Say what you like about Dave Mustaine and his inability to consign his departure from Metallica to the dustbin of history, but it gave him the fire and the fury required to put together a band that would be have its own legacy as one of thrash metal’s pioneers – one of metal’s most-enduring acts.

With Mustaine announcing the end for Megadeth, Guitar World takes a trip down memory lane for a blow-by-blow account of one MegaDiscography.

Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good! (Combat, 1985)

Guitarist: Chris Poland

Still bitter about being fired from Metallica, Dave Mustaine returned with a band fashioned from his own imagination. The songs were sharp and socially aware, while the music was surprisingly mature. Mustaine had immediately made his intentions clear – namely to take the thrash beast he’d helped create and give it a rounded metal education. It didn’t chart on the Billboard 200, but it was loved from the start.

Peace Sells… but Who’s Buying? (Capitol, 1986)

Guitarist: Chris Poland

Originally recorded for Combat Records, this was switched to the much bigger Capitol label, with the band given the budget to completely re-mix. The result is a true landmark album.

Forget about thrash; here was Mustaine leading a charge through the whole spectrum of musical emotions. The title track itself is something of an epic, showcasing Megadeth’s startlingly creative process. Meanwhile, Chris Poland’s playing is nothing short of brilliant.

So Far, So Good.. So What! (Capitol, 1988)

Guitarist: Jeff Young

Two years after Peace Sells…, a new Megadeth lineup landed on their feet with a record that refused to conform to expectations. While the cover of Sex Pistols’ Anarchy in the U.K. seemed somewhat superfluous, Mustaine was at his finest on the emotional In My Darkest Hour – a tribute to the late Cliff Burton of Metallica – and the haunting Mary Jane. We also don't mind Hook in Mouth and Set the World Afire.

Rust in Peace (Capitol, 1990)

Guitarist: Marty Friedman

The debut album from arguably Megadeth’s finest lineup, with Mustaine and long-time bassist Dave Ellefson being joined by guitarist Marty Friedman and drummer Nick Menza.

Trying to come to terms with his substance dependence, Mustaine became much more politically charged in his lyrical themes, exploring the implications and ramifications of war.

The music is, at times, breathtaking, with Friedman proving he could cope with the considerable demands put on the guitarist in this most exhaustive of metal bands. Hangar 18 is a striking moment of genius.

Countdown to Extinction (Capitol, 1992)

Guitarist: Marty Friedman

Max Norman, the man behind Ozzy Osbourne’s solo success, was brought in to co-produce with Mustaine, and his obvious commercial leanings can be heard in the way many of the songs here are structured. Gone were the sprawling epics, only two tracks – Sweating Bullets and Ashes in Your Mouth – were over five minutes in length, and many had an almost traditional arrangement.

However, Symphony of Destruction was a triumph and remains a Mega classic. Was this an attempt to challenge Metallica’s success with the Black Album? If so, it worked to some extent, as Countdown to Extinction came up just shy of the mark, making it to Number 2 on the U.S. charts.

Youthanasia (Capitol, 1994)

Guitarist: Marty Friedman

Now the band were really starting to alienate some of their diehard fans. Almost divorced from the qualities that had made their early albums so successful, Megadeth were moving inexorably towards melodic hard rock.

Norman’s guidance saw them become virtually one-paced, which meant that songs like Train of Consequences weren’t given the credit they deserved. While A Tout Le Monde provided a moving interlude, nevertheless it appeared that Mustaine had lost touch with his roots.

Cryptic Writings (Capitol, 1997)

Guitarist: Marty Friedman

Often dismissed as the worst album of the band’s career, Cryptic Writings actually saw Megadeth get back in touch with their thrash roots, on songs like FFF, She-Wolf and Vortex. And I’ll Get Even saw them re-igniting a creative spark. The problem was in the production.

Mustaine has in recent times expressed his regret at the decision to bring in Dann Huff, known for his work in melodic rock circles – far removed from where Megadeth should have been. And it cannot be denied that this record suffers from a somewhat tame timbre.

Risk (Capitol, 1999)

Guitarist: Marty Friedman

The last Megadeth album of the 20th century and Friedman’s farewell performance. Part of the problem here is that tracks like the single Crush ’Em are so smooth that they positively glide, rather than truly bombing along in Mega style.

Mustaine has claimed that the decision to take Megadeth even further into the jungle of melodically driven music was suggested by Lars Ulrich and, as the album title suggested, it was a real risk.

Again, the production from Huff was a problem, and the album suffers for it. However, it couldn’t be denied that Mustaine was still a formidable songwriter, as he proved on Prince of Darkness and Breadline.

The World Needs a Hero (Sanctuary, 2001)

Guitarist: Al Pitrelli

A new label, a fresh guitarist (Al Pitrelli) and a return to the hard stuff. After the hard-rock dabbling of the ’90s, the band got suited up in body armor and plunged back into the metal melee.

While this was not a complete return to the band’s original principles, the album had just enough rough and tumble to keep diehard fans satisfied.

The System Has Failed (Sanctuary, 2004)

Guitarist: Chris Poland

After calling time on the band due to a career-threatening arm injury, Mustaine intended this as a solo return. This was subsequently changed, although it was very much a Mustaine-plus-hired-hands effort.

A darker, more insidious record than The World Needs a Hero – it offered no solutions but highlighted current social and political problems and inconsistencies. However, what it did do was put Megadeth right back to the fore. They were once more metal heroes.

United Abominations (Roadrunner, 2007)

Guitarist: Glen Drover

Although Megadeth were once more a true band, it was obvious that the songs were the product of Mustaine’s mind. However, if The System Has Failed was a little inconsistent, this time it was clear Megadeth had found their range again.

A cover of Zeppelin’s Out On the Tiles and a re-visit of A Tout Le Monde (with a guest appearance from Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia) apart, it pulled no punches.

In keeping with modern cynicism, Mustaine showed himself to be as angry and agitated as he was in 1985. UA topped the GW readers poll for 2007’s best metal album.

Endgame (Roadrunner, 2009)

Guitarist: Chris Broderick

Endgame features yet another new lead guitarist entering MegaDave’s midst. This time around, it’s Chris Broderick, who came in hot, adding bouts of old-school thrash meets new-school edginess.

The result is an album that felt like a true band effort that was still clearly spearheaded by Mustaine, who continued to run the gamut of lyrical topics, ranging from Lord of the Rings themes to the Great Recession.

Songs like Head Crusher and 44 Minutes showed that Mustaine wasn’t just back at it, but aiming to properly reinstate the Megadeth machine atop the proverbial MegaMountain. And once again, this barn-burner topped Guitar World's end-of-year poll for the best metal album of 2009.

Th1rt3en (Roadrunner, 2011)

Guitarist: Chris Broderick

For the first time since the halcyon days of Marty Friedman, Megadeth made an album with the same lead guitarist as the previous one. Also noteworthy is the return of founding bassist David Ellefson, whom James LoMenzo had previously replaced. The results were good, if not outstanding… in a way.

The Al Capone-inspired Public Enemy No. 1 was kind of weird, but also kinda awesome in that Mustaine continued to push his lyrical ideas past their limits. And then there’s a cut like Sudden Death, which found Mustaine and company pummeling away at full blast with intent to kill.

Super Collider (Universal, 2013)

Guitarist: Chris Broderick

Three albums in a row with a guitarist not named Marty Friedman? Madness! Sadly, this would be Broderick’s Megadeth swan song. Thankfully, he went out with a bang, as Super Collider was the band’s best since the vaunted Rust in Peace. This is not to say Super Collider is as good as Rust in Peace, but that Mustaine had harnessed some sort of latter-day resurgence, landing Megadeth back among the genre’s best and most consistent bands. Evidence can be found in songs like Kingmaker and Burn!

Though great things were to come, it’s a shame Broderick didn’t stick around to challenge the vaunted Friedman era for consistency and dominance. That aside, he did find his way onto GW's cover (our June 2013 issue), becoming the first Megadeth guitarist to share the cover with Mustaine since Friedman back in 1991.

Dystopia (Universal, 2016)

It’s not hyperbolic to say that Dystopia was the best Megadeth album since the band’s first few beloved records. But this time, this isn’t just because it’s good, but because it’s truly great.

With former Angra guitarist Kiko Loureiro aboard, Mustaine found the best foil he’d had since the ’80s, leading to the creation of a modern metal monster. Fatal Illusion, The Threat Is Real and Post American World are commentaries that pummel the listener into blissful submission. Dystopia is top-tier Mustaine, so it’s no wonder that it nabbed him a Grammy for Best Metal Performance.

Guitarist: Kiko Loureiro

The Sick, the Dying… And the Dead! (Universal, 2022)

Mustaine and co carried the momentum from Dystopia into the sessions for The Sick… leading to another late-career metal masterstroke. But there was more at play here, such as the Covid pandemic and Mustaine’s throat cancer diagnosis.

We’ll Be Back netted Megadeth another Grammy nod for Best Metal Performance, which was the icing on the cake given all that Mustaine had been through. On the downside, this record put a period on Lourierio’s tenure.

Guitarist: Kiko Loureiro

Megadeth (Frontiers, 2026)

Given the fact that Mustaine and his band of merry men had nabbed two Grammys after the release of the band’s previous two records, and that their live show is as hellacious as ever, it was a surprise to hear that Megadeth will be the band’s final album.

But it’s not all bad, as newbie Teemu Mäntysaari made like it was 1990, delivering a Friedman-ish performance across Tipping Point, I Don’t Care and Let There Be Shred. Mustaine is going out like he came in: kicking, screaming and delivering blood‑boiling rock just as he did in ’85.

Guitarist: Teemu Mäntysaari

• Megadeth is out now via Frontiers.
• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

Marty Friedman states he has no regrets. He’s seen and done just about everything a guitarist can, with career highs including Cacophony’s Speed Metal Symphony (1987), his debut solo record, Dragon’s Kiss (1988), and Megadeth’s Rust in Peace (1990). And in 2024 he dropped what he feels is his definitive work, Drama.

He’s delighted to have reconnected with old pal Dave Mustaine, and to have joined Megadeth onstage for a few songs at Budokan and Wacken in 2023 – which reminded the world how high the stakes go when he’s on a big stage.

“It may be because it’s what I do most naturally and best,” Friedman says. “When someone’s doing what they’re meant to do, it has a profound effect. Perhaps greater than someone who has the gift to play beautifully but who’s multi-talented with a true calling in carpentry or aviation, for example. There aren’t a lot of other things I do well!”

Friedman, of course, is aware that Mustaine is in the process of calling time on Megadeth – which has him thinking about his own past and future.

“I'm proud of the legacy I've built with the band, and I love the fans even more now,” he says. “They remind me of myself as a teenage Kiss fan.

“Whenever Megadeth retires will be the right time. Dave and I could have both retired decades ago, but we’re both lifers – we play music because that is just what we do. When the grind of touring eventually outweighs the joy of playing, I’d say that’s the time to retire.”

What are your earliest memories of music?

Johnny Cash had a TV show when I was a kid, and it came on right at my bedtime, and I used to plead with my parents to let me watch it. Most of the time they didn’t, so I listened to it through the central heating vent in the floor. He was always talking about jail and rebellious stuff – it was this forbidden thing, and I loved it.

What specifically drew you to the guitar?

I never cared about guitar! I thought they were for folk singers and college kids singing around the campfire. When I saw Kiss in concert I just wanted to be in that high-energy, high-adrenaline world, and the guitar seemed to be the way to get into it.

How did the scene you grew up in affect you?

I was very lucky. My first band, Deuce, was the foundation of everything to come. I was playing live in front of people from the very beginning, even though I could barely play! It forces you to be an entertainer, to always play your best and to avoid screwing up at all costs. No one hears your mistakes if you’re in your bedroom.

After Jake E. Lee left Ozzy, you auditioned for the job. What was that like?

I was flattered to be flown down to audition. I think I played very well, but my image at that time was more of a guitar nerd than a partying rock star. I didn’t look like the guys in the band. I think Zakk Wylde was absolutely perfect for Ozzy, with more than enough playing ability to back up his wild appearance.

How did you first meet Mike Varney, leading to signing a deal in the so-called shred era?

Back then, “shred” wasn’t a term you heard much. It always made me think of a guy playing as fast as possible in his basement – fingers were flying and looking impressive, but if you closed your eyes it sounds like absolute vomit. But a lot of people listen with their eyes; they see these guys and are impressed and they think shredding is cool. I hated being lumped in with shredders.

I first met Varney by sending a demo to his Spotlight column in Guitar Player magazine. He called me and we made several albums together. But it slightly irked me that despite all that, he never put me in his column!

Tell us about the writing and recording of solo album Dragons Kiss, which put you on the map.

I’d put all my guts and all my material into Cacophony's Speed Metal Symphony, so when Mike Varney signed me on for a solo album, I had no material. I was motivated solely by the fact that a label was willing to put out my music. I didn’t want to let anyone down.

The recording was brutal. It was done in shifts – daytime was Dragon's Kiss and nighttime was Jason Becker's Perpetual Burn, which I was also co-producing. I was in the studio 16 to 18 hours a day, with no time for trivial things like food and sleep. But I wouldn’t have had it any other way!

It was forcing me to come up with so much on the spot. Sonically, Dragon’s Kiss can be hit and miss, but I’m glad I put Forbidden City on there. I feel that was a well-done piece of music, despite my limited life experience at the time.

What had led to your hooking up with Jason Becker?

Mike had played me a demo of Jason beforehand, and I was nonplused. The best I could say about it was that he was good for a 16-year-old – but so what? But Mike insisted I meet him, and since Mike was holding the keys to the album I wanted to release, I humored him.

When Jason came into my apartment I immediately fell in love with the guy. I could see that, although songwriting and recording were not yet things he was any good at, he had an unlimited amount of talent for playing the guitar.

So I made the ultimate sacrifice and scrapped my solo album to form the band Cacophony with him. We became best friends almost immediately. I was growing as a guitarist at a pretty good pace, but Jason was growing like some kind of Guinness world record holder!

In one short year, at age 18, he went from a crappy demo tape to writing, arranging, and recording Perpetual Burn, an album that stands up today as a benchmark of jaw-dropping guitar playing. It was uncanny.

Your work with Jason, along with your solo work, got your star rising. Is that what first caught Dave Mustaine's attention?

No – Dave didn’t particularly like the Cacophony stuff. One time we were listening to it in the car and he was telling me he liked this part and that part. But he’s always been a song guy, and Cacophony was less about songs, more about new melodies, unique sections, far-out arrangements – and, of course, guitar acrobatics. Great songwriters, we were definitely not!

I was recommended to Megadeth's manager by a mutual friend, after they’d unsuccessfully auditioned around 60 guitarists.

Were you a fan of Megadeth?

I wasn't too familiar with the band, but I remember really liking the Peace Sells album when it came out. What I knew I could bring to the table was a much more melodic way to present the heavy music they were doing, and I could update the lead guitar work.

Megadeth always had good lead guitar work, but when I joined they only had two major-label albums out, and the guitar was not recorded very well – so you couldn’t tell how good it was. I wanted a much stronger and clearer presentation of guitar. We got exactly that when we started recording together.

It's undisputed that your era with Megadeth bred the band's best work. Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction are all-time albums. Why do you think that is?

We were each the perfect guy for the job, all in the band at the same time. No weak links, and we constantly pushed each other. It was a lot of very hard work, and very little resting on laurels, if any. We were deeply emotionally invested in the product we were creating.

In my autobiography Dreaming Japanese, I went into great detail about making the albums. Each had separate challenges; some were more fun than others, but none of us ever slacked off on any of them. It’s no coincidence that they still hold up pretty well today.

While you were with Megadeth in the ‘90s, you continued your solo work. Was Dave okay with that?

Dave and Megadeth management were totally cool with my solo career coinciding. At the time I wasn’t touring with my own band, like I am now. That would have likely caused a conflict. But when I was off tour, I was always working on my own music as well as Megadeth stuff.

A lot of people think it was a mistake to leave Megadeth – but there’s a strong argument that you left at the right time.

I understand that, for a fan, anything that changes your favorite lineup is catastrophic. But for me, it was the best career move I ever made. It wasn’t easy to leave such a well-established band that I’d had so much success with.

But leaving allowed me to eclipse my role in Megadeth on so many levels and create a niche for myself that’s served me very well. Megadeth went on to win Grammys and do some amazing things in my absence, so all is well on both sides.

Things seem to have thawed between you and Dave in recent years.

It’s great – we’ve both kept our things going strong for several years, so there’s a mutual respect between us. It was quite casual and easy for us to play together the few times we have at Budokan and Wacken.

You’ve remained prolific ever since, releasing amazing solo records, leading up to Drama. What keeps you chasing new sounds?

There are always new depths of melody to be created and new expressions to share, and I’ve always pursued those things. I think Drama is the ultimate representation of my musical evolution.

I’ve been concentrating on touring the album much longer than usual before starting the next one. I can't imagine topping it – so, being the lazy ass I can often be, I’ll just enjoy playing the Drama music on tour until I feel like I can do something better.

What’s the backstory of your guitars and the gear that gets your notable tone?

I’m very fortunate to have signature guitars, pickups, amps, and pedals. The Jackson Marty Friedman MF-1, the EMG MF pickups, the ENGL Marty Friedman Inferno amp, and the Tech 21 Marty Friedman pedal will lead anyone to the tones I like.

To be honest, though, I’d sound like me through any gear. I use these products because they’re extremely reliable work tools, rather than having some kind of special sound I can’t live without. I just need a workhorse that can take a constant beating.

What are you up to now, and what’s next?

I've been touring for the Drama album since it came out in late 2024 and I plan to tour it even more in 2026. And I’ve been working with several Japanese artists, doing plenty of Japanese TV shows as usual. And I have a YouTube channel called Rock Fujiyama that has me playing guitar with interesting guests every week.

• Drama is on sale now.

Megadeth’s golden era lead guitarist, Marty Friedman, says he has no regrets about leaving the band at the turn of the millennium.

Friedman joined Dave Mustaine’s outfit in 1990 for a decade-long stint. He introduced himself to the Megadeth fanbase via his fireworks-laden guitar solos on the metal classic Rust in Peace. He was part of the band’s most successful period, which saw them releasing a handful of seminal records, including Countdown to Extinction, Youthanasia, and Cryptic Writings.

He was subsequently replaced by Al Pitrelli heading into the early 2000, and Friedman feels he left the band at the right time.

“I understand that as a fan, if anything happens that changes your favorite lineup, it’s catastrophic,” a sympathetic Friedman tells Guitar World. “But for me, it was the best career move I ever made.”

As for why he has no regrets leaving when he did, Friedman says it gave him the freedom to explore new avenues in his career.

He continues, “It was not easy to leave such a well-established band that I had so much success with. But leaving it allowed me to eclipse my role in Megadeth on so many levels and create a niche for myself that has served me very well.”

Following his departure, Friedman relocated to Japan, where he's established a cult following. He's made records with J-Pop star Nanase Aikawa, Japanese idol group Momoiro Clover Z, and a score of works for TV. Not to mention a cluster of solo albums, with his last, Drama, written as a love letter to his fans, coming in 2024.

By stepping away from the gung-ho world of thrash, Friedman has been able to explore his guitar playing with unbridled freedom.

“There are always new and undiscovered depths of melody to be created, and new expressions to share, and I have always pursued those things,” he adds.

“I think Drama is the ultimate representative of my musical evolution; I’ve been concentrating on touring for the album much longer than usual before starting to work on the next one. I can't imagine topping it.”

Friedman has had offers to return to Mustaine's side, famously turning down the chance to reunite the Rust in Peace line-up, but did play two shows as a guest with them in 2023.

In related news, Mustaine recently revealed the life-changing hand condition that has forced Megadeth’s retirement, and explained the strange reason why Friedman nearly didn’t get the gig.

Dave Mustaine has shed light on what fans can expect from Megadeth’s farewell tour later this year – and we won’t be holding our breath for any high-profile reunions.

In late 2025, Mustaine announced that he’d be retiring the Megadeth banner in 2026 with a final studio record that would be joined by a global send-off. So far, the thrash pioneers have shared three singles – one of which was a shred guitar celebration.

