“Marty and I have remained friends over 23 years, since we last played together,” says Dave Mustaine. “However, I hear his music every night, and he still is among the top guitar players I’ve ever heard. This is an amazing treat for the fans, as well as myself. I am going to enjoy this as much as the fans are, and I’m sure many of you will catch me sneaking a peek during Marty’s appearance. Domo arigato, Marty-San!”
Friedman was in the Megadeth lineup throughout the 1990s, appearing on all of the band’s albums from 1990’s “Rust In Peace” to 1999’s “Risk.”
“When Marty said, ‘Hey, I can play at this gig,’ I thought, ‘This is so magnificent,'” Mustaine tells Rolling Stone. Friedman will join the band, which includes current lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro, for three songs for the gig’s encore. “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,” Friedman said in a statement. “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.”
Billed as “They Only Come Out At Night”, the global livestream event can be viewed as it happens on Monday, February 27 at 6 p.m. Tokyo time (JST), and available on demand for two days.
The event will mark the group’s first-ever performance from the legendary venue.
Ticketholders will get access to the livestream, all re-broadcasts, and to on-demand replays. Fans can buy tickets here and watch all broadcasts and on-demand replays from anywhere around the world – except Japan, where it is only accessible via Wowow.
Megadeth’s latest album is “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!”; get your copy here.
See also:
Megadeth sued over The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead cover art
Megadeth to livestream first Budokan concert performance
Megadeth announce summer European tour dates
Megadeth premiere Killing Time video
Search Megadeth at hennemusic
