Hidden Treasures (EP)

Background and songs

Hidden Treasures is a rarities compilation that features songs that Megadeth had recorded for a number of projects, but had not released on one of the band's studio albums. Most of these were contributions to film soundtracks. In 1989, Megadeth recorded a version of Alice Cooper's "No More Mr. Nice Guy" for the soundtrack to the Wes Craven-directed horror film Shocker. It marks drummer Nick Menza's recording debut with the band. The recording was released as a single and peaked at number 13 on the UK Singles Chart in 1990. "Go to Hell" appeared on the Bill and Ted's Bogus Journey soundtrack in 1991. The song features the same prayer used in "Enter Sandman" by Metallica, and can be heard at the beginning of the track.

The band contributed three songs to soundtracks in 1993. "Angry Again", recorded during the sessions for Countdown to Extinction, appeared on the soundtrack to Last Action Hero and received a nomination for "Best Metal Performance" at the 1993 Grammy Awards. The song has appeared on several of the band's compilations. "Breakpoint" appeared on the soundtrack for the Super Mario Bros. film. "99 Ways to Die" was recorded for the soundtrack to The Beavis and Butt-head Experience and released as a single and a music video. It was nominated in the "Best Metal Performance" category at the 1995 Grammy Awards.

"Diadems" was released on the Demon Night soundtrack in 1995. In addition to soundtrack contributions, the band submitted a cover of Black Sabbath's "Paranoid" for the tribute album Nativity in Black in 1994. It was nominated for "Best Metal Performance" at the 1996 Grammy Awards. "Problems" is a Sex Pistols cover and was previously unreleased.

Release and reception

While initially released in Europe as a bonus disc for a special edition of Youthanasia, Hidden Treasures was released as a stand-alone EP in Japan and the US on July 18, 1995. It debuted at number 90 on the Billboard 200 chart and sold 13,000 copies in its first week. By December 2005, Hidden Treasures sold 286,000 copies in the United States. It also appeared on album charts in the UK and Japan, but did not achieve notable success. The album has gone out of print in the US, but was reissued in 2007 for the Japanese and European markets.

The EP has received generally mediocre reaction from critics. AllMusic's Stephen Thomas Erlewine wrote that the EP doesn't have many "first-rate songs" and that only "99 Ways to Die" made an impression. The Rolling Stone Album Guide was dismissive of the EP; the staff reviewer commented that the album is worth hearing only for "99 Ways to Die". Dean Golemis of the Chicago Tribune wrote that the album is "typical Megadeth" featuring "fast-forward riffing" and "snooty snarling" vocals. Carlos Ramirez from Noisecreep felt that the album contains many underrated songs that "also deserve their time in the spotlight" and highlighted the dueling guitar leads by Mustaine and Friedman featured in "Go to Hell". Despite the negative reviews, material featured on the EP has been credited with helping expand the group's MTV audience in the early 1990s.

Track listing

The following track list can be verified with the Hidden Treasures liner notes.

Personnel

Credits are adapted from the liner notes.

Megadeth

Production