As far as the tour is concerned, it’s set to be one of the guitar world’s biggest events this year.

However, whereas some legacy bands have previously taken the opportunity to reunite with past members for their own farewell jaunts, Mustaine and Megadeth will be steering clear of the cameos.

In other words, don’t expect Marty Friedman, Kiko Loureiro, Chris Poland or any other past member of Megadeth to show up during the tour.

Mustaine shot down chances of a spectacular reunion in the new issue of Guitar World, during which he was asked about the possibility of bringing ‘Deth alumni out on stage.

“We’ve already done that with Marty,” says Mustaine [Friedman joined Megadeth on stage twice in 2023 – February in Japan and August in Germany].

“And, I mean, let’s look at the other people we’ve played with… there’s a lot of people. [Laughs] That would be a huge undertaking. I don’t think I want to do that. I’d rather keep doing what we’re doing and let the fans [experience] Megadeth music and be happy about it. It’s not ‘puppet show Megadeth.’”

So, those hoping to see one last rodeo with Mustaine, Friedman, Loureiro and other Megadeth fan favorites should probably temper their expectations. That said, it certainly frees up the spotlight for the band’s current shredder, Teemu Mäntysaari, whose post-Megadeth future is looking very bright indeed.

There will be one blast from the past for Megadeth’s farewell festivities, though. On the record, Mustaine will be covering a Metallica classic that he co-wrote while in the band.

Elsewhere in his Guitar World interview, Mustaine looked back on the ill-fated guitar appointment that led Megadeth to Jeff Young. The thrash icon has also opened up about the life-changing hand condition that was behind his decision to retire Megadeth.

For the full interview with Mustaine, pick up a copy of Guitar World issue 600, on sale now.

Few vocalists in history are as synonymous with guitar heroics as Ozzy Osbourne. Starting with Tony Iommi and connecting with Randy Rhoads, Brad Gillis, Jake E. Lee, Zakk Wylde and many other greats, Ozzy knew how to pick ’em.

But what about the coulda-beens, shoulda-beens and never-beens? You know – the “close, but no cigar” gang? So many top-notch guitarists have told tales of auditioning for Ozzy and, for one reason or another, weren’t the right fit.

In the spirit of “almost,” GW dials it back to 13 players who were ever-so-nearly the apple of Ozzy’s eye.

George Lynch (auditioned in 1979 and 1982)

The Washington-born future Dokken star auditioned for Ozzy Osbourne not once, but twice. He first tried out in ’79 but lost out to Randy Rhoads. He auditioned again after Rhoads’ death three years later, this time to replace Brad Gillis, who had replaced Rhoads. Lynch insists that he secured the gig but was quickly fired after Ozzy got a load of Jake E. Lee’s look.

“They had two problems with me,” Lynch told Ultimate Guitar last year. “Ozzy had a problem with my short hair. I had short hair at the time. Then his wife [Sharon] had a problem with my green guitar. She said it looked like a booger. [She] didn't care what it sounded like, didn't care what I was playing.”

It’s all a bit hard to believe, given Lynch’s instrumental prowess. That said, Lynch is known as a, shall we say, free spirit. He didn’t jive with Don Dokken, nor did he get on all that well with Oni Logan in Lynch Mob. It’s reasonable to speculate that he might eventually have fallen out with Ozzy.

Richie Ranno (auditioned in 1982)

Back in 2022, the East Coast-raised guitar-slinger Richie Ranno told GW how he met a young Randy Rhoads in 1976 while he was playing with Starz. “Randy was a friend of mine from back in the ’70s,” he told us. “He was a big fan of Starz, and I think he was around 19 when I first met him.”

Fast forward to ’79, and Ranno ran into Rhoads again just before Rhoads left Quiet Riot to join Ozzy’s band. After the fateful plane crash in March 1982, Ozzy called on Ranno for an audition.

“When [the first] two Ozzy solo records came out, I didn’t realize it was that same kid [Rhoads] on guitar,” Ranno says.

“I learned Crazy Train, I Don’t Know, Goodbye to Romance and Over the Mountain. I was trying to play as much like Randy as I could, which wasn’t easy, but it went great. Don Airey told me I was the first person to audition, and I felt like, ‘Fuck, I’m in a bad spot here,’ because you never want to be first.”

Ultimately, Ranno lost out to Bernie Tormé, who wasn’t long for the gig.

Robert Sarzo (nearly asked to join in 1982)

It would have been easy to pivot to guitarist Robert Sarzo, as his brother Rudy was playing bass in Ozzy’s band at the time of Randy Rhoads’ death. In his 2006 memoir, Off the Rails: Aboard the Crazy Train in the Blizzard of Ozz, Rudy wrote that Sharon and Ozzy wanted Robert, nicknamed “the VuDu Man,” to join the band.

Robert would have gotten the job, except for the fact that Sharon’s father, Don Arden – who managed Ozzy at the time – paid Bernie Tormé in advance to replace Rhoads on the Diary of a Madman tour. Ozzy and Sharon reluctantly agreed, and Sarzo missed his chance at stardom.

Vito Bratta (asked to audition in 1982)

One of the less-talked-about would-be Ozzy shredders is New Yorker Vito Bratta, who revealed in 2023 that he had a brush with the Osbournes while Brad Gillis was still in the band.

“Somebody sent a cassette of me doing the Sabbath stuff to Ozzy’s people,” Bratta told GW, revealing this information for the very first time. “And then – if I remember right, it was probably Sharon, but I can’t be sure – called me, saying, ‘Hey, we like your tape, and we want you to come down to the Ritz to play.’”

But Bratta never got the chance to audition properly, as he botched the opportunity over the phone while with Sharon.

“I told her, ’Sure, I can come down. What songs do you want me to play?’ She tells me, ‘Do you know anything from Ozzy’s two solo albums?’ I told her, ‘No, I don’t know anything.’ I did love Randy’s stuff, but I didn't have time to sit at home and learn it. I never got around to it.”

At this point, Bratta knew he’d blown it. “Her voice was getting higher and higher,” he recalled. “I told her, ‘You want me to come down there soon, but I don’t know the stuff yet.’ She said, ‘How long do you need?’ I told her, ‘Give me a week.’ She said, ‘Okay, maybe you’re right, it’s not a good idea.’ And she hangs up, and I bang the phone down.”

Ultimately, Bratta went on to stardom with White Lion, but it sure would have been cool to play with Ozzy. “God almighty,” he says. “I remember being frustrated, you know? I felt like, ‘Fuck… this was the shot.’”

Adrian Vandenberg (asked to join in 1983)

According to Vandenberg’s social media, Ozzy asked the Dutchman to join his band while Jake E. Lee was still with him, during the Speak of the Devil tour. On the day Ozzy died (July 22), Vandenberg said of their first meeting, “I was fortunate to spend time with him, starting with touring the USA with Ozzy and his band in 1983.”

Vandenberg added that “There was never a dull moment” on tour with Ozzy, with “daily practical jokes” and Ozzy giving Vandenberg’s self-titled band “daily soundchecks.”

Those soundchecks are probably where the alleged invitation to join took place, but due to commitments with his own band – not to mention Lee’s presence in Ozzy’s group – Vandenberg declined the offer, which may or may not have been formal.

Jimi Bell (auditioned in 1987)

After Jake E. Lee left Ozzy in 1987, several guitarists auditioned for the gig. One of them was Joan Jett’s guitarist, Jimi Bell. In 2022, Bell recounted the details of that audition on the (Don’t) Quit Your Day Job podcast, saying, “I played on this big soundstage with Ozzy, and it went phenomenal. Ozzy really loved it, and when I got done playing, they sat me down and said it was between me and Zakk Wylde.”

History shows that Wylde was chosen, but it wasn’t all bad for Bell. “After deciding to stay with Zakk, Sharon gave my promo pack to Geezer Butler,” he recalled. “At that point, I was flown to England to work with him.” After that, Bell wrote some music for Sabbath’s Master of Insanity, which appeared on 1992’s Dehumanizer, although he wasn’t credited for it.

Marty Friedman (auditioned in 1987)

Looking back, it seems obvious that a Marty Friedman/Ozzy Osbourne pairing would have been a recipe for disaster, as the guitarist is something of a maverick. We’ll never know, as Friedman “failed miserably” when he took his shot at replacing Jake E. Lee in ’87.

He attributes this to his image, recalling during a Rock ’n’ Roll Fantasy Camp Q&A session in 2023: “I was practically homeless at the time, [but] I thought I played everything absolutely just fine, and I thought it sounded great. Everybody was friendly enough.

“But our images were very different. Those guys in the band [were] totally decked out in 1980s Sunset Strip – what do you call it? – skull T-shirts with handcuffs and long necklaces.”

Jennifer Batten (submitted a tape in 1987)

Jennifer Batten can play with anyone; her work with Michael Jackson and Jeff Beck is testament to that. But Ozzy disagreed, as Batten told Ultimate Guitar in 2022.

“I remember before the Michael Jackson thing came up, I was trying to get an audition with Ozzy. They were auditioning everybody in L.A. at the time, and I know my audio got to the right people, and I didn’t even get a chance.”

Batten says the reason was simple: she was a woman. “Looking back, it’s a super-macho gig, and they probably wouldn’t even consider a female for that. Having said that, if it were the same thing today, I think it’d be a whole different story.” The gig ultimately went to Zakk Wylde.

Chris Impellitteri (asked to audition in 1987)

Yet another fleet-fingered guitarist who auditioned to be Jake E. Lee’s replacement in 1987 was Chris Impellitteri. Notoriously, Impellitteri is one of the fastest shredders of them all, but it’s hard to envision his style fitting with Ozzy’s music — which, while shred-heavy, also require a bluesy player with feel.

Impellitteri’s story is similar to Vito Bratta’s in that it began with a phone call. “I came home one night from rehearsal,” he told GW in 2024. “My roommate goes, ‘You’ve got to listen to this message,’ which said, ‘This is Sharon Osbourne. Me and Ozzy have been checking you out, and we really love your guitar playing. We want you to come down and audition.’”

Unlike Bratta, Impellitteri didn’t blow his shot over the phone. Still, he never got past the talking stage. “I talked to Sharon – and, I think, Ozzy – probably three to five times,” he says. “There was some back and forth. The problem was that I’d already signed a deal with Relativity Records.” In this case, business deals rather than image or gender proved to be the impassable obstacle.

Nuno Bettencourt (asked to join in 1995)

On the surface, Extreme guitarist Nuno had everything Ozzy could want in a guitarist. He had singular talent, he could (and can) rip it up with the best of them, and he was a great songwriter.

But like many guitar-playing musos, Nuno is also a maverick whose heart beats strictly to its own drum. This led him to reject an offer to join Ozzy’s band, which was served up on a silver platter in 1995, just before Extreme broke up.

“Nobody says ‘no’ to Ozzy,” Nuno told GW in 2025. “It’s the gig of a lifetime.” So then, why did he? Simple. As iconic as the position is, Nuno never wanted to be known as just Ozzy’s guitarist.

“For better or worse, I’ve always had my sights set on – and I’ll never reach it, probably – becoming Randy or Edward or Brian May or Jimmy Page, and the list goes on. You have this mission to carve your own path, whatever that is.”

Richie Kotzen (auditioned and was asked to join after Steve Vai didn’t work out in 1995)

If the sometime Poison and Mr. Big guitarist Richie Kotzen is to be believed, in 1995 – after Zakk Wylde had departed and an attempt to record with Steve Vai didn’t work out – he was asked aboard the good ship Ozzy.

“I got a phone call from my manager,” Kotzen told Metal Sludge in 2014. “The way it was presented to me was that they had called and wanted to meet with me. Sharon wanted to meet me, and they needed a guitar player. At the time, they had done a lot of work with Steve Vai and, for whatever reason, it didn’t pan out. Zakk wasn’t involved at that point.”

According to Kotzen, he secured the gig but made the mistake of telling a friend, who leaked it to the press. This didn’t sit well with the Osbournes, leading to Joe Holmes taking his place.

“I remember seeing [the report], and I was so fucking pissed,” Kotzen said. “I said, ‘Why the fuck would you go and fucking make this public? I told you this as a friend, and now you’re blabbing it [in public]!’ The whole deal, everything, went dead.”

Buckethead (auditioned around 2005)

Brian “Buckethead” Carroll has never commented on this story, but Ozzy has. According to the singer, he auditioned Buckethead for his solo band just before the 2005 Ozzfest, as he wasn’t quite sure Zakk Wylde would be available. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t really go well.

“I tried out that Buckethead guy,” Ozzy told Revolver in 2005. “I met with him and asked him to work with me, but only if he got rid of the fucking bucket. So I came back a bit later and he’s wearing this green fucking Martian’s hat thing. I haven’t even got out of the room and I’m already playing fucking mind games with the guy.”

Needless to say, Buckethead didn’t get the gig.

Frank Sidoris (auditioned around 2017)

As Osbourne was gearing up for what was to be his “farewell” solo tour, before Zakk Wylde hopped aboard for round three with the Prince of Darkness, he was – once again – auditioning guitar players. One of these was Frank Sidoris.

Ozzy ultimately went with good 'ol Zakk Wylde due to familiarity, but Sidoris – who is now a touring guitarist with Wolfgang Van Halen’s band, Mammoth – left a positive impression. Ozzy later commented in a letter to Sidoris, “I can see why you’ve had success at a young age.”

• This article first appeared in Guitar World. Subscribe and save.

John Sykes passed away in December at the age of 65, to the shock and dismay of many. He first came to prominence in the early 80s with NWOBHM act Tygers Of Pan Tang, though within a few short years he had replaced Snowy White in Thin Lizzy, before moving on to Whitesnake, most notably co-writing the 1987 self-titled album at the peak of their US success.

John’s fluid, skilful playing combined the passion of Gary Moore with riffs inspired by Zeppelin and Deep Purple, plus unexpected melodic twists like Ritchie Blackmore and squealing pinched harmonics that pre-dated Zakk Wylde getting the Ozzy Osbourne gig.

“When John Sykes came out on the [Tygers Of Pan Tang] Spellbound album, it was like, ‘This was a game changer for me.’” Marty Friedman told Eddie Trunk earlier this year. “He was the first guy in that genre that I heard that I was like, ‘Wow – these lead guys can really take an exciting part of the band’s sound.’”

John was also known for getting huge rhythm tones, some of which were created with the help of producer Bob Rock, who went on to produce Metallica’s ‘Black Album’ a few years later.

Though John settled in the US later in his career, he never lost the ‘Britishness’ in his playing – and while he was most certainly a rocker, he always retained a certain melodic blues feel, which set him apart from the shredders.

The guitar John is most associated with is his 1978 Les Paul Custom/Black Beauty with chrome hardware and a mirror pickguard, which he used throughout his career. He would generally plug straight into his amps, which at various times were Mesa/Boogie, Jose Arredondo-modified Marshalls and EVH 5150s.

John liked his high-gain tones, and like Gary Moore he was adept at silencing the guitar/avoiding unwanted feedback by zeroing the volume knob between phrases.

The example phrases are a challenge – earlier this year, in his personal tribute to John Sykes, GW's Nick Bowcott described being left “choking in his dust” – so working through them methodically will definitely raise your game.

They appear in sequence as if played in a single pass, but they were recorded separately, so don’t feel you have to play the whole thing from beginning to end!

Example 1.

Starting with a melodic E natural minor based lick, this example then shifts to a shape 1 E minor pentatonic/blues scale run that descends in an almost haphazard way to the final pinched harmonic on the fifth string.

Though it is faithfully transcribed here, allow yourself a little leeway. The most important consideration is to come out on time for that final note. You can allow it to drift ‘off time’ if you want, which is also very effective.

Example 2.

Switching to the neck pickup (something John liked to do frequently), this example is the opposite of Example 1 in that it starts fast and furious with the Gary Moore-style alternate-picked lick, then slows down for some melodic held notes with a slowish vibrato. John liked to create drama with unusual note choices and this is one of the qualities that set him apart from other ‘flash’ soloists, especially in the early to mid-80s.

Example 3.

The picking pattern for bar 1 of this example is very specific. The first and second note of the first triplet pattern are picked with a single downstroke, with the third note hammered on.

This is then reversed, using a single upstroke to play the first two notes followed by a pull-off. This is probably easier to do than to explain! The rest of the example is mostly conventional alternate picking, but keep an eye on the position changes as you descend.

Example 4.

This rapid-fire blues lick is generated with a similar technique to Example 3 but this time in groups of four. The first two notes are played with a single downstroke crossing from the third to second string.

The third note is then played with an upstroke, with the fourth generated by a pull-off. It takes a while to get this under the fingers, but then it becomes surprisingly relaxed – as long as you don’t overthink it! The final sliding intervals are similar to John’s solo in the Blue Murder track Riot.

Hear it here

Thin Lizzy – Life

Released in 1983 following their final album, Thunder And Lightning, from that same year, this live collection features a couple of rockers from that album alongside various Lizzy classics.

Sykes’ solos on Cold Sweat and The Holy War show that he was able to play all the supercharged blues licks and modern techniques but with a keen ear for melody and interesting note choice. His take on the Gary Moore/Brian Robertson solo on Still In Love With You is also well worth a listen.

Whitesnake – S/T

This album, also known as 1987, showed the band shifting to the heavier end of the blues-rock spectrum. MTV-friendly hits such as Still Of The Night and Give Me All Your Love featured videos with Adrian Vandenberg and Vivian Campbell playing guitar, but, in truth, Sykes had co-written and recorded the whole album.

It’s also nice to hear him add his powerful rhythm playing and electrifying solo to a re-recorded version of Crying In The Rain, which had first appeared in 1982.

Blue Murder – S/T

After his exit from Whitesnake and before having the chance to tour the Whitesnake album, John was keen to show who had been largely responsible for its ‘widescreen’ sound – check out Riot, Valley Of The Kings and the title track, and the message is loud and clear.

As well as an abundance of incendiary solos, John is in fine form on lead vocals here, too. However, sadly for the band, grunge was waiting just around the corner and was about to change the musical landscape…

• This article first appeared in Guitarist. Subscribe and save.

Enough time has passed since December 1991 that it feels okay that we can revisit that month’s Guitar World cover and declare it one of the greatest of all time.

Neal Preston took the photo, and it is a work of art Megadeth’s twin-guitar partnership Dave Mustaine and Marty Friedman were the subjects, both in the possession of Jackson guitars, period-correct hair, and Preston even manages to capture Mustaine in a Mona Lisa mood. Just look at that face; is MegaDave smiling?

Maybe. Or perhaps it was indigestion. Anyhoo, it’s Friedman we’re interested in, and more to the point the Jackson that this magnificent shred poodle of a man is holding. The story behind this prototype Firebird-esque electric guitar is what we’re after when we gave Friedman a call…

When and where did you buy this guitar?

“I’m sure I was somewhere on the road, right around the time of the photo shoot, when Jackson presented me with several guitars of very cool shapes. It might have been a prototype.”

What drew you to it?

“I loved the shape. Jackson should get more recognition for being the first top-tier company to make guitars of radically ‘heavy metal’-looking shapes way before anyone else did. Arguably, they were the only top-tier company making them for a very long time. Before Jackson, all the weird-shaped guitars were sonically and visually suited to other genres, like surf music or retro stuff.”

Did you modify it to fit the music you were playing at the time?

“I’ve never needed to modify any Jacksons.”

How did this guitar — as opposed to others — impact how you played?

“At this time, in [Megadeth], we used only a pretty basic palette of guitar sounds, so any given guitar taken on tour would have a similar tone – a big, thick rhythm sound and a juicy lead tone. That was all I needed to get the job done.

“I was playing my signature model, the KE-1, for most of any given set, so I would bring this guitar out once or twice because it looked like a curvy version of my main guitar. That was the main difference.”

What notable recordings or tours did you use this guitar on?

“[Megadeth’s] Countdown to Extinction – the album and tour – and maybe one or two more after that. I didn’t play it much.”

Did you use this guitar post-Megadeth?

“Doubtful.”

Why did you choose this guitar for your GW cover shoot?

“I probably just got it and was in love with the shape. It might have been smarter to choose my signature model, though!”

