In a new conversation with Japan’s Young Guitar magazine, former Megadeth guitarists Marty Friedman and Kiko Loureiro looked back on Friedman’s surprise return to the stage with the band during its historic first performance at Tokyo’s Budokan. The moment took place on February 27, 2023, when the Dave Mustaine-led group welcomed Friedman as a guest near the end of the main set. He joined the band for three songs: “Countdown To Extinction,” “Tornado Of Souls,” and “Symphony Of Destruction.”
Marty said: “Oh, for me, when I played with Megadeth at Budokan, it was wonderful. When I heard them playing, I thought, ‘This sounds better than when I was in Megadeth originally.’ It just sounded better. The whole thing just sounded better. And I’m, like, ‘Wow, I’m gonna play in this-sounding Megadeth now.’ It was so fun. And watching the Japanese audience, it was a thrill. People were crying, people were smiling, people were screaming. It was great. I enjoyed it a lot.”
Loureiro, who was serving as Megadeth’s lead guitarist when the Budokan concert took place, went on to add: “Yeah, I think what Marty is saying, I cannot compare. And actually, I remember watching the videos from the ’90s, and then I always thought that there was some sort of attitude or freshness or excitement that was very hard to reproduce. But, of course, you have the technology, and the sound of Dirk [Verbeuren, Megadeth drummer], the drummer, is really solid. So when you play with him, you feel like how solid the band is because of the drums.”
Kiko continued: “Yeah, I think it was a very important concert for the band and for Dave Mustaine. And I felt that tension there, probably because of the respect for the place. But also it was a weird feeling, because I’m playing [Marty‘s] solos [in some of the other songs from Friedman‘s Megadeth era] and he’s right here. He doesn’t go and play [those songs himself at the show]. So that’s this weird, mixed feeling. Because we were opening with ‘Hangar 18‘, and that’s, for me, one of the best guitar works in Megadeth, the solo [and] the whole [thing]. And then [I was], like, ‘Marty should play this,’ because I knew he was right there. So there was this extra pressure — ‘I’m playing his solo, and he’s right here checking me out.'”
Marty added: “You totally nailed it, man. You totally nailed everything.”
Over a six-month stretch in 2023, Friedman made two surprise onstage returns with Megadeth. The first came in February at the historic Budokan show in Tokyo, followed by another appearance that August at Germany’s Wacken Open Air festival.
During the Wacken set, Marty joined the band for four songs: “Trust,” “Tornado Of Souls,” “Symphony Of Destruction,” and “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due.”
