MEGADETH recently revealed that they will be taking the stage at the Budokan Arena in Tokyo, Japan, with guitarist Marty Friedman. The band has provided visual evidence of their arrival in Japan through a video, and a photo was posted by the Argentine tribute band, Mellowdeth, that shows Marty playing alongside the group at the soundcheck. See photo below.
On February 27, a Budokan concert will be streamed online and can be accessed on demand for a few days after that. This marks the first time in over twenty years that Marty Friedman has performed with the group.
Earlier this month, Friedman shared a video message in which he said: “What’s up, everybody? This is Marty Friedman here. Just a quick announcement to let you all know that I’m gonna be joining my good friends in MEGADETH on stage at the Budokan in Tokyo on February 27th.
“It’s been a real long time since I’ve been on the same stage with Dave Mustaine making music, and we’ve both taken severely different paths in our life since then,” he continued. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I’m so extremely proud of the part that I played in MEGADETH‘s history and MEGADETH‘s legacy, and I’m also very, very proud of the achievements that the band has done in my absence. But for right now, at this moment, I just feel immense joy and serious adrenaline to look forward to playing together at this very, very cool place. So I just really wish you could be there, and I hope to see you soon.”
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine previously said: “Marty and I have remained friends over 23 years, since we last played together. 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. To be honest, I may drift off while listening to Kiko and Marty play together!”
When Friedman was presented with the idea of MEGADETH‘s Rust In Peace lineup reunion three years ago, money became a persuading factor for him to take part. He and drummer Nick Menza met with Mustaine and ex-bassist David Ellefson at the 2015 NAMM show in Anaheim to talk about rejoining forces once again.
In Mustaine‘s latest book, Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece, Friedman candidly reveals why he declined the offer of a MEGADETH reunion for their iconic album, Rust In Peace.
“My main thing was I’d be happy to do it, but I’m not going to take less money than I’m already making to do it,” Marty said in part.
“I’d been in Japan for more than ten years cultivating a career with solid rewards. I was making money not only for myself but also for my management and staff. My manager has been with me fifteen years.
“Everything was sound and solid professionally, and when the offer came up to all of a sudden join MEGADETH again, as long as I would not be making less money, I was ready to go,” he said.
“”But I was certainly not going to take a loss to join a band that, frankly, at that point, didn’t seem like they had too much to offer musically. A couple of members of the band had recently quit, and musically I hadn’t heard anything that they’ve done in a long time.
“I didn’t know about how relevant they continued to be in the music business. It wasn’t like MEGADETH was on the tip of people’s tongues, at least not in Japan. I had reached the point where people stopped immediately connecting me to MEGADETH and were talking about the things that I had done in Japan.”