Do you still have this guitar?”

“It was sold at a charity auction that I held in 2011 for the victims of Japan’s tsunami/earthquake.”

• Marty Friedman's biography, written with Guitar World's Jon Wiederhorn, is titled Dreaming Japanese and out now via Permuted Press.

Tech 21 has announced the SansAmp Marty Friedman, a signature stompbox built for the electric guitar virtuoso.

The collaborative project looks to deliver Friedman's tone while staying true to his streamlined on-stage and in-studio setups. The silver-finished design offers a “neat, compact, plug-and-play” pedal that provides built-in clean, dirty, and lead tones curated by Friedman.

Building on the foundation of the operationally similar SansAmp PSA 2.0, the signature build serves Performance and Studio modes. The former comes pre-loaded with Friedman’s trio of go-to live tones for on-the-fly playing, while the latter unlocks 128 preset slots.

Controls include Drive, Low, Mid, and High, as well as autonomy over Reverb and its built-in Noise Gate to clean up excess noise. Furthermore, a Filter control has been dropped in, which helps shape the mid-range via Friedman’s preferred voicing.

Elsewhere, there's SansAmp cab sim tech to emulate cabinet speakers without having to lug them about, a chromatic tuner, effects loop, and MIDI interface for players averse to tap dancing on stage.

As Tech 21 explains, SansAmp inventor Andrew Barta has staunchly stuck by analog gear throughout his career. He believes digital amp modelers fall flat because they “sound one-dimensional and aren't touch-sensitive, so the nuances of your playing style get lost”.

However, Barta also believes he's “cracked the code” with this pedal, consequently “replicating the dynamics, responsiveness, and fluidity” of analog gear in a digital setting. The code-cracking coincided with the chance to work with Friedman.

“This is it! This pedal has been a long time coming, and only a truly exceptional design engineer like [Tech 21’s] Andrew Barta could craft something with these beautiful tones and make it so incredibly simple to use,” says Friedman.

“Such bonehead easy-to-use effects haven’t been known to have world class sounds in them until now. I’m proud to put my name on the first one.”

“The Marty Friedman Signature SansAmp offers Marty’s core sounds and the versatility for many different styles,” adds Tech 21.

Owning a Tech 21 SansAmp Marty Friedman pedal will cost players $349.

Check out Tech 21 for the full lowdown.

From serving as Megadeth's lead guitarist to playing alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony and releasing a string of solo albums, Marty Friedman has done it all. However, if he could go back and give his younger self a nugget of advice when he was in his first band, Deuce, what would it be?

“I don't think I would say too much, but I would probably say, ‘Cool down on all the illegal substances,’” he says in a new interview with The Neurotic Guitarist.

“But then again, I don't think I'd even say that, because I got it all out of my system by the time I was 17. I was doing everything I loved, all the drugs, but acid was one that I never took.”

Friedman mentions that acid was more associated with the hippie community – whereas he was more of the “punk rocker, hard rock, heavy metal” kind. But a couple of friends did manage convince him to give it a chance.

“They would just say, ‘Dude, this is awesome.’ You know, ‘I'll try it. What do you got to lose?’” he recalls as he reflects on his decision.

“People have good trips and people have bad trips. And I think what I had was a very, very, very bad trip. I thought I was going to wind up being a mental patient if I ever came down from it because it was not going away.”

The silver lining? That experience became a complete turning point for Friedman, who views that bad acid trip as the catalyst that pushed him to fully commit to taking the guitar more seriously and, ultimately, pursue a professional music career.

“While I was up there, I was like, ‘If I ever survive this, I swear to God, I'm not going to do anything but work on music and play music and become the best musician I can be. I'm not going to even take a sip of beer.

“‘I'm not going to smoke a joint. I'm not going to do any more Quaaludes, no more coke, no nothing, all gone, everything going directly into music.’ And that's basically what I did.”

Late last year, Friedman celebrated his decades-spanning career by releasing his new autobiography (co-written by frequent GW contributor Jon Wiederhorn) Dreaming Japanese, in which he spills the tea on his Megadeth, Madonna, and Ozzy auditions.

Yesterday (January 20), it was announced that John Sykes – a hugely influential mainstay of '80s hard rock guitar who had stints in Whitesnake, Thin Lizzy, and Tygers of Pan Tang – had died at 65.

Though not quite a household name, Sykes was a true guitar player's guitar player who could more than keep up in a speed-obsessed era, but was most impressive for his unmistakable tone and song-focused playing approach.

The respect Sykes garnered was evident in the outpouring of tributes that came in in the wake of the guitarist's death.

Marty Friedman, for one, wrote on Twitter, “Very sad to hear of John Sykes passing. His work with Tygers of Pan Tang was by far my favorite of the NWOBHM (New Wave of British Heavy Metal). A wonderful guitarist.”

Zakk Wylde, in all caps, simply said, “God bless John Sykes.”

Guitar World lesson columnist Will Wallner also chimed in on Twitter, posting a particularly smoking Sykes solo with the caption, “Over 40 years later it still doesn’t get any cooler than this! He was such a special guitar player!”

Sykes' comrade in Blue Murder, drummer Carmine Appice, cited him as “one of the best.”

Though Sykes' tenure in Thin Lizzy was short – the band broke up less than a year after he successfully auditioned for them – he was arguably the largest factor in keeping the band going for that one final year.

Moving the band in a heavier direction, Sykes co-wrote one of their last hits, Cold Sweat, which he also highlighted with a sizzling display of his tapping acumen.

Nodding to his late bandmate and former six-string partner in crime, Thin Lizzy guitarist Scott Gorham wrote on Instagram, “So sad to hear about the passing of John Sykes. He and I played some sweet music together and he was a great musician. We'll miss him.”

Looking back on recording the scintillating Go Off! with Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, who was 18 when the album was released, says, “It was all special to us, especially now that we both know how precious and fleeting those times were.”

Given Becker’s ALS, one can understand the sentiment. But still, “precious” is an interesting way to define one of the more in-your-face guitar extravaganzas of the ’80s.

“That album resulted from me being so inspired by working with Marty,” Becker says. “For Go Off!, I had gotten better at writing and playing, and I was a lot more confident. We just were comfortable with each other. We were getting good at mixing our different flavors. I was able to give more to Go Off!”

By the time Go Off! dropped on Shrapnel Records in ’88, it was the heart of the so-called “shred era,” and Friedman and Becker had already recorded their first record as Cacophony, Speed Metal Symphony (1987), and two frenzied solo records in Friedman’s Dragon’s Kiss (1988) and Becker’s Perpetual Burn (1988).

They’d learned a lot, and it showed on Go Off!, a record bred through dedication and sheer talent. “When we did shows or toured, it was definitely wilder,” Becker says. “We never trashed hotel rooms or anything, though. It was weird for me; I never did drugs or drank. There was something in me that thought I didn’t want to hurt my body. Like my lungs and brain couldn’t take it. I always wanted to be in control of myself. Ironic, as now I have no control.”

Regardless of its over-the-top nature, what Go Off! really represents is the supernatural bond between Becker and Friedman, leading to moments no one saw coming but definitely heard.

“At the end of Black Cat, there is this pretty acoustic fingerpicking chord sequence by Jason,” Friedman says. “The song was just supposed to fade out with him playing that by himself. The song was complete, and we were listening before mixing and I was holding a guitar randomly plugged into a DI; I didn’t know that guitar was live or recording. When Jason’s ending part came up, I started playing a melody on top, not expecting to hear what I was playing through the monitors, but there it was.”

The “it” in question was something Becker and Friedman will never forget. “I kept playing, and it was just a moment,” Friedman said. “I never played over his part before, but here I was. It was the wee hours, way after midnight after one of many long sessions, and Jason’s piece was like the tender arpeggios of a music box lullaby. The soft melody I was playing over it seemed so cozy and poignant, although neither of us planned for any melody there.”

Becker adds: “When I recorded the outro for Black Cat on an acoustic guitar, I got it in one take. Then, without any preparation, just to test the tone, Marty recorded a solo over it. [Producer] Steve Fontano and I said it was perfect. Marty wanted a little more time, but we talked him into his first take. It was just a beautiful, off-the-cuff moment.”

“We looked at each other in disbelief and high-fived each other,” Friedman says. “Not because ‘This sounds like a hit!’ or ‘What an insane lick!’ or ‘People are gonna dig this!’ but because we just experienced one of those rare magical moments while making music.

“I could have learned what I did and played it better. I could have tweaked the melody here and there, used a nicer-sounding guitar and amp setup – but documenting the actual magic that happened was more important to us than polishing it.”

You recorded Speed Metal Symphony before Go Off! What did you learn about working together?

Marty Friedman: “Speed Metal Symphony was my baby, but I saw potential in Jason, so I had him play a lot of the harmonies and shoehorned him into a few places where he could shine. That album was Jason’s first professional recording experience.

“After doing Speed Metal Symphony, I improved quite a bit, but it must be noted that Jason grew by leaps and bounds, literally at a savant level. Right after Speed Metal Symphony, he wrote and recorded Perpetual Burn at 18. In that short year and a half, he had evolved into an altogether different person/player. He was demonic.”

Jason Becker: “I had gotten a lot better. Speed Metal Symphony was like school for me. I learned so much from Marty. That album was Marty’s baby, but he was so kind as to include some of my ideas and make it a team effort. I didn’t quite have my own distinct style. I was only 17, but I was very positive and probably pushed Marty to improve. We were best friends.”

What were Shrapnel Records’ expectations for Go Off!?

Friedman: “The only pressure was that the label wanted good vocal songs. We did, too, but Jason and I were definitely not Elton John and Bernie Taupin. My lyrics were vomit-inducing, and Jason’s lyrics… ahem… were why Images became an instrumental song. “Peter Marrino did a really good job with what we provided him. I don’t envy a singer trying to do his job between 64-measure guitar solos. I don’t remember the budget, but we did move up to Fantasy Studios in Berkeley for Go Off!, which was a more prestigious facility than we had used before.”

Becker: “I don’t think Mike Varney pressured us to do anything specific. Marty could correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember any budget increase or pressure. My recollection is that Mike Varney thought we were like the new innovative players, and he gave us control. Mike always had suggestions, but I remember feeling free to do what we wanted.”

You recorded with Steve Fontano. How much freedom did you have?

Friedman: “Jason and I were in complete control of the guitar work, and Steve took care of the overall sound, vocal arrangements and loads of embellishment ideas. I loved Steve. He is uber-talented, and I still use many of his catchphrases.

“We did provide some sick guitar work, but Steve reined us in like a band so that ‘even girls could listen to us…’ kind of. If anything on Go Off! resonates as being a good song and not just a guitar extravaganza, Steve is highly responsible.”

Becker: “Steve was Mike Varney’s main guy, and we loved working with him. He is very talented, musical, funny and fun. He got all the nice sounds, helped a little with arranging, mixed it, and we cracked each other up. Marty and I brought in our songs, and he made them sound good. With Shrapnel, we were free to do any crazy guitar stuff we wanted to do.”

Did you intend to make Go Off! more accessible than Speed Metal Symphony?

Becker: “Marty and I wanted to be as well known as Whitesnake or Poison. We wanted it to be more accessible to normal people and guitar players. We wanted to be rock stars with pretty girls and rock fans coming to our shows.”

Friedman: “I got the intense and often dissonant Speed Metal Symphony off my chest, so with that piece of music firmly documented, I wanted to feature Jason and myself more equally and take on more of a band dynamic that wasn’t there before.”

Since you’re both virtuoso guitarists and songwriters, was it challenging to find space?

Friedman: “You are far too kind. Songwriting was our Achilles’ heel. Our problem was we were shining too much almost all the time. There is only so much shining a listener can take. Any one song on Go Off! might have about one full album’s worth of guitar work on it. It was like a ‘money shot compilation’ of guitar solos.”

“We knew listeners usually wanted a memorable song rather than an insane guitar solo or riff, but we wanted to be extreme, whether people liked it or not. At the time, that extremeness was a big minus, but that may be why the album is more appreciated now than it was then.”

Becker: “That album was pretty satisfying, but I admit that after the tours of Japan and the U.S., I wanted to do more of my own music with more of my own guitar. After our tour, I remember Cacophony talking about doing another album, and it seemed less guitar-focused. I could be remembering wrong, but that is when I left Cacophony.

“We did another show after that at some Bay Area music magazine awards show. It was fun, and I questioned my decision to leave, but as life turned out, it was a good thing that I did.

“During that tour, I was having the first symptoms of ALS. I went to Japan on my own and then joined David Lee Roth, all with a limp and weakness in my body. I remember calling Marty from the hotel in L.A. after getting the gig with Roth. Marty called me after joining Megadeth. It was quite cool. We were so happy for each other.”

What songs presented the most significant challenges?

Becker: “My two songs, Stranger and Images, took the most work because I hadn’t written lyrics before. In the studio, Steve helped me polish my lyrics for Stranger. I had lyrics for Images, but when we were rehearsing the songs with our drummer, Deen Castronovo, and our singer, Peter Marrino, I got teased so badly! It was funny hearing Peter singing my silly words. Deen defended me and made me feel a lot better.”

Friedman: “The title track was tricky. Jason and I played the weird intro together live, but in the studio, the high and low harmonies had to be ‘tight as a gnat’s ass in a power dive,’ to use Steve Fontano’s words. So Jason played them both. He nailed them, but it was a bitch to keep the tiny spaces clean between the phrases.

“It would’ve been nice if Pro Tools existed back then. Edits were done with a razorblade and tape; you had to punch out of the record and in, and there was no quantizing, copy-and-pasting or auto-tuning. After recording in Pro Tools for so long after this, it blows me away how we did this ambitious stuff without it.”

Becker: “I remember recording the intro to Go Off! I laid down my drum machine part to play over it in time. We couldn’t get a guitar tone I was happy with because if I had any distortion on it, it would feedback in all the little spaces. I had to use an almost clean tone, which wasn’t cool, especially to Marty.

“He didn’t want anything sounding like jazz. We worked it to sound okay. In that intro, I played both harmonies, but he came up with the harmony part on the spot and told me what to play. He is quite a musical genius.”

You both were very young. Did either of you have red-light fever?

Becker: “That is funny. No – we didn’t have any of that. We didn’t think about what others would think; we just wanted to please ourselves. Marty had total confidence in his whole unique musical vision, and that rubbed off on me. I started thinking I was the man, too. When we first started, I wondered if it was as good as our previous albums. He said, ‘Don’t worry, it’s great.’ I relaxed and enjoyed it.”

Friedman: “There was no time for nerves or crises, as we were on a tight budget with lots to get done. If you have a great engineer like Fontano on board, it allows you to have intense focus on the music. He was a godsend.”

When not working to record the record, how did you two blow off steam?

Friedman: “We would argue about football, Jason would cream me at chess, and we’d spend lots of time listening to, analyzing, and marveling at music we liked. Philip Glass comes to mind. Nightlife and wild antics didn’t come until we went on tour in Japan and North America.”

Becker: “We were pretty chill. Getting to play our own music was the greatest release. We watched football sometimes. We had fun going to Telegraph Avenue in Berkeley with Marty’s girlfriend Laurie and my brother Ehren. We would find new music at Rasputin, Leopold’s, and Tower Records, like Philip Glass, Kitaro and all kinds of weird classical composers.

“I remember one time we all went into some kind of rock clothing store. A guy who worked there started telling us about a great band called Cacophony. He saw a show, and the two guitar players were great. We were trying not to crack up. I asked which guitar player was his favorite of the two; he said he couldn’t pick. We never did tell him who we were.”

While recording, did you share gear?

Friedman: “We shared gear and borrowed gear from our guitar students, who usually had better gear than we did. We started to have a few endorsements, so there was a lot of new gear coming into the studio, too. I used my first Jackson Kelly and a few Carvin guitars. Few, if any pedals. No idea about amps.”

Becker: “If I remember right, we used the same kind of Carvin amps. Marty could correct me if I’m wrong. Maybe we used Marty’s student’s Marshall amp like we had on our solo albums. I think we used the Carvin guitars from the cover of the album. We didn’t have to consciously work on sounding different. We could use the same gear and sound like ourselves.”

Go Off! was kind of over the top, even for the time, but it's also a snapshot of the era. It didn’t get its due then, but it’s a cult classic now.

Friedman: “Kind of? It was beyond over the top! I do agree that it’s a snapshot of the era, though. We looked like every other hair band at the time and thank God we did. Girls expecting glam rock came to our shows. We fooled everyone when we toured the U.S. and Japan. We looked like Poison, but we shook our asses in 5/4 time.”

Becker: “Is it really a cult classic? Cool. I didn’t know that. It was just so much fun being able to make music with my best friend. I’m so grateful for those times. I was healthy, happy, young, and full of creative energy. Thank you to Mike Varney for that opportunity.”

In 1986, Marty Friedman and Jason Becker started Cacophony – a relatively short-lived project that would be responsible for some of shred music’s most technical and celebrated compositions.

Together, the two virtuosos produced a pair of studio albums – Speed Metal Symphony and Go Off! – which gave Friedman and Becker ample opportunity to let loose on 15 tracks of no-holds-barred neoclassical shred metal.

Both records have been cemented into the annals of metal guitar history – Guitar World ranks Speed Metal Symphony as one of the greatest classic shred albums of all time, no less – but it turns out that Friedman and Becker both received a little help when it came to assembling their recording rigs.

In a new interview with Guitar World, the Cacophony partners reflect on the recording of both Speed Metal Symphony and Go Off!, and recall how they managed to piece together their records with some equipment they borrowed from their pupils.

“We shared gear and borrowed gear from our guitar students, who usually had better gear than we did,” Friedman remembers. “We started to have a few endorsements, so there was a lot of new gear coming into the studio, too. I used my first Jackson Kelly and a few Carvin guitars. Few, if any pedals. No idea about amps.”

“If I remember right, we used the same kind of Carvin amps,” Becker adds. “Marty could correct me if I’m wrong. Maybe we used Marty’s student’s Marshall amp like we had on our solo albums. I think we used the Carvin guitars from the cover of the album.”

Fortunately, the mash-up of borrowed student gear and increasing endorsements didn’t have an adverse effect on the overall sound of their tone: no matter what the two guitarists played through, they still sounded exactly like themselves.

“We didn’t have to consciously work on sounding different,” Becker notes. “We could use the same gear and sound like ourselves.”

With the help of their students, Becker and Friedman were able to tape two masterclasses in extreme shred guitar. And, as the pair go on to reflect in their Guitar World interview, that was exactly the objective.

“Our problem was we were shining too much almost all the time,” Friedman notes. “There is only so much shining a listener can take. Any one song on Go Off! might have about one full album’s worth of guitar work on it. It was like a 'money shot compilation' of guitar solos.

“We knew listeners usually wanted a memorable song rather than an insane guitar solo or riff, but we wanted to be extreme, whether people liked it or not. At the time, that extremeness was a big minus, but that may be why the album is more appreciated now than it was then.”

“It was just so much fun being able to make music with my best friend,” concludes Becker, who was diagnosed with ALS in 1989. “I’m so grateful for those times. I was healthy, happy, young, and full of creative energy.”

Head over to Magazine Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitar World.

Former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman has shared the reason why, back in 2015, he rejected Megadeth's invitation to reunite the celebrated Rust In Peace lineup. According to Friedman, the “salary offer” was as low as what he was offered in 1990 when he first joined Megadeth.

Following the departures of drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick in 2014, Friedman met Dave Mustaine and then-bassist David Ellefson at the 2015 NAMM Show in Anaheim, California, to discuss a potential reunion. This discussion included bringing him and drummer Nick Menza back into the mix.

However, as Friedman reveals in his recently released autobiography, Dreaming Japanese, the amount Megadeth's then-manager Ron Lafitte offered was abysmal.

“Let's just say he wasn't even in the ballpark,” he writes [via Blabbermouth]. “Hell, he wasn't even in the parking lot for the ballpark. The amount they offered was right around the first salary I got when I joined Megadeth in 1990.

“If I'd had any idea they would lowball me like this, I never would have met with them in Anaheim. Had I taken that offer, I would have been paid less in a week than I made on a normal day in Japan.”

