay, or some other second hand website or store, it would be well worth the money.

This is not as bad as some may think...actually it's pretty good. Mustaine and his team (the best, with Friedman and Menza) made some pretty decent versions and released some of their best original songs, some of them just B-sides from other singles, and made a really precious hidden treasure to be discovered by any worthy Megadeth or metal fan...

There are some good covers over here. Worth checking out. "No More Mr. Nice Guy" is a three piece band played song (they still didn't had Friedman, and they were looking for another guitar player...) from Alice Cooper. A really 80ish song but with some catchy riffs and a contagious rhythm. "Paranoid" is the more than well deserved tribute to the masters of heavy metal (you know who they are...). Well, everybody had played Black Sabbath's songs, so this was Megadeth's turn, and although not being bad, it stayed too sticked to the original version, but in this one drummer Nick Menza just didn't wanted to stop play...he just didn't (hear it...). "Problems" is the black sheep on this record. It's just what Megadeth just shouldn't have played. I mean, "Anarchy" was good, but another Sex Pistols cover??? Give me a break!! Plz... This one it's not even enough to put you headbanging...this is pure punk...ARGGGHH!!

Then he have the brilliant original Megadeth's songs like the fast and edge cutting "Breakpoint", the thick and crunchy "Go to Hell" with a great guitar tone..."Angry Again" is an excellent song, very melodic and still managing to have some cool riffs. "99 Ways to Die" kicks some severe ass being probably one of the best songs in here along with "Diadems", a brilliant song with some of the best Mustaine riffs ever. A song that could have been in the "Youthanasia" album very easily.

This probably was a money grabber, I can't deny it, but I also cannot deny that the quality of Mustaine's work is superb (except some of the covers...) in here. This was what he can now regard as the farewell gift of the real metallish Megadeth to their fans before they started jumping into more commercial battlegrounds...

Worthy item to get...No doubt about it. Try to get this one instead of "The World Needs a Hero" or even "Cryptic Writings". Well I think I don't have to say anything about "Risk" in comparison to this...