Stooge Some covers. Some original material. None of it released on a Megadeth album until “Hidden Treasures” came out in 1995. I don’t consider this album to be a treasure in my collection, but it certainly isn’t fools gold either.

First off, looking at the cover songs, Megadeth don’t really do all that much with their versions of Alice Cooper’s “No More Mr. Nice Guy” or Black Sabbath’s “Paranoid”. They stay fairly true to the originals. I can’t really comment much on any differences in the Megadeth version of “Problems” with the Sex Pistol’s version. The covers certainly have a Megadeth vibe to them (they’d have to as they are performing them), but I certainly wouldn’t confuse them for Mustaine penned songs.

Now, on to the originals!

“Breakpoint” makes for a solid speed metal song, but not overly memorable. I’d say this is my least favorite of the originals.

“Go To Hell” is strangely reminiscent of Metallica’s “Enter Sandman” with the inclusion of the “now I lay me down to sleep…” prayer. It’s debatable which band came up with the idea first. They both initially came out around the same time, but it certainly added fuel to the fire of the Megadeth vs. Metallica debate among fans. I love the intro to this song, and the solo section is rather nice as well, especially Marty Friedman’s parts.

“Angry Again” is a more mid-tempo track that wouldn’t sound totally out of place on the Countdown To Extinction album. The same can be said for the following track, “99 Ways To Die”, which happens to have been my introduction to Megadeth when it originally appeared on The Beavis And Butthead Experience album. These tracks are the standout tracks on the album.

I like the clean guitar parts that plays during the first minute or so of “Diadems”. It’s a slower track, but it’s a pretty good song.

As this is something of a compilation album, with all but “Problems” being previously released on either a movie soundtrack or tribute album, production on each track varies in quality. The first three songs sound a bit thinner than the remaining songs in that respect.

Overall, Hidden Treasures makes for a solid mix of cover songs and non-album originals in a convenient package for Megadeth fans that don’t wish to track all these compilations. It makes for a good listen on it’s own, but I wouldn’t go to great lengths to track this one down.

metalmillennium Megadeth had some fairly memorable tunes stashed away onto various movie soundtracks and luckily someone had the idea to present them here for us. To me, the stronger cuts were the movie-inspired ones and not the covers.

"No More Mr. Nice Guy" is a worthy successor of its Alice Cooper original and "Paranoid" is played quite competently and every bit as strong as the Black Sabbath original. "Go to Hell" is errie and atmospheric, while "Diadems" contains great accoustic sections. However, the prime cuts on this album are the Beavis and Butthead influenced, and Rust in Peace-like "99 Ways to Die," and the gloomy "Angry Again." Why these two tracks didn't make a full length is beyond me.

Hidden Treasures has some great overlooked gems that many people probably aren't familiar with. 'Not just another Megadeth album to fill up space between the years. A good idea to produce, as many great songs are here that didn't make a full-length 'Deth album..and they're all here in one deal!