He continues, “I was stunned and angry and told them I couldn't even consider it. I made a counteroffer, which was the bare minimum I could accept, and far less than I have received from any of the artists I've toured with in Japan.”

Lafitte had floated the possibility of a Megadeth-Iron Maiden tour, which initially made the proposition attractive. In fact, Friedman was “willing to take the financial hit” because such a bill “could open doors for me again in America.”

“Even if they met my rate, the tour would have been a huge windfall for them. They easily could have agreed to that, and the reunion would have been on, but they said I wanted too much money.”

Friedman concludes that he was “happy with my career in Japan, doing what I loved, making real money without the kind of drama that comes with Megadeth.”

He adds that the band hadn’t even acknowledged that they had just lost a drummer and a guitarist, and “needed me more than I needed them. When I got over my initial anger, I was puzzled and sad.”

In an exclusive excerpt from his new autobiography hosted by Guitar World, Friedman told the inside story of his auditions with Ozzy Osbourne and Madonna – and how he eventually landed the Megadeth gig.

• Marty Friedman’s autobiography, Dreaming Japanese, is out now via Permuted Press.

In this exclusive excerpt from Dreaming Japanese, Marty Friedman’s new autobiography (co-written by frequent GW contributor Jon Wiederhorn), the ace guitarist details his auditions with Ozzy, Madonna and Megadeth.

Take No Prisoners

The first shot I had at joining a big act happened while I was living in San Francisco, sometime in the late ’80s. Ozzy Osbourne was looking for a guitarist to replace Jake E. Lee, and someone recommended me to his wife and manager, Sharon. She called and offered to fly me to Los Angeles for an audition. I was thrilled that someone in Ozzy’s camp had even heard of me and was willing to pay my airfare to hear me play.

As great as they are, Ozzy’s and Black Sabbath’s songs are way easier to play than anything by [my band] Cacophony. I had no problem learning them, and then I over-practiced until I was so confident I could have played the songs fluidly in the middle of an earthquake.

I was looking forward to plugging in and showing Ozzy my chops, but when I got to the studio, neither Ozzy nor Sharon was anywhere in sight. Only bassist Phil Soussan and drummer Randy Castillo were there, which kind of bummed me out. But they were all set up and ready to play, and I was raring to go. I introduced myself and told them how stoked I was to audition.

Phil grunted. Randy shrugged. “Are we going to do this?” Randy asked as if he had somewhere to be in 30 minutes. From their bored expressions and the dozens of manilla envelopes and cassettes lying around, I got the feeling that they had already auditioned tons of guitarists.

I played four or five songs with them and didn’t miss a note. The musical vibe was great, natural, and relaxed, and we sounded totally major league. And while Phil and Randy were polite and pleasant, it seemed like they would rather be sitting in a proctologist waiting room than auditioning me.

When I got back to San Francisco, I eagerly waited to hear back from Ozzy’s camp. They never called. A couple years later, I learned that Zakk Wylde had gotten the gig. He was the perfect choice, a highly skilled player, who probably fit in with the guys better than I did.

I don’t think anything about my playing got me crossed off the list. It was all about the magic chemistry among the band members. Playing well is a given. Great players are a dime a dozen. It is the stuff on top that lands you the gigs. Ozzy’s guys were wearing Sunset Strip regalia even at a rehearsal, and I wasn’t even sporting a shirt with a band logo. They had a casual attitude about the music and plowed through it, yet I paid attention to every detail.

Sometimes I wonder if Phil, Randy, and I had immediately hit it off, joked around, went out and picked up some tarted-up girls, and partied ourselves sick after the audition, whether tales of our outrageous chemistry might have gotten back to the boss man and convinced him that I was “one of them.” Either way, I think Zakk did a better job with the gig than I would have.

My next big audition came about a year later when I found out Madonna needed a guitarist. Being a pop singer, I didn’t think she would hire a metal player like me, but pop music had started to feature guitar solos, so I thought maybe I had a tiny shot.

It was an open-call audition, so I had no idea what to prepare. I decided to learn a bunch of Madonna’s obscure songs since I could easily improvise my way through any of her hits, even if I didn’t prepare. I really wanted the gig, not because I’m a huge Madonna fan, but because my resources were wearing dangerously thin. I was broke and getting desperate.

I lived a couple blocks from Guitar Institute of Technology (GIT), which occasionally hired me to teach seminars and masterclasses. I was grateful for the work, but many of the students also lived in my dilapidated rat nest apartment building, so whenever I finished a seminar, I had to take the walk of shame back to my fleabag room with a bunch of starstruck guitar students following me. I felt like the Pied Piper in the slums of Hollywood.

For a young, aspiring musician, releasing an album on any label is a dream come true, so when these kids came in contact with someone like me, who had released a few records, received solid press, and toured the world, they assumed I was a rich rock star. Walking back home with them to the same squalid living conditions they were subject to was both demoralizing and embarrassing. I’m sure they were surprised and disillusioned.

Just a couple days before my Madonna audition, I received an interesting call from my good friend, heavy metal insider Bob Nalbandian. He told me Megadeth had been auditioning guitarists for a long time to no avail, and their manager, Ron Lafitte, had asked Bob if he could recommend someone. Bob asked me if I was interested. I went from sitting around fanning my balls to suddenly having auditions for Madonna and Megadeth in the same week.

I was not that familiar with Megadeth’s music, but I knew I liked it a hell of a lot more than I liked Madonna’s, which, to be fair, I also liked. And I was a more natural fit for Megadeth. I looked the part, and we shared many of the same influences.

When Ron Laffite found out I was interested in auditioning, he called me and told me to learn five songs: Wake Up Dead, In My Darkest Hour, The Conjuring, Hook in Mouth, and a cover of Alice Cooper’s No More Mr. Nice Guy.

I bought a couple Megadeth cassettes at a used record shop and learned the tracks note for note. I was confident. I was good to go. Then, Megadeth’s management called again and told me to learn another few songs. I worked on those as well. More calls came. “Hey, Marty. Dave wants you to learn a couple more.”

This kept happening until it got to the point that they were asking me to learn songs from the debut album, Killing Is My Business… and Business Is Good!, which was on an indie label and hard to find. I couldn’t track down a used copy and eventually found a new one, but I didn’t have the $12.99 that it cost unless I went without eating for the day. My stomach incessantly grumbled as I tried to master the last few of the 13 or so songs that I prepared for the audition.

Unlike Madonna songs, Megadeth songs are intricate and tricky and feature lots of rhythm and tempo changes, and even more solos than Ozzy tracks. I wasn’t familiar with the band members and their playing styles, so I had no idea which solos were played by Dave Mustaine, and which were handled by the guitarist I hoped to replace.

Up to that point, the mixes on Megadeth albums were somewhat muddy, and the guitars often lacked separation. I had no choice but to try to thoroughly learn every guitar part so I could rip through anything I might be asked to play.

Mainly though, I was just happy for the opportunity to audition for such a cool band, so I dug into one song after another and learned them backwards and forwards. Learning all that material was exhausting, but I knew I could handle the playing part.

Megadeth was like [my band] Hawaii on steroids. I was much more concerned about vibing with the guys. All I knew about Megadeth was that Dave Mustaine was an original member of Metallica, and I really liked Metallica’s No Life ’Til Leather demo that he played on before starting Megadeth.

When I lived in Hawaii, I got that primitive recording through underground tape trading and played it constantly. I’d pop the cassette in my Walkman when I went jogging through the lush, scenic Portlock area of Hawaii Kai, which overlooked the sparkling ocean. The demo was the ultimate contrast to the very un-metal Hawaiian vistas.

Listening to it made me feel like I had maintained my punk and metal roots. I had no idea that Dave was unceremoniously kicked out of Metallica just before they were signed and started on the path to becoming the biggest heavy metal group of all time.

I feared a repeat of the Ozzy situation since, in established bands, the chemistry between members is far more important than actual playing ability. Mastering the music is a given, as it should be, but it’s just a part of what it takes to join a band, which is like an exclusive club, or even a family.

The chemistry between members involves intangibles like childhood background, personality, and common sense in an extremely uncommon occupation. These are elements that are impossible to prepare for.

I knew I had a better shot of landing the Megadeth job than the Madonna, or Ozzy gigs. But I still wasn’t sure what to expect at the audition. Fortunately, what I lacked in familiarity I made up for in practical maneuvering. In what I must humbly admit was a stroke of genius, or a rare moment of common sense, I hired my good friend Tony DeLeonardo to tech for me.

Tony and I were already good friends when he single-handedly took on all crew duties in Maryland for my old band Hawaii. Tony was now an in-demand tech in L.A. and had even done Zakk’s tours with Ozzy.

I have always had a complete lack of interest in anything mechanical. I was never a gear guy. Not back then, not now. The thought of setting up the amps and making sure everything was running correctly sent chills through my brain.

I just knew I wouldn’t look cool humping gear, plugging it in, and setting the knobs to the right sound. I am not proud to say that to this day I don’t have the slightest idea how to adjust the length of a guitar strap or roll up a guitar cable.

When I hired Tony for 65 dollars, I was living on 99-cent bags of lollipops and white rice with La Yu chili oil, so that money, a bargain for a pro tech, was extremely hard to part with. But something told me I had to do it, and I’m glad I listened to that little voice.

Tony got technical details from Megadeth’s crew, carted my gear into the audition like a boss, made sure my guitar was properly strung, intonated, and tuned, got a great sound from the amp in no time, and strapped the guitar on me when it was time to play.

Before I hit note one, I looked like a pro. I’m sure this made a good impression, especially compared to how lame it would have looked had I been fiddling with knobs on the amps and schlepping in all my heavy equipment.

After meeting all the band members – the serious-faced ringleader Dave Mustaine, diplomatic bassist Dave Ellefson, and loose-cannon drummer Nick Menza – Mustaine called out, “Wake Up Dead.” Nick did a four count, and we dove in.

Right away, the band gelled. We sounded like a unit already. I was so locked into this heavy groove that I hardly noticed there was a massive old-school video camera on a tripod right up in my face.

“Okay, that’ll do it for now,” Mustaine said as he put down his guitar. I asked if we would play No More Mr. Nice Guy, and he said he hated that song. The rest of the band joked about not liking it either. I remember thinking, “So why did you ask me to learn it?”

We wound up playing only the first batch of songs that I was asked to learn. Having auditioned numerous musicians for my various projects, I’ve realized that countless factors go into what you ask people to play when they try out.

So, having to learn an ever-growing laundry list of songs for the Megadeth audition made a lot more sense to me a decade-plus after the fact, but at the time I was kind of miffed.

“Stick around, man. Don’t go too far away,” Mustaine said, then walked off.

David Ellefson came back and told me, “I think that means you probably got the gig. Good going, man.”

I was elated but kept my cool. “Oh and by the way, Dave told me to tell you that you played many of the wrong guitar parts.”

My heart sank into my high-tops. “Hey, I wouldn’t worry about it too much,” he laughed. “You’re good. We can tell you know your shit.”

• This is an excerpt from Dreaming Japanese by Marty Friedman with Jon Wiederhorn (Permuted Press; December 2024).

Marty Friedman recently revealed he was turned away from a KISS audition for being “too short”. At 5’7, the former Megadeth guitarist didn't meet the band's visual and height requirements.

In a recent interview with Sam Ash [via NME], Friedman was asked which KISS song he would have liked to play guitar on. He replied, “I would’ve wanted to be on any KISS song. I’ll give you a quick story about that. When they were changing guitar players a long time ago, I got a call from KISS’ people.

“They say, ‘Do you think you’d be interested in auditioning for KISS?’ I’m like ‘Tell me when and where.’ They came back and were like, ‘We’ve got a couple of questions for you. You don’t have any facial hair, do you?’ No.

“‘You got long hair right?’ Right. ‘You’re skinny right?’ Right. ‘And you’re over 6 feet tall?’ and I’m like, ‘What? I’m 5’7 but I’ll have an operation, I’ll do something.’ And they were like “‘I’m sorry, it’s not going to work out.’ I was so bummed.”

Almost all of the original KISS members, bar Peter Criss, are taller than six feet. Gene Simmons, Ace Frehley, and Paul Stanley were typically outfitted in platform boots for their live shows, which made them appear even taller.

This isn’t the first time KISS turned away a promising member due to their strict aesthetic demands. Yngwie Malmsteen missed out on a spot because he mistakenly gave his height in centimeters, the metric system used in Europe, rather than in the U.S.-preferred feet and inches.

Conversely, White Lion's Vito Bratta was rejected because his name was deemed “too ethnic” by the KISS team, who also suggested that he change his name.

In other Marty Friedman news, last year, the ex-Megadeth lead guitarist revealed he also took part in an ill-fated Ozzy Osbourne audition.

Marty Friedman's 1985 Jackson Kelly San Dimas, which was used on Megadeth's iconic Rust in Peace (1990) and Countdown to Extinction (1992) albums, is currently up for sale. It's also reportedly one of the first 500 guitars Jackson ever built, which probably explains why it could eventually sell for as much as $125,000.

In addition to the two mammoth Megadeth albums, the storied guitar was also Friedman's axe-of-choice for Cacophony's Speed Metal Symphony (1987) and Go Off! (1988), as well as his solo albums Dragon's Kiss (1988) and Scenes (1992).

“I purchased it in Hawaii around 1985 while I was in the band Hawaii,” Friedman states in the certificate of authenticity. “It originally had a black-and-white tiger-striped graphic, along with two humbuckers and 2 tone pots. When I joined Megadeth, it was re-painted black and converted into a single humbucker with one volume pot.

“I did several Hawaii recordings and concerts with it. At one time, it even had a flame thrower on the headstock. This was my #2 touring guitar for most of my Megadeth years. Like Kelly #1 this guitar was featured in many '90s magazines, Jackson catalogs, and advertisements.”

With countless shows under its belt, the guitar shows “all the signs of a well-loved, heavily played instrument” and “scratches, dings, chips, cracks, and faded finishes”.

However, it still promises to deliver a tone that is “pure Marty Friedman, with those mids that cut through any mix”. The guitar is already set up with Friedman-preferred 10-46 strings and is therefore ready to play.

The rare guitar is being sold by Friedman’s longtime manager, who purchased it in a 2011 eBay auction benefiting the Jason Becker Special Needs Trust and the ALS Therapy Development Institute.

According to the certificate of authenticity, the guitar has been kept in climate-controlled storage and maintained by one of the world’s top luthiers since Friedman’s time with Megadeth.

The auction is still open and all offers are being considered. For more information, head to Reverb.

“I’ve pushed a lot of boundaries on this [album] and surpassed any of the guitar playing I’ve done before,” Marty Friedman tells Guitar World about Drama, his new record. “If you want to talk on a guitar level, it’s – without question – the deepest dive into my playing that I’ve ever done.”

That’s some next-level thinking from the former Megadeth and Cacophony guitarist who’s been putting out solo albums since the late ’80s. And although those words shouldn’t exactly surprise you if you’ve followed along with Friedman’s career, it still takes balls to say it. But listening to Drama, one can’t help but think Friedman might be onto something.

“The amount of energy, effort, love and ‘putting myself out there’ that goes into a record like Drama – it’s like night and day compared to other projects that people might have found me from,” he says. “It’s the absolute purest, highest-percentage, highest-calorie version of what I am as an artist.”

Drama seems like a particularly important record for you. What brought you here?

“I’m very interested in finding out why you thought this was an important record for me – because it is, in fact, a very important record for me. What was it about the record that made you say that? I’m curious.”

Despite being an instrumental guitar player, you’re keying in on certain emotions and trying to tell a story via textures. The placement of your solos – it just seems different.

“Well, I’d like to think I’m getting better at what I do. If I listen back to my previous work, which I rarely do, I know there’s a lot of things I still would smile about, but there’s [also] a lot of things I wouldn’t do that way anymore because I’ve evolved from that. I think Drama is the sum of so many varied life experiences – [and] the sum of all those things put into music.

“I’m totally aware that a lot of people, especially in America, know me from my previous bands and my early solo records, and they think, ‘Well, he went to Japan, and that was that.’ You know, ‘He’s doing something in Japan.’ I don’t fault them for knowing just that much, but I think on this record, it’s undeniable that I’m reaching out to people around the world, not just the Japanese audience.”

It’s a snapshot of where you are, right here, right now.

“Artistically, this is exactly where I’m at. You might know me from something in the past, [or] you might not. This is brand-new for a lot of people to listen to. So it’s very important to introduce myself to people with this. As I was making this record, I paid extreme attention to not repeating anything I had ever done conceptually while touching on and embellishing what I found to have been the best parts of my music in the past.

“Some people have liked my music in the past, and I try to guess what they liked about it. If that matches what I like about my music, I tried to embellish that. To sum this up, this is a love letter to those people who have followed me, even though I haven’t always been in America, and to those people who’ve kept me in their musical rotation.

“But it’s also an introductory letter to the people who may have forgotten about why they liked my music in the first place – and for the people who have no idea who on Earth I even am! With those criteria in mind, I chose the music very carefully. It was with that purpose.”

Another perception that most people have is, “Marty Friedman is a shredder”, and they go into your albums with that in mind. But there are a lot of surprises here in terms of how you placed your solos while still making them grandiose – and still quintessentially you.

“I like your words better than mine. I think what’s important to me is that grandioseness comes from something, and what that comes from is the placement of phrases, so to speak. A lot of people learn these very intricate, difficult things, and they just play them.

“On the surface, it’s no big deal, but if you put them in the most delicious spot and build up a piece of music, that’s the Holy Grail of things I’ve been trying to develop over my career. You have to create this groundwork of a piece of music that allows you these delicious spots in the song, and in those places, you put the phrases that are going to give people goosebumps, make a tear come out of their eye and give people chills.

“This is the thing I’ve been developing over the years, and when I listened back to my older stuff, it’s very primitive. I had fancy phrases and stuff, and I put them out there; but over the years, I found ways to build up the foundation of the piece of music so that the listener gets excited when they hear these things.”

One track that immediately did that for me was Illumination. There was a feeling there, though, that it was difficult to track. It was as if a story were unfolding.

“Well, thank you very much for your words. I hope that you leave all your comments in! It’s important, especially on this album, because it was constructed to bring out emotions. I think a lot of bringing out emotions comes from subliminally and consciously taking familiar melodies from people’s childhoods, like little bits of familiar melodies.

“All of us have been listening to music for many years, but there are familiar turns of cliché melodies that we’ve grown up with and maybe haven’t heard for decades. And there might be a little three seconds of a melody. The last time you heard this melody was when you were five years old, walking somewhere with your mom. As someone who is constantly surrounded by, listening to, analyzing and enjoying music, my will is deep enough to drag things out.

“If you listen to my record, it sounds modern; it sounds like it was recorded in 2024. Some of the heart of the content, the chord work and the way notes fall over the chords, is kind of timeless. They’re the melodies that could be in the Top 10 now, or they could have been in songs Doris Day sang in the ’50s. These melodies are only mine because I interpret them my own way. But they must have come from somewhere in my life and in everyone’s life. This album is the best example of doing that [that] I’ve ever had.”

Instrumental music is fascinating, especially when the main voice is a guitar. But as far as themes, are they implied, or did you have something in mind?

“I hope the melodies stick with people for their own reasons. When I’m creating an album like this, I’m creating many demos before I even consider going in to make the real record. And for whatever reason, certain melodies stick with me. I want those melodies to represent me. When people hear my name, that melody might pop into their minds, and I have to make that choice. It’s kind of a big responsibility, so there’s something in these melodies that resonates with me.

“By the same token, when people are listening to music that they like, there’s some indescribable thing they hear that makes them enjoy it and want to hear it again. They want to buy it; they want to be surrounded by this sound; it’s their music, you know? All of the music that’s in your collection – that’s your music. It’s very personal, so there’s not some kind of formula; there are probably pop artists following some algorithm and doing something in that world, but in my world, there’s just absolutely no formula.”

I’d be remiss if I didn’t touch on the solos. What is the function of solos within the context of your music?

“Of all the things that I’m able to do, solos are probably the sharpest weapon in the toolbox. That’s kind of the easiest thing for me to do. My main goal is to create musical landscapes so I can come in as a soloist and send this piece of music home.

