Megadeth to Reunite with Marty Friedman For First Time in 23 Years

Marty Friedman will perform with Megadeth for the first time in 23 years on February 27 at their concert at Tokyo’s renowned Budokan theater.

The announcement was made by the frontman Dave Mustaine saying that Friedman will perform with them for a three-song encore.

From 1990 to 2000, Friedman was a member of Megadeth. He will perform onstage with Mustaine, lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro, bassist James LoMenzo, and drummer Dirk Verbeuren. Mustaine said in one of his interviews:

“When Marty said, ‘Hey, I can play at this gig,’ I thought, ‘This is so magnificent. It’s gonna be so much fun to get Kiko and Marty together, because they’re both geniuses on guitar. So this is like a gigantic birthday and Christmas present for me.

“It has been a long time — 23 years to be exact since I’ve been on the same stage with Dave Mustaine making music.”

Meanwhile, Friedman stated:

“We’ve both taken drastically different paths since then. That doesn’t change the fact that I’m extremely proud of the part that I played in Megadeth’s history and legacy. I’m also very, very proud of the band’s many great achievements and continued success in my absence. For right now, I just feel immense joy and some serious adrenaline. I am looking forward to playing with Megadeth at this very cool place, the Budokan.”

Mustaine, on the other hand, noted:

“We haven’t been to Japan in a long time. I thought that inviting Marty was just a very thoughtful thing to do. Megadeth has not been a band that’s had a lot of guest appearances from other players. We are not a jam band. I asked Kiko how he felt about this, and Kiko is completely confident in his guitar playing.

“This is not like when the Police handed their instruments to U2 to pass the torch. This is doing something really grateful to the Japanese audience. We want it to be a gift. So everybody who bought that ticket before today, you’re welcome. … I’m really looking forward to this moment. It’s gonna be great.”

Friedman contributed to shaping some of Megadeth’s most iconic albums, including Rust in Peace in 1990 and Countdown to Extinction in 1992. However, he left the group in 1999 due to creative differences. He then relocated to Japan, where he became well-known as a pop culture icon and enjoyed his success as a solo artist.