Megadeth guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari recently shared his thoughts on the growing trend of phone-free live shows, fully endorsing the strict policies utilized by acts like Ghost and Tool.
During a conversation with Fernanda Hein of Chile’s “Sonar FM“, the guitarist was asked for his opinion on restricting cell phone usage at concerts. The topic has gained massive traction after Swedish metal act Ghost required fans to lock their devices in Yondr pouches throughout their recent tour dates.
“I think that idea is really cool. I’ve been to a couple shows that had that, where you would take your phone and you would put it in a kind of a locked bag. And we actually did that as well when we did our album pre-listening session in Nashville, which was like a small kind of a private VIP party for a couple hundred people. So we did that there as well, because we didn’t wanna show those songs, of course, to everybody beforehand,” Teemu explained (as transcribed by Blabbermouth).
He emphasized how removing screens from the equation ultimately creates a better connection between the crowd and the performers.
“I think that’s a cool idea, during the live shows, and those couple of bigger shows that I’ve been to where that was done, I think people really get to concentrate on the music when it’s not through the phone screen, but it’s actually direct contact. And I think it’s nice for the audience as well. I mean, of course it’s a kind of trade-off — then people don’t get to share the videos and photos from the show. But if the band has their own, like, media crew there filming stuff and it’s still shared, then you still get the video clips and you still get the stuff in the social media. So I think that’s probably gonna get more common, and more people probably will start doing that once it gets easier to do. And I think it’s a great idea,” he added.
The interview also touched upon the possibility of Megadeth releasing official live recordings from their ongoing farewell tour. When asked about capturing these performances for possible future use, Teemu Mäntysaari revealed that the crew is actively archiving their sets every single night.
“We are actually recording all the shows always. And usually it’s just the audio part. So our front-of-house engineer records everything always. And whenever we can, we also do video, and we’re looking into different possibilities of doing more shows with video as well. And, yeah, [we are] hoping, at some point, to have enough material to choose from to do some kind of a live release,” he confirmed.
The movement toward phone-free concerts continues to gain momentum across the heavy metal landscape. Ghost implemented a strict Yondr pouch policy for their entire 2025 and 2026 runs after successfully testing the concept during two 2023 Los Angeles shows, which were filmed for their cinematic release Rite Here Rite Now.
Back in July, during a Q&A session with fans at Birmingham’s HMV Vault, Ghost frontman Tobias Forge detailed the rationale behind the use of Yondr pouches for securing guests‘ phones and the transformative impact it has had on their live performances.
“It really hit me when we came to certain countries where they have generally been much more enthusiastic, and you come out — there’s, like, 18,000 people there, and there’s, like, 10,000 phones. And they’re not even bouncing anymore,” Forge said at the time.
He stressed the crucial role of crowd engagement for Ghost‘s highly theatrical and precisely arranged shows, emphasizing the vital “exchange” between band and audience. “That that’s how worthless it became because of the phones. Especially a show like ours. I mean, I know that there are a lot of artists who [do] a completely more a free-form show, but we don’t. Our show is pretty sort of nailed and arranged. There’s obviously a certain wiggle room for individualism. But, yeah, in order to do what we do, we need to have a certain regimen.”
“And so what do we feed off of? [The crowd]. And that is crucial. That is crucial for us to be able to do the show,” he continued. “If you came into a dress rehearsal and saw us do the same thing but without a crowd, it’s dramatically worse. But when you have an engaged crowd, it becomes better because you’re two…”
When asked if the phone ban has “paid off” for Ghost, Tobias responded: “Oh, absolutely. [It’s been a] f**king life changer. Life changer for the existence of the band. Absolutely.”
Other major artists are adopting similar measures to keep fans engaged in the moment. British heavy metal legends Iron Maiden requested that attendees put their devices away during their newly launched “Run For Your Lives” world tour, while Tool have famously employed a strict policy requiring fans to stay off their phones until the final song of the set.
Iron Maiden manager Rod Smallwood wrote at the time:
“So for all our North American shows we are once again requesting that fans keep their phones in their pockets and enjoy the show ‘in the moment’, rather than raise their phone in the air trying to film sections and thus inconveniencing those around them and annoying the band. So if a so-called fan near you thinks they are special and filming what they selfishly want please just ask them, very politely of course, to put their phone somewhere the sun doesn’t shine!”
By utilizing technology like Yondr, concertgoers maintain physical possession of their phones inside a locking pouch that can only be opened at designated stations or once they exit the venue. Proponents of the system argue it drastically cuts down on illegal filming and the distraction of non-stop selfies, restoring the immersive energy of a live rock show.