“That’s the biggest challenge; creating a delicious point to play a solo is an endless pursuit. But when you get it, the solos feel so incredibly good and so natural, and you feel like, ‘This is exactly what I’m here to do.’

“There are a lot of guitar solos on this record. Go figure – it’s a Marty Friedman record, and there are going to be a lot of solos! The solos are going to be deeper, richer and more advanced, for lack of a better word, than any of the solos I’ve ever done before.

“But my whole purpose in creating my own music is to create music as a whole. I don’t want people to walk away and say, 'Wow, he’s a great solo player' or 'Those are some fancy guitar licks.' I just want people to feel these emotions from hearing the music.”

Looking at a song like Icicles, that checks out. I walked away from it thinking less about the impressive technical aspect and more about the vibe.

“I’m very happy to hear that. Because I’m as guilty as anyone else; there was a lot of showboating on some of my earlier records that a lot of people know me from. I had a lot of that to say, and I really believed in that at the time. But looking back on that, it’s kind of funny, and despite that, I think there are some moments on those early records where I hit a couple of good emotional points.

“But as you grow as a player, musician and artist, you try to appeal to a more honorable part of the listener’s personality. Trying to appeal to someone’s impression of you as a technically gifted player, that’s kind of low-hanging fruit. It really is. Because all you really need to do is practice, and you’re going to impress a lot of people with your playing.

“Of course, it’s a wonderful thing; believe me, I’ve done a lot of that in my early years. And I really hope that people are impressed with my playing now as well. When you make it to your 17th record, you realize that people knew that you could play a long time ago. And anyone can play; there’s millions of fantastic, great players. So, what separates me, or any other person, from the others is the artistic world that they create and the feelings that the listener gets when they listen to it.”

One of the things I notice about Drama is how textural it is. What sort of gear did you deploy to make that happen?

“A lot of this stuff came from old gear. The Fender Twin I used was from the ’60s or something like that. And I don’t have any vintage gear – I don’t own any of it. I’ve always been a ‘new gear’ type of guy. I’ve never understood vintage gear; I’ve never had the capacity of knowledge for it, the patience for it or the love of it, for that matter. But on this album, I’m seeing the light a little bit.

“In the hands of someone who knows how to maintain vintage instruments, I can’t imagine an amp that still exists from the ’60s… I mean, how much beer and bong water must be in that thing? I can’t even fathom it.

“I use new gear on every single tour, and I love it. But in the hands of a master technician who can maintain vintage gear, it really gives a complete, new and beautiful light to shine against the modern gear that I’m also playing all over the record.”

What do you hope people take away from this record?

“I’m very excited about new people hearing my music because it’s been very encouraging over the last years touring outside of Japan. I’ve been noticing that the demographic of fans coming to my shows and the demographic of people hearing my recent music has been so much younger. I think younger people are going to hear this music with a very fresh and clear palate.

“I’m excited to hear people who maybe don’t know me and say, ‘Well, I heard this guy Marty plays a mean guitar, but I had no idea that this was in him.’ A lot of people might have left off on my career where they might have been thinking, ‘Well, he’s this super guitar player…’ But I think a lot of people are gonna say, ‘I didn’t know he had it in him. I didn’t know he had this in him.’”

What misconceptions about you would you like to put to bed once and for all?

“People discover you when they discover you, and then they discover you for whatever reason they discover you for. There are no real misconceptions, you know what I mean? There really isn’t. I’ve been fortunate to have such a long career where I’ve done so many things and so many varied things; I mean, it might be easier to categorize me if I was like, you know, the Ramones, where you know exactly what you’re getting.

“For better or for worse, I’ve done a lot of things, and I’ve signed off on everything I’ve done; I’m not ashamed of anything. Wherever you found me in my career, that’s great. So there’s not any kind of misconception that I’d like to put to rest.

“If you’ve found anything that speaks to you in my creative output, that’s wonderful. You can’t appeal to everybody all the time. But I will say this: this album, Drama, is a very good representation of the deepest core of what I am as an artist.”

• Drama is out now via Frontiers.

In October of 2023, I interviewed Marty Friedman from his home in Tokyo – and not for the first time. It was a wide-ranging conversation typical of our exchanges, spanning his latest collaboration with jazz fusion outfit Fusion Syndicate to his eternal quest to take his playing in new directions – and of particular note, the state of the modern guitar solo.

The interview was featured in the March 2024 issue of Guitar World, and included a powerful declaration of intent from the former Megadeth guitarist when I posed the question, ‘Is there hope for guitar solos?’, to which he responded, “I hope the traditional guitar solo dies a slow and painful death.”

“Guitar solos need to be inventive,” he stressed. “They need something to keep listeners involved, especially those who are not learning to play and only listen.

“All that other eight-bar and tapping stuff; that’s got to be over. There must be something melodically unique that connects us on a higher level. That’s what I’m looking for from guitar today, and I hope it’s what young players are searching for, too.”

While Friedman’s comments were forthright, they echoed previous statements he had made on social media and the words of Polyphia’s Tim Henson, who has shared similar sentiments in the past.

As one of today’s most respected virtuosos, Friedman’s comments were newsworthy to the GW audience, and the site ran an article on his vision for the future of guitar solos – a vision, it should be said, that the team found inspiring.

Friedman felt differently. He believed his words were misconstrued, leading him to disavow the original feature via X (formerly Twitter) and the accompanying news article.

Combined with an initial error that briefly identified him as an Ibanez artist, he went as far as to label it the work of AI – and let me assure you, Guitar World categorically does not use AI to write articles [this is actually a fireable offence at Guitar World, so we take these accusations very seriously – Ed]. None of us would have jobs if we did (and the Ibanez slip-up was, ironically, very much a human error).

In response, I sent Friedman the original transcripts of our conversation that included these comments as an aide-memoire. But rather than issue a formal, public dismissal of Friedman’s claims, we here at GW sought to clear the air and move on from the misconceptions. So, on March 5, 2024, I beamed in once again with Marty Friedman to dig into his thoughts.

Over the course of a half-hour interview, he presented a manifesto for what the guitar solo should be in the 21st century, expounded on the true meaning of self-indulgence, what separates a guitar player from a musician and an artist, and a whole lot more.

What follows is my entire, unedited conversation with Marty Friedman on the subject of the modern guitar solo, with accompanying video.

Marty Friedman on the state of the modern guitar solo

First and foremost, recently there was some misconstruing of your comments on solos. So, on the state of the modern solo, to clarify what you meant, can you clarify those comments? So we understand where you're coming from.

“Yeah, I mean, I don’t know exactly how what I said before got turned into whatever got printed. But regardless, I will say, to give you my opinion on solos, as clear as I possibly can, solos are the most fun, expressive – or, one of the most expressive – parts of playing any instrument. And I think it’s everyone’s responsibility to try to have their own voice and their own particular way of expressing themselves when they play solos. And since solos have been around since forever, there’s gotta be new ways to interpret the existence of a solo.

“You know, for the longest time, the guitar solo came right after the second chorus of any pop song. In the ‘50s, it was sax solos; in the ‘60s, it started to be these twangy electric guitar solos; and in the ‘70s, it was like these distorted guitar solos, but they all kind of came in the same place of the song, they all lasted around the same amount of time.

“And it was basically just a break from when people were singing, you know. Sing for a while, and then you get a little guitar solo, and then you move on in the song, which is wonderful to that end. But thankfully, music has grown and become a lot more adventurous over the years. And I think it’s every artist’s and every musician’s kind of quest to find an interesting way to bring people in to listen to whatever solo it is you’re going to play.

“So, whether that be putting it in a different part of the song, or making it an unusual length, or playing something that is completely unrelated to any other part of the song – or, conversely, completely related to something in the song, like following a snare pattern or following a vocal melody, or any kind of tag that you can bring your own artistic sense to – whatever it is you’re playing, the solo is gonna be one step further than just your obligatory eight-bar solo, which happens a lot.

“So this has been a constant quest in my career. Probably since I was a teen, I always thought, you know, ‘Why does the solo have to be here? Why does the solo have to be in the same key as the art that was before it? And why does it have to end in this key?’ And every single thing has always been a question of, ‘How can I do something with this slab of music that hasn't been done before?’

“So, when I do play, whatever solo it is I play, it kind of stands out. You know, a lot of times, the content of the solo is one thing, but how it hits you, where it hits you, in what context it hits you, gives you much more bang for the buck, so to speak. 

“And the king of doing this is Brian May. His solos come in very, very unusual places. And they’re always attention-grabbing, and the content is often, you know, it’s very nice content.

“But it’s not the most flashy, it’s not the most difficult, it’s not the most trendy techniques, or any of that stuff. It’s just the care that went into putting it where it is and the character choosing the content that has some meaning to something prior to it, or some meaning to something after it. These are all things that, given a little thought, will extend the life of solos in pop and rock music. And if that’s not a long run-on sentence, I don’t know what it is [laughs].”

Obviously, you’re somebody that plays guitar solos for a living; it’s a big part of what you do. And you obviously wouldn’t want to do away with them entirely.

My perception of your comments and I guess the way I took it was (and I would hope a lot of people took it) that, especially when you talk about traditional, isn't that solos would die or go away forever, but more so that they be inventive in that people push the envelope – that people do new things with it, rather than stagnate. 

Is that where you were going with it? Because, again, my perception was not that it was a negative or that guitar solos should go away and be dead forever.

“Oh, absolutely. I would never say anything like that. You’re spot on. I mean, I think I would prefer a song with no solo rather than a solo that’s just there for the obligation of putting a solo in there. And I think that there’s… what’s the English word – phenomenon, of just putting a flashy solo in the middle of a song. I think that might be something that turns off a lot of people, and mainstream music listeners.

“And that’s the type of thing that makes people think that the guitar solo, in general, is kind of a dated concept. And it really is. I mean, it’s been around for quite a long time. Like I said before, in the ‘50s, almost all the songs had sax solos in them. And then came a time where guitar solos became a little bit more in vogue – and who knows when the guitar solo’s lifespan is going to run out, you know what I mean?

“So, for us in the world of making music with a guitar, I think it would behoove all of us to try to really be clever about what we’re doing with them [solos]. Not only guitar solos but guitar parts, in general; there was a group called Garbage in the mid-’90s that probably extended the life of guitar decades with their inventive ways of presenting guitar and guitar harmonies and guitar lines within the context of interesting, modern pop music that made guitar cool for a lot of people who normally just thought guitar was something that you stick a flashy solo in the middle of the song about.

“So, there’s endless ways. Guitar is just another instrument; there’s endless ways to be creative with it. And I think if you’re just going to do something that has been done a million times over again, I would prefer no solo in a song to a solo that’s just an obligation. You know, I never thought the Ramones needed any guitar solos, and it’s one of those things.

“An obligation is not really the greatest artistic statement, you know, so if you’re going to make the statement of putting something like a little guitar symphony inside of a song, it’s wonderful if you can do something that maybe comes from a different angle than what people are used to hearing and maybe surprises them. Maybe a song starts off with a guitar solo, like, ‘Hey, have you heard a song that actually starts off with a guitar solo? I've never heard anything like that.’

“Just any kind of simple angle, different angle. And then, of course, your content – the more unique your content is, the better. But you know what I’m saying? Let’s be creative here. I think everyone has a completely different set of influences and a different set of life experiences that influence what comes out of their instruments. So, the more interesting that is, the more people are going to enjoy the instrument of guitar for years to come.”

Players, artists and musicians

One of the things that cropped up in the recent piece on you was self-indulgence. And, again, I think my perception of that was not a negative thing, but sort of, maybe indulging your deepest fantasies as a guitarist rather than being self-indulgent to be flashy, or, you know what I mean. To clarify, what are your thoughts on self-indulgence as a guitar player, specifically with regards to solos and how you look at its place in the whole shebang?

“I think every single person who creates music for people to listen to has the distinct responsibility of making sure that every single thing they play represents their art, represents that person. So, if that person’s art is playing something that might seem self-indulgent to people, more power to them. You know, each person is their own complete entity, and I would never even dream of saying, ‘You should do this, or you should do that, or that's self-indulgent, so it sucks.’ I would never say that.

“You know, being an artist is self-indulgent, and you have to be true to the music that you want people to hear that says your name on it. So, when your name comes up, this particular image of music comes to that person’s mind. And self-indulgent, it’s just like, that’s a term that a listener might say when you hear something that just sounds like there wasn't too much thought, and maybe there was just a lot of something that they had practiced. You know, I always say that when you listen to someone playing melodies or playing solos, you can hear that person’s life.

“So a lot of times, if you hear something that sounds really, really technically difficult and fancy and flashy, you can almost see that guy practicing in his bedroom with a metronome for hours and hours on end and not leaving the room. And that image is a very true image. But I think as a person who’s a fan of music and a fan of art, maybe a more colorful and interesting and emotional image might be more appealing for me as a listener than, ‘Wow, this guy spent a lot of hours in front of a metronome.’ You know what I mean?

“I like to feel, as myself anyway, as a fan, I like to see an interesting life coming out of those notes, and not just the result of working hard and practicing. Because, well, I could get into a really deep concept on this; I mean, I don't know how many hours you have on this. But I think there’s three ways to separate all of us as players of music, and they’re all good, and they’re all very necessary. But hear me out.”

I'm here for it!

“You’re here [laughs]. There’s players, alright? The guy can play the instrument very, very well, is versatile, can play a lot of different styles, can hang in a lot of different musical contexts. When you hear him play, you’re like, ‘Wow, this guy can play.’ Fantastic thing. That’s players.

“And then there’s musicians, and a musician can play. But this musician, what he has over the player is he understands the entire piece of music from the ground up, so he can create, let’s say, for example, a backing track to play over; he can create a full song from the bottom up. 

“Whether that means programming drums himself, or some kind of a rhythm sequencer, or hiring a person to play drums, and having written out a part for a drummer. Or he can put the rhythm together; he can put the low-end, bass, or whatever instrument it is together. And he can understand the complete concepts of building a piece of music, from the beginning to the end: that’s a musician.

“Then there’s an artist. The artist is someone whose sole purpose is to find the music that represents that person and get that music to the listener [in] whatever way he can. And this has very little to do with developing techniques or getting better at your instrument. What this has to do with is how strong is this person’s artistic vision that it’s a must that he gets that exact sound out to the people who are listening to it. Whatever you hear coming from that artist, that’s exactly how he wants to be represented.

“So, it takes a very particular skill set for an artist to make all of the musical choices, that as a sum, that’s him in a musical context. When you hear that music, you’re hearing that person. Just like with a painter, if you see a Van Gogh painting, you know he did it. Why do you know he did it? Because he made different decisions than, for example, a Rembrandt did, who made different decisions. And those decisions are all very characteristic of that particular artist.

“The same exact thing goes with playing guitar or any other interpretive instrument, especially when it comes to improvising and creating your own melodies and creating a product, you know? Creating a product, that product has to have something that separates it from another product, or else you wouldn't know which product that you're choosing, and these are all very artistic decisions. So, there you have the player, you have the musician, and you have the artist, and they all are very important and very necessary, but they’re not mutually exclusive.

“Meaning that just because someone can play has absolutely no bearing on whether they are an artist or not. There are guys, and I remember – and this is something that readers should know because as a kid, we’ve all gone through this: you go into somebody’s basement, and it’s like, ‘There’s a dude on the block, who can play everything. He can play every solo I’ve ever heard put on the radio; he can copy it!’ This is the player. And it’s a huge person of admiration and inspiration, especially when you’re a beginner.

“Because when you see a guy doing something that you can’t do on the same friggin' instrument, it like really burns you up. So, for the first several years of your guitar journey, these guys who can play everything – difficult things, crazy things, things of different genres – these guys are like superstars to young beginners, who are just gathering knowledge, and they just want to get better on the instrument. But these are the players.

“And a lot of that time playing and developing the ability to play like everybody else is kind of shaving off the time that could have been spent deciding how you really want to represent your own music. And I dare say it’s a slight bit lazy; it’s probably easier to learn a bunch of other people’s techniques, learn a bunch of other people’s music, and practice like a madman and get it done, and impress people with that. 

“It’s probably easier to do that than to commit to the things that define your own personal style and put those out on display, to be rejected, or to be liked, or to just be passed on, or to make big success with. So, these are the differences between players and artists. And I think a lot of young guitarists think, you ask them, ‘What is your goal?’ and [they say], ‘I just want to get better at guitar.’ 

“And as someone who’s been in music my entire life, I'm here to tell you that there’s not a whole lot of risk involved in that. All you have to do is go home and practice. There’s practice tools for free everywhere. But when are you going to put yourself on display? When are you going to really decide which notes are the ones that represent you? Which touch represents you? Which look represents you? Which people do you want to be associated with when you put some music out? 

“Because no one does it by themselves, it’s always a group of people. How are you going to choose these people? So, becoming an artist and putting out a product is infinitely more personal and more challenging than the things that look impressive with fingers flying and things like that. Oftentimes, people develop from one thing to another; you start as a player, and then you’re a musician, then you’re an artist, and all those types of things happen. 

“But I think it’s very important for people to recognize as early as possible that whatever your goal is, you should try to get to that, you know what I mean? It’s like, when I was a kid, I wanted to be playing my music on stage in a cool band. I wanted to be playing music that I loved playing. And to that end, I made every single musical decision, every single personal decision, every single career decision, all those decisions were towards that end. And during the course of that, I developed my musical, whatever abilities I have, I developed that.

“But I think where a lot of young guitar players could learn is, I think a lot of young people think, ‘If I develop this fantastic technique like I just saw on Instagram, everything’s just going to happen for me.’ And nothing could be farther from the truth. Because as you see on Instagram, it will take you less than 30 seconds; it will take me less than 30 seconds to get on there and find somebody playing something that I couldn’t play in a million years.

“So, what does that tell you? To really reach your goals, you really gotta know what your goals are in the first place. Do you want to be that guy on Instagram? If so, that is frickin' great, more power to you. But to be an actual artist that is intending on creating something to put out there and let the chips fall where they may [where] people enjoy it, people hate it, whatever it is, this is my art.

“That’s a completely different animal. And the sooner you kind of decide where your goals are, the sooner you can get in the direction of making those things happen for you, rather than just believing that developing technique and becoming a versatile instrumentalist is the be all and end all.”

So, you gave me the three tiers there; I would opine that you are in the third tier, the artist tier. But how do you see yourself, Marty? Where do you think you fall on that spectrum?

“I don’t even really see it as tiers because I don’t think one thing is any better than the other. I just think that people need to know that there are different things. The sooner they realize that the sooner they can make their way out in the world of music. I’ve always tried to develop myself as a player, and just doing music forever develops me as a musician.

“And over the course of releasing my own music for decades, you know, the artist part far takes over all the other things. But for better or for worse, the music that I try to create always demands that I keep my musical chops to their peak. You know, sometimes I wish I was in the Ramones: three chords, and you’re done. It’s easy. But it’s not easy because you have to have an artistic vision, and it has to be your own.

“So, it’s really a wonderful world – music, it really is. So, my point is it’s not tiers; one thing is not better than the other. I’m inspired by these players all the time; I see players who do things that I can’t do. And I’ll, as an artist, choose the things that they’re doing and take those.

“I’ll say, ‘Wow, man, I've never seen somebody do that on guitar, I'm going to learn that.’ That's an artist’s decision. A player’s decision is, ‘I’m going to learn all that stuff, and I’m going to play all that stuff that guy does.’ But the artist picks and chooses the things that actually appeal to him because that's going to be a part of his music someday.”

What constitutes a ‘good’ guitar solo

Couple more for you on this particular topic. When you look at a guitar solo – you've written a lot of them, and you'll probably write a whole lot more of them – what constitutes a good guitar solo? Obviously, [with] “good” being subjective. Is there such a thing as a bad guitar solo in your mind?

“I don’t think there’s good and bad music at all. I definitely do not. Every single person has equally valid tastes, and each person has the exact same value. Each person who listens to music has the sole right to enjoy something or not, and it’s kind of a knee-jerk reaction. If you hear something and you like it, it’s good. That’s it. That’s the end of it. So, I can’t give you a guideline to what is a good guitar solo, or what’s not.

