In a moment that fans screaming for more, former Megadeth lead guitarist Marty Friedman made a triumphant return to the stage with his old bandmates after 23 long years.
The full-circle moment took place yesterday at Megadeth’s concert at the iconic Nippon Budokan in Tokyo.
During the band’s performance of “Countdown to Extinction,” a video montage featuring Friedman was played, sending the crowd into a frenzy. Moments later, frontman Dave Mustaine then made the announcement fans had been hoping for, introducing former lead guitar player, Marty Friedman, to the stage.
With current lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro also joining the fold, Megadeth delivered an unforgettable triple-axe attack, tearing through some of their greatest hits from the Friedman era, including “Tornado of Souls” and “Symphony of Destruction.” Friedman’s effortless performance was a perfect fit for the current lineup, as he effortlessly delivered the riffs and solos he originally wrote for the iconic songs.
Watch Marty Friedman join Megadeth on stage:
However, fans were expecting Friedman to join the show, as frontman Dave Mustaine recently told Rolling Stone that he’d be joining the gig.
“When Marty said, ‘Hey, I can play at this gig,’ I thought, ‘This is so magnificent,’” Mustaine told the publication. “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.”
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Friedman also previously shared his excitement about returning to Megadeth in a statement. “It has been a long time — 23 years to be exact since I’ve been on the same stage with Dave Mustaine making music,” he said.
“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.”
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The writer used AI tools to publish part of this article. The Brag Media relies on journalists to fact check & edit all articles regardless of any AI tools used.
