Former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman brought heavy metal to the baseball diamond this past Friday, March 27, delivering an electrifying instrumental performance at the Tokyo Dome. The veteran musician helped kick off the 2026 Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) season by playing the Japanese national anthem, followed by an expansive medley of classic rock and metal anthems.
Taking the field during the team introductions, just before the Tokyo Giants defeated the defending league champion Hanshin Tigers 3-1, Marty Friedman shredded his way through iconic riffs from Metallica, Guns N’ Roses, Led Zeppelin, Red Hot Chili Peppers, The White Stripes, and Aerosmith, alongside hits from legendary solo artists Ozzy Osbourne and Lenny Kravitz. The explosive performance set a high-energy tone for the opening day of Japan’s Central and Pacific Leagues.
The stadium appearance is just the latest milestone for the legendary guitarist, who has made Japan his permanent home and creative base since 2003. In a recent interview on “The Mistress Carrie Podcast,” he spoke passionately about his deep appreciation for his adopted country and its unique, self-sustaining music culture.
“Well, I think it’s the closest you can get to being on another planet and being safe and enjoying another planet. Sometimes you’re in a place that is just so dangerous, you feel like you’re on another planet, but Japan is the complete opposite. I believe it’s the safest country in the world, considering the fact that there are full-on metropolises everywhere. I mean, Tokyo is the highest-population city in the world or something like that, and it’s the safest metropolis I’ve ever been in. And I live straight downtown, two-minute walk to the Red Light District, which is completely safe at all hours of the night,” he said at the time.
He also praised the country’s vibrant domestic music scene, noting: “80 percent of the music that people listen to is domestic music — not American, English, Canadian, whatever. And that’s gonna freak a lot of people out in a very good way. And it’s exciting.”
While acknowledging the unique reality of living as an expatriate in a highly homogeneous country—where government statistics show over 97% of the population are Japanese citizens—Marty Friedman stressed that his goal was never full assimilation. Speaking to Canada’s The Metal Voice earlier this year, he discussed his mindset regarding his position in the industry.
“I’m definitely, definitely the minority here [in Japan]. In the majority of everything I do, I’m the only non-Japanese in the room” he stated. However, he emphasized that trying to perfectly blend in is the wrong approach. “The way to internalize it is, there’s no way I’m gonna belong, but I can certainly coexist and I can certainly bring something to the party and I can certainly get something out of this.”
By prioritizing musical excellence and maintaining a collaborative attitude, the guitarist has successfully built a thriving, decades-long career overseas. “And so the longer you’re in any kind of professional capacity of anything, you kind of forget that everybody’s a different race that I am. I’ve completely forgotten,” he concluded.