“I remember doing a session, one of my favorite sessions, for a singer named Nana Kitade in Japan, and I was playing… you know, my normal stuff. And she told me, and she's a female singer, and really creative singer, and she says, ‘You know what, that's really cool, but I like it when guys sound like they suck.’ That's interesting. And I relate to that. I relate to that because… some people want to hear certain things.

“And so, like, as the person playing on the session, I’m like, ‘Alright, how am I going to do something that's going to make her happy? So, what does she mean by 'suck?' Maybe she means someone who doesn't necessarily have the complete control over the instrument and is just kind of flailing away at something and just going crazy.’ Because that's a very valid thing, and people could enjoy listening to that.

“When I was a kid, I used to love the Dead Boys, and those guitar solos were just off the hook; it just sounded like the guy [had] never picked up a guitar before. But it made me feel so good, so maybe if I could tap into that... And it’s not the first time I’ve heard that from a producer either: ‘Could you kind of like tone down the guitar ability a little bit? Could you tone it down a little bit and just kind of like, go apeshit? Don’t make it sound like you're a master guitarist.’

“So, I kind of tapped into that. And then I got something that she liked, and I understood it. And what I did was I just tried to not be as... I'm always subconsciously very, very, very conscious of pitch and playing in pitches that I like to hear. But I tried to play without that filter on, and I think that‘s what did it, you know? When you play with kind of bad pitch, or inaccurate pitch, it can give the illusion that you‘re just a punk rock guitar player going apeshit when you just picked up your guitar last week.

“And that’s not to disparage punk rock guitar players because there’s such a great art in playing really, really good, tight punk rock guitar, and I love it. But, you know, to answer your question, I don’t think there’s any good, [or] there’s any bad. The solos that turned me on personally are the ones that, like I told you before, come in an unusual place, or hit an unusual note on an unusual chord, happen on an unusual key modulation; something that I haven’t heard before.

“Because as you can imagine, I’ve heard a lot of guitar solos, so when I hear something that’s new, I love it so much, and I analyze it and steal it, and I put it in my own repertoire. So those are the things that make a good solo for me, something that; who’s that group I heard… Moon Tooth. 

“There’s a group called Moon Tooth out there, and they just had this one song, I don't remember the title, but in the middle, it’s like a real brutal metal song. And then all of a sudden, in the middle of it, they’re playing these Lynyrd Skynyrd licks, but they’re, like, upside down, and I’m like, ‘This is the freshest thing I ever heard in this context.’ So, something like… weird and different, and that makes the song a better piece of music than it was without it. Those were the things that really turn me on.”

The future of the guitar solo

To that end, who are a couple new players out there that are keeping solos fresh and seeing to it that they [solos] stick around for a long time in a way that's inventive?

“That’s a good question. There’s a lot of great players and… guys like Ichika Nito, and I don’t really wanna categorize him as, like, someone who’s putting solos in mainstream songs, because he’s kind of like more of a… he creates these musical landscapes. So, the whole thing he’s doing is like one big guitar solo.

“Guys like him, and Matteo [Mancuso] plays some great solos in what I’ve heard him playing, but I haven’t heard enough of him in other musical contexts, so I really can’t wait to hear him play in more context because I think he’s going to just do some things that blow our minds. There’s a lot of super guys out there who play wonderfully.

“I think, for me, as a music fan, what’s going to really turn me on the most is when I hear a guitar solo in a pop song context that kind of brings guitar solos more into the mainstream again. In Japan, guitar is a big part of pop music, but I’m talking about the rest of the world. 

“If you look in the top ten, there’s rarely guitar solos in there. But something’s going to change that. If I had a part in that, I would be thrilled to death. If someone else does that, I’m also going to be very thrilled for him. It’s just a matter of time until there’s some kind of collaboration between dance music and a guitar, rap music and a guitar, you know... country music has great relations with guitars. 

“But I think it’s going to come from the other side, dance music or R&B, hip-hop, rap, which is, you know, the top of the charts and most of the world. When a guitar has a big existence in that type of music, the floodgates are gonna open, and a lot more people are going to be inspired with it.”

Last one on this. To your point, if I’m reading your point right, the guitar solo is, in some ways, in a period of transition. We’re going to kind of see where it goes; we know where it’s been, and it is where it is right now. 

But once and for all, are guitar solos… are they dead? Do you hope the traditional solo dies? Is it on life support? What are your final thoughts on the matter, Marty?

“I’m not going to give you any kind of sensational headline in this answer [laughs]. You know, as long as people exist, people are going to want to hear music that makes them feel good. So, whatever instruments it takes to get there, are what the instruments are going to be. And if guitar solos evolve into something that modern people can enjoy, then that’s how it's going to be.

“And I try to do my best. In my music, if you listen to my music, they've [solos] always played a purpose of trying to make you feel something when you’re listening to the entire piece of music. That’s all I can do. 

“At the end of the day, it’s the listeners who decide whether, you know, a particular instrument is in vogue or not. But for us as guitarists, we all hope that it continues to thrive; it lasted longer than the sax did, and that’s a good thing.

“But I love the sax solos of the ’50s, especially the sax solos of a guy named Jimmy Wright, who was just, like, the craziest sax player. And he was just like, I don’t know – like Eddie Van Halen of sax in the ’50s. I don't know how to describe it, but back then, sax was the guitar. And now, it’s still guitar, but it’s our responsibility to do things that draw people to want to listen to our instrument. And that’s really where I stand on this very, very important topic.”

UPDATE (03.07): Marty Friedman has claimed his comments on guitar solos were misconstrued. So we asked him to set the record straight.

Marty Friedman is heralded as one of the greatest lead virtuosos of his generation, having supplied some of the finest guitar solos committed to tape throughout his time both with Megadeth and Cacophony, and as a solo artist.

Therefore it might come as something of a surprise to find out that the Jackson signature artist wants the traditional guitar solo to perish. Not only that, he wants it to go slow and painfully...

Friedman makes the statement in the latest issue of Guitar World, in which he is quizzed on how he avoids becoming over-indulgent with his playing. To that, he asserts he is self-indulgent, just in different ways – ways that see him “play these long melodies like a singer, which is very self-indulgent as a guitarist”.

But that melodic and lyrical approach that explores new ideas isn’t one that’s adopted by the majority of mainstream players: “Usually, the lead guitarist comes in, gets an eight-bar solo, plays a bunch of stupid licks, maybe adds something hot and fancy that will impress, and then they get out.

“But I’m replacing the vocalist when I’m soloing, meaning I sing with my guitar,” he continues. 

“So, rather than saying, ‘Here’s the obligatory eight-bar solo,’ if necessary, I’ll be selfish because that’s exactly what I want instead of a boring old solo.” 

To that end, Friedman notes there was a specific mindset that “killed guitar solos in American mainstream music... The obligation to say, ‘I need to do something flashy and get out’ – and that’s where the death of the solo notion comes in.

“I hope the traditional guitar solo dies a slow and painful death. Guitar solos need to be inventive,” Friedman stresses. “They need something to keep listeners involved, especially those who are not learning to play and only listen. 

“Because when you're learning to play, you tend to be impressed with anything you can’t do, right? And if you’re young and just catching the guitar bug, that excitement can be magical. It’s like, 'How do they do that!?' That element is awesome... but it means less than zero in everyone else’s eyes.

“We need guitar music that makes those people feel something. It’s the responsibility of guitarists to bring something to solos that will achieve that.”

Luckily, the course is being corrected, and as Friedman is keen to note, “Things look promising because there’s a ton of great guitar work. There are a lot of exciting approaches out there by people who look at the instrument in cool ways.

“All that other eight-bar and tapping stuff; that’s got to be over. There must be something melodically unique that connects us on a higher level. That’s what I’m looking for from guitar today, and I hope it’s what young players are searching for, too.”

Somewhat surprisingly, Friedman isn’t the only modern day guitar virtuoso who has wished for a swift end to the guitar solo – and, in fact, isn’t even the first lead maestro to specifically use the phrase “painful death”.

Back in 2019, Polyphia’s Tim Henson said he sees the future of guitar music “being less guitar-centered”, and even went so far as to say he hopes “guitar music dies”. Despite the somber sentiments, his position was similar to Friedman’s: the guitar needs to evolve to survive.

“I want it to die a painful death, because so much of it is just bullshit,” Henson told Total Guitar. 

“And I feel like people should focus more on the music itself and use the guitar as a tool to make music versus, like, ‘I’m going to play guitar music,’ you know what I mean? Because so much of it is just not good.”

To read the full interview with Marty Friedman, head over to Magazines Direct to pick up the March 2024 issue of Guitar World.

UPDATE 02/01/24: A previous version of this story stated Marty Friedman was an Ibanez signature artist. This is incorrect – he is currently a Jackson signature artist.

Late last year, Kiko Loureiro announced his departure from Megadeth – and it turns out at the time the outgoing electric guitar virtuoso recommended to Dave Mustaine and co that he be formally replaced by one of his predecessors.

In November, the Ibanez signature artist officially drew his nine years of heavy metal service to a close, mere months after it was announced he’d be stepping down from Megadeth’s tour shows due to family reasons.

No successor was immediately named in the aftermath of Loureiro’s announcement, and for a brief period, guitar fans wondered whether former Megadeth man Marty Friedman – who had reunited with the band for the first time in 23 years not long before – was poised to make a sensational return.

As events would transpire, Friedman did not end up rejoining Mustaine, with the gig instead going to Finnish metal guitar prodigy Teemu Mäntysaari, who was formally christened the new Megadeth guitarist after first temporarily filling in for Loureiro.

But before Loureiro had scouted and selected Mäntysaari for the role, he approached Mustaine and Megadeth management with another option: to rehire Friedman.

When it was put to him in an upcoming interview with Guitar World that many metal fans would have been holding out for Friedman’s return, Loureiro revealed, “Actually, I even mentioned to management and Dave that I thought bringing Marty Friedman back would be amazing.”

Though, obviously, that didn’t pan out in the short-term, Loureiro did imply that further conversations concerning personnel may be ongoing: “I have no idea if they’re talking about it or talking to him, but I did say that. But again, I have no idea beyond that, and I don’t want to make anything more complicated.”

Whether anything comes of it remains to be seen, but for now, the mantle of Megadeth lead guitarist remains firmly with Mäntysaari, who entered the fray with sky-high praise from Loureiro: “He's an amazing, incredible player.”

In his conversation with Guitar World, Loureiro – who replaced Chris Broderick – also took the opportunity to reflect on his time as Megadeth’s guitarist, and paid tribute to the fans who accepted him in Friedman’s role.

“The fans never said anything bad about me or complained, which was amazing,” he said. “But I’m a fan, and I always understood that Marty was a part of those iconic albums like Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction. 

“I understood that Marty was the guy who helped create that sound and style, you know? From the moment I joined Megadeth, I knew the fans could show me love, but I would never win their hearts over Marty.” 

What can we take away from all this? Well, perhaps the door isn’t completely closed on a Friedman return at some point in the future. As mentioned, he’s already refamiliarized himself with Megadeth material thanks to those two guest performances he completed last year.

Last year, Friedman said of his relationship with Mustaine, “We're just two rock 'n' rollers with teenage dreams that never die. Both of us did whatever we had to do to make it happen. I think with guys who have had long careers, you'll probably find that we are very much in touch with our 15-year-old selves. And that is the prime motivator to go out of our way.”

No doubt his potential enlistment would go down well with Megadeth fans, who would certainly welcome the return of one of the band's most influential past members.

Stay tuned to GuitarWorld.com for the full interview with Loureiro, in which he opens up about why he left Megadeth, and what's in the cards for his future.

Packing more twists and turns than a Quentin Tarantino movie binge, 2023 will be remembered for many reasons – some good, some surprising and some utterly heartbreaking. 

There was the return of the mighty Metallica, and while many of us were impressed by 72 Seasons, as you’ll read below, others weren’t so taken with the new material. 

The recently reunited Pantera – with Zakk Wylde and Charlie Benante joining Phil Anselmo and Rex Brown – embarked on their first tour since the initial handful of Latin American dates at the end of last year, with the general consensus being this is a celebration very much worth witnessing.

There also was a fair amount of controversy, starting with an acrimonious split between Mick Mars and the remaining members of Mötley Crüe, which got very public and very legal after it was announced they’d hired John 5 to take the longtime guitarist’s place on the road and for future recordings. 

Other bizarre headlines included the discovery of Mary Ford’s 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom on Facebook Marketplace, which was quickly snapped up by Gibson and brought to the Vault at their Garage in Nashville, and Roger Waters deciding to re-record Pink Floyd’s best-selling album.

The year also witnessed some big-name comebacks, from rock ’n’ roll originals the Rolling Stones to pop-punk idols Blink-182, as well as the long-awaited live return of AC/DC at the inaugural Power Trip festival in October, while in stark contrast veterans such as Buddy Guy and Aerosmith announced they would soon be retiring from the world’s stages. 

And then, of course, there are those we lost along the way – starting with the death of arguably the most inventive and deeply admired guitar player of all time only a few days into the new year. Almost a year on from Jeff Beck’s unexpected passing, we’re still struggling to comprehend the huge sense of loss. 

So, without further ado, here’s a look at some of the biggest guitar moments of 2023.

RIP Jeff Beck

Nothing that happened over the course of 2023 can compete with the sizeable hole left by Jeff Beck. 

He was the definition of what all of us strive to be – a musician who was deeply connected and in tune with whatever guitar he happened to be holding, someone who was unafraid to experiment in front of people and surprise all of us, himself included, with the results.

Geoffrey Arnold Beck died from a bacterial meningitis infection at age 78 on January 10, and our world hasn’t felt quite the same since. We’ll never hear his fingers snake their way through Cause We’ve Ended As Lovers, Led Boots or Brush with the Blues again – and our lives are infinitely poorer for it. 

Perhaps it was his one-time bandmate in the Yardbirds, Jimmy Page, who best captured the mood of the guitar community: “The six stringed Warrior is no longer here for us to admire the spell he could weave around our mortal emotions. Jeff could channel music from the ethereal. His technique unique. His imaginations apparently limitless. Jeff, I will miss you along with your millions of fans.”

Slash, Wolfgang, Jerry Cantrell and… Barbie?!

It should come as no surprise that the Barbie movie, a Hollywood blockbuster starring superstars Margot Robbie and Ryan Gosling, ended up being the most talked-about film of the year. 

But given all its nostalgic bubblegum imagery and mainstream hype, one thing none of us would have banked on was Slash and Wolfgang Van Halen collaborating for the very first time on its soundtrack, joining forces specifically on I’m Just Ken. And that’s not the only rock ’n’ roll connection, either. 

In one of the scenes, Ken serenades Barbie with an ebony Gibson acoustic adorned with stickers spelling out his name in the Metallica font. 

On closer inspection, it soon became apparent that the guitar in question was in fact a Jerry Cantrell Fire Devil Songwriter, with distinguishable features such as the “Firefly” pickguard and telltale “Jerry Cantrell” truss rod cover.

Unassuming guitar teacher goes viral

It is not a common occurrence to see America’s Got Talent judge Simon Cowell openly applaud loud, shredding guitars – but this is yet another of the surprises 2023 had in store for us. 

The 59-year-old contestant who performed Queen’s We Will Rock You as a fret-burning instrumental was John Wines, a guitar teacher based in England who boasts more than 1.5 million online followers under the alias Old Grey Guitarist. 

“I was not expecting that,” said Cowell, as an excited crowd started screaming “We want more!” at the top of their lungs. Though he ended up getting knocked out in the semi-finals, it was an undeniable moment of victory for guitar enthusiasts around the world.

RIP Bernie Marsden

We heard in August the sad news of British guitar legend Bernie Marsden passing away at age 72. 

He’d performed in groups such as Paice Ashton Lord, Alaska and the Moody Marsden Band, and embarked on a lengthy solo career, though was arguably best known for his work in Whitesnake from 1978 to 1982, with writing credits to songs like Fool for Your Loving, Lovehunter, Trouble and, most famously, Here I Go Again. 

In what would sadly be his final GW interview, the man who famously played a 1959 Les Paul Standard he referred to as “The Beast” helped us pay tribute to George Harrison for the September 2021 cover story. 

“To put it simply: no Beatles, no George, no me,” Marsden said. “I’m proud to have gotten to know him when I was in Whitesnake in the 1970s. He invited me to his home, where he showed me his guitars, and we listened to and played music in his studio. I still feel very privileged to have gotten to call him a friend, but that’s another story.”

Kirk Hammett laughs in the face of critics

In the Metallica cover story that coincided with the release of the band’s 11th full-length, 72 Seasons, we noted how “this is the sound of Metallica showing us they’re the masters of their own destiny” and praised the quartet for seeming “more pissed off, defiant and inventive than they have in a long time.” But not everyone agreed.

“The new Metallica song is great, but I thought the solo was pretty underwhelming, so here’s something a bit spicier!” said YouTuber Bradley Hall in a video in which he wrote and performed his own solo in place of Hammett’s Lux Æterna fretwork. 

When confronted about said criticism, the Metallica guitarist remained remarkably indifferent. 

“I was just laughing the whole time,” he told Total Guitar. “I could string together, like, six or seven three-octave arpeggios in 16th notes, sit there every day and practice it and go, ‘Hey, look what I can do!’ but where am I gonna put it? It sounds like an exercise. I don’t want to listen to exercises and warm-ups every time I hear a song.”

Myles Kennedy gets his first PRS signature model

It’d be fair to say Myles Kennedy is a pretty big deal these days. When he’s not conquering arenas with Alter Bridge, the man who almost ended up replacing Robert Plant in Led Zeppelin tours the world with Slash and the Conspirators, and let’s not forget he also has two dazzling solo albums to his name. 

Given the success of Mark Tremonti’s PRS range, it was only a matter of time until the velvet-lunged singer/guitarist was awarded his own signature guitar. 

Looking at Kennedy’s PRS – with a swamp ash body, 22 frets, 25.5” scale length and overall T-style shape – there can be no confusion over where he’s drawing inspiration from. 

The pair of PRS Narrowfield MK pickups were carefully voiced “to capture the courage of humbuckers and the spank of single coils,” thanks to a five-way blade switch and push/pull tone control that acts as a preset tone roll-off for the treble position.

Nuno Bettencourt burns frets and melts minds

15 years after their last studio album, Extreme returned in 2023 with their most ambitious offering ever. And it was the solo from Rise – the lead single from new album Six – that got the guitar community talking more than anything else this year. 

In doing so, Nuno Bettencourt demonstrated just why he’s one of the most virtuosic and tasteful shredders in the game using a smorgasbord of furious alternate picking, divebombs, D minor pentatonic blues and, of course, those head-twisting muted hammer-ons for the big finale. 

Marshall is sold to a Swedish speaker company

Having played a substantial role in developing overdriven sounds, with notable users including everyone from Jimi Hendrix to Joe Bonamassa and Tool and a rich heritage that dates back to 1962, amplifier brands simply don’t come much more iconic than Marshall. This year brought an end to its family ownership, as the brand was acquired by Swedish firm Zound Industries for an undisclosed amount of dough. 

It wasn’t completely out of the blue; the company had partnered with Marshall 13 years prior to produce their lifestyle products, including headphones and speaker systems. In a press release, Terry Marshall, son of deceased founder Jim, said, 

“Since my father and I created the original Marshall amp back in 1962, we have always looked for ways to deliver the pioneering Marshall sound to music lovers of all backgrounds and music tastes across the world,” adding that he was confident that the newly formed Marshall Group umbrella company “will elevate this mission and spur the love for the brand.” 

Other big Marshall news included the rebirth of four classic pedals and the launch of the Studio JTM models.

Matteo Mancuso releases his debut album

While there’s clearly no shortage of new names emerging as future guitar stars, few have come as hotly tipped as 26-year-old fingerstyle virtuoso Matteo Mancuso, with world-beating talents like Joe Bonamassa, Steve Vai and Tosin Abasi all singing his praises.

Released back in July by Mascot Label Group, the Sicilian’s debut album, The Journey, certainly delivered on all that promise and then some, with tracks like Silkroad, Samba Party and Drop D nodding to jazz fusion greats like Guthrie Govan and Pat Metheny and ultimately demonstrating just how brilliantly well-rounded he is as a player. With stars burning this bright, there can be no doubt the future of guitar is in safe hands.

Mick Mars vs. Mötley Crüe

As the sole guitar player in the band and co-writer for era-defining tracks like Girls, Girls, Girls, Dr. Feelgood and Same Ol’ Situation (S.O.S.), Mick Mars’ contributions to Mötley Crüe cannot be overstated. 

And despite the age difference between him and the other members, as well as the health complications he’s endured for the majority of his adult life, it was shocking to see how things played out for the glam metal quartet in 2023. 

As well as accusing the group of using backing tracks live, Mars was adamant that he was being maneuvered out of the group he helped put on the musical map. 

“Now they’re trying to take my legacy away, my part of Mötley Crüe, my ownership of the name, the brand,” he told Rolling Stone. 

“How can you fire Mr. Heinz from Heinz ketchup? He owns it. Frank Sinatra’s or Jimi Hendrix’s legacy goes on forever, and their heirs continue to profit from it. They’re trying to take that away from me. I’m not going to let them.”

Mary Ford’s ’61 Gibson ends up on Facebook Marketplace

It would be fair to compare Facebook Marketplace to an online flea market; you never quite know what you might find and whether to take the listings on (pardon the pun) face value. But when Gibson Director of Brand Experience Mark Agnesi was sent the link to an ad for Mary Ford’s 1961 Gibson Les Paul SG Custom in Westerly, Rhode Island, he knew he had to act fast. 

Not only was the highly collectible triple humbucker double-cut in great condition for a 62-year-old instrument, but it also came with a piece of a handwritten setlist taped to its back, adding even more weight to its grand sense of history. 

The famous instrument once seen on the cover of Les Paul & Mary Ford’s 1962 album Warm and Wonderful was carefully transported to the Vault in the Nashville Gibson Garage, which opened its doors in 2021. 

Yamaha acquires Guild, announces Kim Thayil signature model

In February it was announced that Yamaha had bought Córdoba Music Group, the company that owned Guild, DeArmond pickups, Córdoba Guitars, HumiCase and two string companies – Savarez and Aquila. 

And that’s not the only big announcement concerning Guild; in September it was revealed that one of their most recognizable endorsees, Soundgarden’s Kim Thayil, would finally be getting his own S-100 Polara signature models, which, all things considered, looks set to be the best-selling artist model in Yamaha history.

Nita Strauss rejoins Alice Cooper, releases star-studded album

One of last year’s biggest stories was Nita Strauss leaving the Alice Cooper band to head out on tour with Demi Lovato. 

At the time she maintained no doors had been closed, however, she was simply trying out new things – and those words rang true earlier in March when it was announced she would be returning to Cooper’s notoriously horror-themed rock ’n’ roll circus. 

She also unveiled her second solo album, The Call of the Void, which featured guests as esteemed as Marty Friedman, Alissa White-Gluz, Lzzy Hale and even Coop himself. And as for her own guitar pyrotechnics, she revealed she’d used time off during the pandemic to work on her alternate picking. 

“There’s a fast lick in that first verse that I probably lifted from his parts in Racer X’s Technical Difficulties,” she told me. “There were definitely a lot of Paul Gilbert exercises happening in my house over quarantine.”

Sunn amps return – with a little help from Fender

In August it was announced that Fender and Mission Engineering were teaming up to revive cult amp brand Sunn Amplifiers, famously used and abused by high-decibel rock masters like Jimi Hendrix and Pete Townshend and stoner/doom dealers such as Boris, Melvins and Sunn O))) – the latter of whom loved the amps so much they named their band after them. 

It’s been a long time coming, considering Fender bought the company back in the mid-’80s. Expect “historic reproductions of classic Sunn designs” and “new products that incorporate modern technology” ranging from $499 to $3,299. 

“We’re proud to partner with Mission Engineering to uphold the legacy of the Sunn Amplifier brand and look forward to introducing modern players to the raw power that these classic amplifiers are capable of,” said Richard Bussey, Fender VP of Accessories, Lifestyle and Licensing.

Roger Waters re-records The Dark Side of the Moon

Vintage rock releases don’t come much more universally admired than Pink Floyd’s 1973 masterpiece, The Dark Side of the Moon, which many regard to be a perfect album from start to finish. 

Which is why news of Roger Waters re-recording its 10 tracks as The Dark Side of the Moon Redux was met by bewilderment and dismay, especially following the release of first single Money – in which Waters replaced David Gilmour’s legendary solo with a spoken-word poem set in a metaphorical boxing ring. 

“The new recording is more reflective, I think, and it’s more indicative of what the concept of the record was,” Waters said. Interesting…

Wolfgang unveils second Mammoth WVH album

Anyone who heard the Mammoth WVH debut will have known to expect great things from its follow-up, which was released in August. 

Once again Wolfgang Van Halen committed to performing everything himself and dazzling us with a perfect package of fine-tuned songwriting, arena-worthy chorus hooks and scintillating two-handed techniques. 

As well as nodding to his father’s legendary solo on Panama (“Yeah, that G-string bend and tap was very much one of my dad’s moves!”), Take a Bow was also notable for the equipment used to record it. 

“The Frankenstein was what I used on that solo,” he told this writer. “I had it plugged into my dad’s original Marshall head and cabinet… so it was exactly what he used for the early Van Halen stuff. I think you can hear it’s that tone.”

In memoriam

Other legendary guitarists who passed away over the course of the year include David Crosby, who made rock history in the mid-’60s as an original member of the Byrds and later became one quarter of folk supergroup Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young; he died only a week after Jeff Beck. 

Two months later, it was announced that David Lindley – the multi-instrumentalist who had played in Crosby & Nash, as well as with Jackson Browne, Bonnie Raitt, Rod Stewart, Dolly Parton and Ry Cooder – had died from chronic kidney damage following Long Covid. 

Les Paul devotee Gary Rossington, the longest-surviving founding member of Lynyrd Skynyrd, passed away in March, leaving behind a Southern rock legacy like no other. 

Other notable losses include Robbie Robertson (Bob Dylan/the Band), Guy Bailey (the Quireboys), Tim Bachman (Bachman-Turner Overdrive/Brave Belt), Ryan Siew (Polaris), Jack Sonni (Dire Straits), George Tickner (Journey) and Chris Overland (FM).

Sophie Lloyd releases long-awaited solo debut

It was a big year for Sophie Lloyd, who continued to perform on arena stages around the world in her new session gig with Machine Gun Kelly and even landed her first-ever GW cover interview. 

She also released her debut solo album, Imposter Syndrome, in November – which, as well as showcasing her impressive talents as a writer and arranger, included some high-profile guests such as Trivium’s Matt Heafy, Halestorm singer/guitarist Lzzy Hale and Steel Panther frontman Michael Starr. 

And there’s more, the Sophie Lloyd Signature Series was launched by Kiesel back in May, radically allowing players to customize and spec out the double-cutaway models as they see fit.

Josh Homme fights cancer and returns all guns blazing

On top of the well-documented child custody struggles with ex-wife Brody Dalle, Queens of the Stone Age singer/guitarist Josh Homme also revealed that he’d been treated for cancer in 2022. 

Though he remained understandably tight-lipped over the experience, he referred to the health struggles as “just the cherry on top of an interesting time period.” 

It very much seems as if he took all of that emotional baggage and churned it into a new album, In Times New Roman… which was released in June. Led by singles such as Emotion Sickness, Carnavoyeur and Paper Machete – which were notably more atmospheric and moody than those of its disco-laced Villains predecessor – QOTSA’s eighth full-length witnessed Homme and co-guitarist Troy Van Leeuwen delivering an absolute masterclass in vintage-leaning, life-affirming rock ’n’ roll.

Mark Tremonti reveals he’s launching a pedal company

As every GW reader will know, famous guitar players wanting to start their own gear companies is nothing revolutionary; some of the more successful ventures include Tosin’s Abasi Concepts, the Ola Englund-run Solar Guitars, Zakk’s Wylde Audio and Kirk Hammett’s high-gain pedal specialists KHDK. 

But that’s clearly not stopping Mark Tremonti from trying his luck as well. He disclosed he would be launching his own pedal brand in an interview focusing on his live rig. 

“I’m trying to develop a whole line of pedals,” he said after being quizzed about an unbranded prototype Uni-Vibe clone. He then went on to say he’s still thinking of a name for the company and has three units in mind for the big launch – the aforementioned vibe, a tremolo and an overdrive (“Of course I’m going after the Klon… Everybody’s going after the Klon,” he said).

Neural DSP keep adding big names to their Archetype range

Digital amp and effects specialists Neural DSP have really come a long way over the last five or so years. As well as releasing one of the most advanced units of its kind in the Quad Cortex, there’s been a whole host of signature Archetype plug-ins for guitar heroes like Cory Wong, Tim Henson, Plini and even one for Dream Theater mastermind John Petrucci. 

In October it was announced that Brazilian session maestro and Suhr endorsee Mateus Asato would also be getting his own Archetype, packing all of his favorite heads and cabinets – plus effects like compression, overdrive, fuzz, tremolo, chorus and vibrato – into one tidy interface for $119. 

Given his profile as one of the most expressive and respected six-stringers to launch a career via the Internet, with even John Mayer citing him as “one of the best guitar players around,” there’s been plenty of buzz.

The Boss accidentally hits tech with Tele

If you’re Bruce Springsteen’s tech, you’ve probably seen it all a million times. But no matter how prepared you might be, as we all know, sometimes things just don’t quite go according to plan. 

While performing in Atlanta at the beginning of February, the Boss launched his sunburst Telecaster at long-serving assistant Kevin Buell as he’s done many times in the past. And though he had his hands in the air and eyes on the prize, Buell miscalculated the trajectory of the missile and ended up taking a hit to the head, consequently ending up on the floor. 

After Springsteen quickly walked over to help his colleague and make sure there were no serious injuries, the show went on without any further hiccups.

Marty Friedman back on stage with Megadeth

Megadeth have had some truly world-class lead players in their ranks over the years, though most of us would agree it was the pairing of Dave Mustaine with Marty Friedman over the course of the ’90s that produced a lot of their finest work. 

It all came to a head in 2000, and both Mustaine and Friedman have been moving in different circles ever since – until February 27, 2023, that is, when the metal titans were performing at the Budokan arena in Tokyo. Friedman, who moved to Japan in 2003, joined the band for three classic songs from the albums he played on – Countdown to Extinction, Tornado of Souls and Symphony of Destruction. 

European fans were also lucky to witness thrash history in the making when Friedman joined Megadeth once again at German festival Wacken Open Air, performing Trust, Tornado of Souls, Symphony of Destruction and Holy Wars… The Punishment Due. 

In other Megadeth news, Wintersun’s Teemu Mäntysaari was hired to fill in on parts of their world tour while Kiko Loureiro tended to a family emergency – and has since been offered the position for the foreseeable future.

Marty Friedman has opened up on his experiences of auditioning to become Ozzy Osbourne’s guitar player back in the late ‘80s – an audition the former Megadeth hero says he “failed miserably”.

Shortly before Friedman eventually joined Dave Mustaine and co at the onset of the ‘90s as the thrash metal group’s new lead electric guitar player, he was shortlisted as one of the “thousands” of guitar players who had been eyed up for the Osbourne slot, which had been vacated by the outgoing Jake E. Lee in ‘87.

That Friedman was summoned for a six-string try-out at the time is no surprise, given his work alongside Jason Becker in Cacophony had established his reputation as one the most promising up-and-coming guitarists of his age.

However, the experience didn’t pan out exactly how Friedman would’ve thought, with the Jackson signature artist recently recalling how he “failed miserably” – but not because of his guitar chops.

Speaking during a Q&A session at the recent Metalmania III Rock ‘N’ Roll Fantasy Camp, Friedman discussed the ill-fated electric guitar try-out, which was first put in motion when he received a call from Ozzy’s wife and manager, Sharon.

“I actually got a call from Sharon Osbourne way, way back, and I was living in San Francisco, and they said, ‘We'd like to fly you down to audition for Ozzy,’” he explained (via Blabbermouth). “And I'm, like, 'Oh my god. This is great.' 

“I was practically homeless at the time, living with my then-girlfriend and dealing with the rent and all that stuff, as California rock musicians do,” Friedman went on. “And I was so happy to get the call. So I learned the music, went down to L.A. – they flew me down to L. A. to play with the band. And it was, I guess, the guys who were in the band at the time.”

Despite “playing everything absolutely just fine”, and although Friedman “thought it sounded great”, the audition ended up being a write off. Not because of his playing, but because their “images were very different”.

“Those guys in the band were, like… it was just like a rehearsal, and they were totally decked out in 1980s Sunset Strip... skull t-shirts with handcuffs and long necklaces,” Friedman reflected, “And they were just ready to go out on the Strip, and I was just in jeans and a t-shirt, totally normal. 

“I just thought that… It was just a different air. It wasn't like these three guys are gonna get together and jell, even though it sounded fine, I thought. I mean, I thought I played everything correctly.”

By the sounds of it, saying he “failed miserably” seems to be a bit of an over exaggeration from an outsider's perspective, especially since we imagine Friedman nailed the parts he was required to play for the Osbourne gig.

Nevertheless, it was a chastening experience for the young player, who fortunately was able to take a few life lessons away with him after the audition.

“Being in a band is so much more than the playing,” he went on to conclude. “And, actually, the playing is kind of down on the list. If you have the same kind of vibe with the people, you can just kind of smell it: 'This is the guy I wanna hang out with.' 

“And it was different on that level… They smelled like L.A. and I smelled like San Francisco, which was a different smell. Neither of us smelled very good. But they were cool. Everybody played everything great. They were auditioning thousands of guys. So I didn't get it.”

Though Friedman admitted he “would have loved to have got the gig”, he did note some lifestyle differences that probably wouldn’t have fit well with him – “They were probably just getting ready to go back out drinking, and I'm not a very big drinker” – and it wasn't long before he was linking up with Mustaine as the new Megadeth man.

Friedman recently rekindled his relationship with Megadeth earlier this year, taking to the stage with Mustaine and co for his first performance with the band in 23 years.

This isn't the first time Friedman has been critical of his past playing, having said "most likely, it just plain sucked" of his attempt to cover Jeff Beck in front of Eddie Van Halen.

Someone who shares Friedman's pain is White Lion shred hero Vita Bratta, who this year told Guitar World of his own failed audition with Ozzy Osbourne.

Last week, Marty Friedman reunited with his old Megadeth bandmates at Germany’s Wacken Open Air Festival for a ferocious four-song guest spot.

It was only the second time in 23 years that Friedman had shared the stage with Dave Mustaine, following a similarly fleeting cameo appearance during the band’s show at Tokyo’s Budokan arena.

Seeing Friedman link up with Megadeth to perform a quartet of tracks from his 1990-2000 tenure was in itself enough to satisfy the most ardent metal fans, but now the band’s resident electric guitar hero Kiko Loureiro has gone one step further.

In a new video posted to his YouTube channel, the Ibanez signature artist has shared behind-the-scenes footage of the band rehearsing for their Wacken Open Air Festival set.

With Dirk Verbeuren positioned behind an electric drum kit – and the rest of the assembly squeezed into a cozy rehearsal room – Friedman, Mustaine and Loureiro first lock the fretboards of their respective Jackson, Gibson and Ibanez models to trade chugs and harmonize licks over Symphony of Destruction.

Footage of the ensemble tightening up the middle riff section of Tornado of Souls has also kindly been provided by Loureiro.

Perhaps the highlight of the video, though, is seeing Friedman’s gravity-defying solo on Symphony up close. That he’d want to spend every available moment practicing such lead lines is understandable, given he recently told Guitar World those solos would pose the biggest challenge to a Megadeth reunion.

“If there was any challenge [in regards to reuniting with Megadeth] at all, I guess it would be playing the solos the way the fans remember them, which is something I wanted to do,” Friedman offered. “My playing has evolved so much since those songs came out, and there are so many nuances I would naturally do differently now. 

“I had to resist the urge to play it like I would in 2023 and stick to the original way. For example, in a couple of those songs, I entered the solo on the downbeat, with the first note being the root of the chord. I would definitely avoid both of those things now, but apparently, I was fine with it back then!”

Back in February, metal electric guitar legend Marty Friedman reunited with his former Megadeth bandmates for the first time in 23 years at Tokyo's Budokan arena.

In an interview with Guitar World shortly after the reunion, Friedman hinted that another potential reunion with Megadeth would potentially occur at the Wacken Open Air Festival in August.

During the thrash titans’ August 4 set at the German festival, Friedman made good on his hint, joining Megadeth for a quartet of songs from his 1990-2000 tenure in the band: Trust, Tornado of Souls, Symphony of Destruction, and, for the encore, Holy Wars... The Punishment Due.

You can check out some fan-filmed footage of Tornado of Souls above, and a snippet of pro-shot footage – featuring some choice windmill action on Friedman's part – below. 

Though Friedman has long been content to follow his own artistic path, he slotted in perfectly next to Megadeth guitarists Dave Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro at Wacken, absolutely nailing the smoking passages of Tornado of Souls, much to the delight of gathered festivalgoers.

Speaking to Guitar World back in March, Friedman discussed revisiting his ‘90s-era lead work, and the challenge of – rather than updating some of the most beloved solos in the thrash metal catalog for 2023 – giving fans what they expect and want to hear.

“If there was any challenge [in regards to reuniting with Megadeth] at all, I guess it would be playing the solos the way the fans remember them, which is something I wanted to do,“ Friedman said. “My playing has evolved so much since those songs came out, and there are so many nuances I would naturally do differently now.

“I had to resist the urge to play it like I would in 2023 and stick to the original way. For example, in a couple of those songs, I entered the solo on the downbeat, with the first note being the root of the chord. I would definitely avoid both of those things now, but apparently, I was fine with it back then!“

Megadeth still have a number of dates – on multiple continents – remaining on their ongoing The Sick, the Dying... and the Dead! tour.

For a full list of the band's upcoming shows, visit Megadeth's website.

It’s been a rollercoaster couple of years for Nita Strauss. In October 2021, she topped the American rock charts with Dead Inside, which saw her team up with Disturbed vocalist David Draiman. Last summer, the American guitarist – who made history in 2018 as Ibanez’s first female signature artist – left her position in the Alice Cooper band to join forces with pop star Demi Lovato. And now, having toured again with Alice, she returns with her long-awaited second solo album, The Call Of The Void. 

While the predecessor, 2018’s Controlled Chaos, was a completely instrumental affair, her latest venture sees her going the other way with more vocal-led tracks, including features with Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy), Anders Fridén (In Flames) and even Alice Cooper himself. So what made her decide to switch things up?

“It started out as one or two collaborations and then it just snowballed,” Nita says. “I guess it just evolved that way. At one point my label said, ‘Why not just release two separate albums?’ But I felt it would end up giving more attention to the one with all the features and radio songs. The instrumentals, which are what I mainly love and want to do, would have fallen by the wayside.

“I worked very hard to make the album I wanted to make. My label were very supportive. They signed me as an instrumental solo artist with no inclination that I’d give them a song like Dead Inside, which ended up being a number one song. They even suggested doing the first half instrumental and the second with vocals, or vice versa, and I said, ‘No, because I want to lay it out in a certain way and tell a story’. They listened and it ended up exactly how it should be…”

Talking to TG from her home studio, Nita discusses the key tracks on the album and the creative process behind them…

The opening track, Summer Storm, builds very quickly from downtuned clean guitars to neoclassical harmonised leads and then triplet riffing…

“It was partly inspired by the first song on DragonForce’s Sonic Firestorm album, which is called My Spirit Will Go On. It does this thing where it builds and builds, starting off with a clean guitar and going from there. I love songs that do that. Funnily enough, Summer Storm wasn’t necessarily written to be the first track on the record but it came out so cool I felt it could be my version of that DragonForce opener.”

There are parts of your solo that utilise two-string ‘mini sweeps’ – which can help cover a lot of melodic distance very quickly without going into full arpeggio mode…

“I picked that stuff up from Yngwie Malmsteen, probably when I was learning his Rising Force solo. I can do the three- and five-string sweeps in different positions, but there’s something extra cool about those little ones. I like it that you call them mini sweeps, because that’s what they are! 

“They’re so easy to throw in and very playable live too, which is key. It’s easy to sit in the studio and do these gigantic stretches but it’s different when you’ve got to go on tour and play that shit! I want to write things I can execute well on stage. It’s okay to go a little further, sure, but you can’t go too far!”

What’s your best tip for making these sweeps sound so effortless?

“It’s all about starting off slowly and cleanly. Then you start doing it a little less slowly and keep going from there – don’t think ‘fast’ in terms of how you imagine it, think ‘less slow’ every time you slightly increase the tempo. That’s the only way you can get fast and still sound very clean. It’s very painstaking. Honestly, getting good at sweep picking for me was like rolling a heavy ball up a steep hill. It has to be baby steps, one bit at a time.”

You’ve always described yourself as more of a legato player, but judging from some of the alternate picking runs on the opening track, you’ve really been working on your right hand.

“I still don’t think of myself as a good alternate picker! It’s never been a strong point. I don’t know if there was one particular exercise that helped. I just knew I wanted to approach this record as a more rounded player. I took more time with it, too. 

“I made Controlled Chaos in three months. This one took three years, from a very different perspective in terms of how I played, having vocalists, working with outside writers to help me understand the subtleties and nuances of creating radio songs that are completely different to the shred stuff I’m known for.”

Maybe some of Paul Gilbert’s legendary exercises came in handy though, right?

“You know, there’s a fast alternate lick in that first verse that I probably lifted from his parts in Racer X’s Technical Difficulties! It definitely has that Paul Gilbert vibe to it. I wasn’t sat there trying to copy anything but I guess you’re right… there were definitely a lot of Paul Gilbert exercises happening in my house over quarantine!”

The solo in Digital Bullets has some wide interval taps that are almost keyboard-like.

“Yeah, they are quite wide! I have to put my guitar on my knees for that one! That song was a co-write with Johnny Andrews, who has worked with Motionless In White, Halestorm and others. It was my first time working with an outside writer. I’d done co-writes for other people but never for myself. He asked what made me angry and I said, ‘All these motherfuckers on the Internet who tell everybody else how to live their lives but don’t have any real-world experience!’ 

“Like all the detractors from the Demi Lovato thing last year… They’re not actual musicians working in the industry. They’re just keyboard warriors, firing digital bullets from behind a screen but never being strong enough to say those things to someone’s face. Crafting this song and solo was a big ‘Fuck you’ to all the haters. I think it was Johnny who said, ‘Why don’t you have an Eruption moment as a big middle finger to these people?’ So I came up with that!” 

You generally tend to stick with your Ibanez Jiva signature guitars and either Marshall amps or Boss multi-effects when you play live. What are we hearing on this album?

“I would say 85 per cent of the record was done with the original JivaX, which came out in 2020. When I was designing the range, versatility was the first thing in my mind. When I used to go to the studio as a younger player, I would bring this guitar for that and another for something else. It’s like you’d need a Les Paul for rhythms, your Ibanez for leads, an acoustic for cleans and so on.

“And I wanted to bring just one instrument that could do everything. The Jiva, for me, is that guitar. I worked closely with Larry DiMarzio on the Pandemonium pickups, which are a huge part of the sound. The African mahogany body rings so true, especially because the Pandemonium pickups are really hot. But if you split the coils, it can sound so clean. And the ebony fretboard makes your fingers feel like they are just bouncing right off it.”

So what are the other guitars we are hearing and what did you put them through? 

“The other 15 per cent was done using an RG with an EverTune bridge, which was great for the lower rhythms. If you’re in drop C, it’s very easy to throw the string a little out of tune if you’re picking hard – and I chose to pick some of the riffs really hard.

“There’s also a little bit of seven-string, like on the Alice Cooper track Winner Takes All, and layered into some other tracks. Using digital gear made it really straightforward going back and forth between different studios. I used the Archetype: Tim Henson by Neural DSP and, of course, the Gojira plugin because everyone loves that. The rest was done using my Kemper live tones, which has all my Marshalls profiled into it.”

Shred legend and former Megadeth star Marty Friedman guests on the grand finale, Surfacing. What did you learn from working with him?

“Talk about a storyteller! I’ve learned so much from Marty over the years. He knows what he wants. This collaboration was such an education for me, as a sort-of young guitar player at the foot of the master! The first metal song I ever heard had Marty playing guitar on it. We fleshed out the whole concept together. 

“I sent him some riffs and then he sent back this crazy song with his own ideas. Funnily enough, there was a quote I read from him recently which said something like, ‘Nita’s not afraid of a little hard work!’ referring to how this song went back and forth. I wanted him to critique me…”

And what kind of advice did he give you, exactly? 

“He would tell me how I could make melodies better and what notes I should use instead of the ones I’d initially chosen. I came out the other side a better player. He sent pages of detailed notes and through him I learned you have to know what your story is and what you’re trying to say or convey. Pick phrases that help tell the story. Resist the temptation to use your songs to show off your fastest licks. 

“It’s about the message of the music rather than a bunch of notes you can play fast one after another. I had Marty’s Exotic Metal Guitar instructional DVD growing up. Honestly, I learned so much from that – as well as John Petrucci’s Rock Discipline, Yngwie’s Play Loud or Frank Gambale’s Modes: No More Mystery… which is how I learned you can go from A natural minor to G Mixolydian or C Ionian and move between those shapes. 

“It’s just a case of taking a little walk down the neck through the different modes of the same scale. That’s when the whole fretboard opened up for me. All of these greats shaped what us guitar players do now!”

• The Call Of The Void is out now via Sumerian.

Nita Strauss has announced her upcoming solo studio album, The Call of The Void, for which she’s recruited a handful of special six-string guests.

Joining Strauss for her first solo outing since 2018’s Controlled Chaos will be former Megadeth electric guitar star Marty Friedman, as well as hard rock guitar hero Lzzy Hale, and her longtime collaborator Alice Cooper, whose band she recently rejoined after temporarily departing to join Demi Lovato’s new rock outfit.

The Call of The Void will arrive in physical and digital formats, with the former featuring 14 songs. The latter, meanwhile, will up that count to 22, courtesy of eight additional instrumental tracks.

To accompany the news, Strauss has shared the LP’s latest single, The Golden Trail, which features In Flames’ Anders Fridén. It’s a clinic of rhythmic mastery first and foremost, with Strauss flexing her potent picking powers for a stream of bruising riffs that mingle with some face-melting lead licks.

“When I was first learning how to play guitar, In Flames were my Beatles; my first favorite band,” Strauss said of The Golden Trail. “Anders' iconic vocal style is burned into my mind.

“To write a song like this and have him sing on it, as a kid who grew up with In Flames posters on my walls, is an absolute dream come true.”

Of his contributions, Fridén commented, “It was a lot of fun to collaborate with Nita on The Golden Trail. She's an amazing guitar player and I can hear the history of metal flowing through her fingers.”

The Golden Trail joins a slew of previously released singles, with The Call of The Void set to collate Strauss’s standalone efforts from the past two years. The Cooper-featuring Winner Takes All, the solo shred-a-thon Summer Storm and Dead Inside – which features David Draiman – will make the cut, as will The Wolf You Feed.

The Call of The Void arrives after an eventful 2022 for Strauss, who departed Alice Cooper’s band to link-up with pop superstar Demi Lovato, who in turn called upon the Ibanez signature artist to help launch their rock renaissance.

That Lovato tour – which came straight after a Cooper tour – was followed by a return to Cooper’s cohort for Strauss. As a result of all these commitments, it comes as no surprise that this particular album proved to be particularly difficult to piece together.

“Some pieces of music come into the world gracefully and easily. This album is not one of them,” Strauss admitted. “The Call Of The Void was born kicking and screaming, a labor of love for sure, but also of blood, sweat, and plenty of tears. 

“I couldn't be more proud of the end result. Making this album helped me learn and grow so much as a musician and songwriter and I’m excited to finally unleash it on the world. 

"I wanted the follow up to Controlled Chaos to be exciting, new, and fresh, to take listeners to a new place and take myself somewhere new as an artist, too. We have some amazing collaborations on this album with incredible musicians, as well as the instrumental guitar music that first inspired me to play.”

The track list for the physical edition of the LP can be found below.

1. Summer Storm
2. The Wolf You Feed (Feat. Alissa White-Gluz)
3. Digital Bullets (Feat. Chris Motionless)
4. Through the Noise (Feat. Lzzy Hale)
5. Consume The Fire
6. Dead Inside (Feat. David Draiman)
7. Victorious (Feat. Dorothy)
8. Scorched
9. Momentum
10. The Golden Trail (Feat. Anders Fridén)
11. Winner Takes All (Feat. Alice Cooper)
12. Monster (Feat. Lilith Czar)
13. Kintsugi
14. Surfacing (Feat. Marty Friedman)

The eight instrumental tracks that will be found on digital editions of The Call of The Void are as follows.

• The Wolf You Feed (Instrumental)
• Digital Bullets (Instrumental)
• Through the Noise (Instrumental)
• Dead Inside (Instrumental)
• Victorious (Instrumental)
• The Golden Trail (Instrumental)
• Winner Takes All (Instrumental)
• Monster (Instrumental)

• The Call of The Void is available to preorder now via Sumerian Records ahead of its release on July 7.

After being confined to his adopted homeland of Japan for the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic, much to the delight of his fans, guitarist Marty Friedman is making his long-awaited turn to the States alongside former scene mates, Queensrÿche and Trauma.

But if you're assuming that Friedman – or his band – will need to shake the rust off, think again. Quite the contrary, as the ever-cerebral six-stringer has made several jaunts around Japan, keeping his chops up and keeping his band tight.

"Though we couldn't leave Japan, we've managed to stay busy," Friedman reveals. "But playing in America is a different animal than Japan. The sheer volume of shows allows the band to get to a different level of excitement. If you tour in Japan, and you do three shows, you're still essentially in rehearsal mode, even though, in general, my band is on fire."

"There's something different about traveling every day and playing this many shows that the band gets a different sort of fire under them," Friedman continues. "It's a lot easier to a lot easier to connect with the audience because the music is so incredibly ingrained in everybody to where it's more like an out-of-body experience rather than strictly entertainment mode."

Since Friedman last journeyed Stateside, he's released another stunner – Tokyo Jukebox 3 (2021). And while he's debuted his latest across Japanese stages, this tour will represent its first exposure amongst the American masses. Still, fans probably won't be able to help but wonder if the classics will be afoot, too.

When asked about the potential for old and new cuts intermingling within his setlist, Friedman went on to say: "I've got so many albums, so it boils down to what we can make the most exciting show out of. We're not picking one album to focus on; the set will feature things from all eras. There will be stuff from my first solo album ranging up to my most recent solo album, Jukebox 3. It's going to be interesting since we haven't toured it around America yet. It's different from my previous material, but I find it equally, if not more exciting."

Most recent news surrounding Friedman has centered around his performance with his old friends in Megadeth at Tokyo's vaunted Budokan Arena.

Of his long-awaited reunion with Dave Mustaine, the Jackson-toting rocker says, "We're just two rock 'n' rollers with teenage dreams that never die. Both of us did whatever we had to do to make it happen. I think with guys who have had long careers, you'll probably find that we are very much in touch with our 15-year-old selves. And that is the prime motivator to go out of our way, on a daily basis really, to create situations that would give that 15-year-old self a woody."

When asked if there are any imminent plans for further reunions with Mustaine and company, Friedman contained, "We [Megadeth and Friedman] are both playing at Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany this summer, so you never know."

Beyond Megadeth-related activity, there's much to rejoice about for fans of the veteran guitarist. To that end, as he embarks on his first tour on American soil since 2019, Marty Friedman dialed in with Guitar World to discuss why he's so excited to get out on the road, how he designed his Jackson MF-1 signature guitar, recording with Jason Becker in the '80s – and, of course, just a little bit more about that much talked-about guest spot…

Before we hit on your impending tour, what was most challenging about getting on stage again with Megadeth?

"It was less challenging and more like that innocent and pleasant anxious feeling you might get when getting ready to go out with a drop-dead stunner. If there was any challenge at all, I guess it would be playing the solos the way the fans remember them, which is something I wanted to do. My playing has evolved so much since those songs came out, and there are so many nuances I would naturally do differently now. 

"I had to resist the urge to play it like I would in 2023 and stick to the original way. For example, in a couple of those songs, I entered the solo on the downbeat, with the first note being the root of the chord. I would definitely avoid both of those things now, but apparently, I was fine with it back then!

How did you approach the songs from a lead perspective, given that Kiko Loureiro was on stage as well?

"Kiko was kind enough to mirror Dave's parts, so for me, it was very much like it was when I was in the band, only with the rhythms in stereo. He did come up with some neat harmonies to some of my lines in Countdown to Extinction."

How do you compare your style to Kiko's, and how do they complement each other?

"I'm not so great at comparing guitarists, but I can tell you that Kiko is a wonderful player with a wide variety of brilliant techniques and an incredibly versatile musical sense under his belt. I think he brings something fantastic and important to the band. I think we both have an interest in 'gypsy' motifs in common, but we construct melodies in a different way. I like his playing a lot."

How do you measure your role within Megadeth's history, and what are your overarching thoughts now that this latest chapter is finished?

"That's really for the fans to decide. I like to think I contributed a melodic angle that, by sheer luck, just happened to complement the legacy that Dave started."

What is your mindset as you prepare for your tour with Queensrÿche and Trauma?

"This is the first time that I'm touring anywhere outside of Japan since the pandemic, so I'm extremely excited about that. Getting in and out of Japan has just been next to impossible, and there have been almost no international touring acts coming to Japan, so now it's happening very slowly and gradually. So, the band and I are incredibly grateful that we can make this American tour a reality. We've toured three times here in Japan since the pandemic, so we're in shape, but there's only so much you can tour in a small country like Japan. So, we're ready to go."

How does playing in America differ compared with playing in Japan?

"The main thing that comes to mind is the fact that there are a lot more places to play. Most of the time, when bands come to Japan, they'll do three cities: Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya. And then maybe they'll do two more cities like Sendai, Fukuoka, and maybe one other city or something, but rarely more than six shows.

"I've been lucky. I did a 25-show tour a while ago, and we just did 17 cities a couple of months ago, so we've been fortunate to play in some out-of-the-way areas and the big cities. But there are so many more places to play in America, so we'll be there for something like 45 days."

Considering you're touring with Queensrÿche and Trauma, do you feel any pressure to play your more metal-oriented back catalog?

"For that style of music, I feel like no matter who we play with it really has zero influence on what we do. I feel more of a personal connection to those people because Queensrÿche came up around the same time I did. We started with the same roots and were in the same fanzines during a time when heavy metal was still not very popular. They came into their own, and I carved out my own path, so I would assume it would be more of a personal connection than a musical one. What we're doing now is kind of unrelated."

Both Dragon's Kiss and Cacophony's Go Off! turn 35 in 2023. Those two records are important to many people, and I assume you'll feature them in your set. How do you personally measure their importance?

"Both of those records were obviously important to me because they got me started. At that time, I was still completely broke and borderline homeless. Despite that, people were encouraging me and enjoying that music. That's what kept me from giving up, so to speak, even though giving up music was never really an option. But sometimes, it's really hard to continue when you have absolutely no resources to do so.

"So, I think that the reaction to those records at the time almost forced me to endure the lousy living conditions and made me feel like, 'OK, I might have to live on my friend's couch for a while. But at least I know that there are some people who are really enjoying what I'm doing. It's worth it to keep trying, and hopefully, someday, I'll be able to carve out some sort of a career.'"

Do you have any regrets or anything you would change?

"At that time, there was no support. It was strictly a labor of love. It was about me making the music that I wanted to play, and that would represent me at the time. I really have no regrets, but sonically, if I could do it all again, I would do it much differently. But every album is like a yearbook that shows where you were at that time. So, if I look at it that way, I wouldn't change a thing.

"We do some stuff from those albums, and it's fun because a couple of members of my band were not even born when those records were made. [Laughs] But each album is a step toward the next, and it's all constantly evolving.

"As for the people listening to it, they have their own preferences. They like this album, or they like that album. Each has different meanings for them, and ultimately, it's more exciting for me to have other people get into this stuff rather than me thinking about it too much."

Are there particular memories that stick out from the recording of those records?

"I just remember having no time to do a lot of things. I wanted to take more time to do Dragon's Kiss, but when I was recording Dragon's Kiss, Jason Becker was recording Perpetual Burn at the exact same time in the exact same studio. We were doing day shifts and night shifts, and we were both there for each other's records. So, that meant neither of us slept, and we were burning both ends of the candle, so to speak.

"Jason was doing his record and is recording one of his songs, and it was very complex, and the guitar part was so intricate that the engineer couldn't punch in and out of it. So, I went in there to do the punch ins and outs on the tape machine because Jason was just like, 'OK, punch right in the middle of this insane run, there's no way the engineers gonna know where to punch, but you will.'

"So, I was doing that, and Jason and I were in the zone working on this piece of music. We were both so tired, he was playing a ton, and I was punching in and out, and then, we both fell asleep at the same time as we were recording [Laughs]. We were knocked out, woke up, and realized we were still playing. So, many of those recordings were done in a trance. But that's how it was; there was no budget, and we had two weeks to do both records."

Are your memories of recording Go Off! similar?

"I remember when we did Go Off!, we went to a much better studio called Fantasy Studios in Berkeley. It was a place where a lot of big '60s hits were recorded, and it was a real, proper studio. So, recording there, I think we thought we had made it to some extent [Laughs]. Other than that, again, there were a lot of day and night shifts and a lot of intricate punching out."

Is there one track or solo from your career that you consider your quintessential moment?

"It's funny, somebody just asked me this the other day, and I couldn't come up with an answer. I can't because I have the same criteria for everything I do. So, anything that you've heard on one of my records, or anything that has got my name on it, you can be sure that I'm completely signing off on it. If I recorded it, and it's out there, that reflects where I wanted to be at that time.

"When I record something and decide that it's done, that means I've said it in the best way I possibly can, and I let it go. So, it's not like I'm saying, 'Oh, man, I really got lucky on this one thing,' a lot of thought went into whatever recording you're hearing. So, to evade your question, and maybe it's kind of a boring answer, but really, nothing stands out. If it came out, that means that I was happy with it at that time, and I wanted you to hear it."

That's not a boring answer. If anything, it peels back the layers on your process and mindset as a guitarist.

"I think it makes sense. I mean, it's probably not uncommon because when people make a lot of music all the time, there's got to be some criteria, whether it be subliminal or something you consciously think about. You have to think, 'Do I really want people to hear this? Is this the best I can do? Is this how I want to represent myself?' So, if you pass those criteria, and you've got something that's got my stamp on it, then I'm pleased with that.

"Of course, if you go back and look at my older stuff, I wouldn't be as happy with that as I am with the stuff I'm doing now. Obviously, I've evolved, improved, and gotten better overall. I've gone way deeper musically, and things are much more meaningful than they might have been however many years ago. If you take something I recorded last week and compare it to something I did 30 years ago, chances are I'm gonna really like what I did last week, a million times better."

Is that to say you're not so enthused about your older music? How would you describe your evolution?

"At that time, I was equally enthused about that as I am with what I'm doing now, if that makes sense. The most important change is caring about how each note is shaped, stretched, cut off, shaken, or stirred. So, however I choose to interpret every single note has some choice going on where I think to myself, 'How do I want to do this?' There's no wasted space or real estate, particularly with my solos.

"If you have a solo, and it's like eight bars or 16 bars, that's pretty important real estate within the song. And real estate has value. If you put a value on each note and say, 'This is how I want this note to be at this time. This is how I want this run to be, and I want it to overlap this way,' if you think about those choices, your real estate will ultimately be more valuable.

"But at the same time, sometimes you don't think about it, and then you basically shit something out, and it comes out better than laboring over every little thing. Then it comes down to the listening process; you have to listen to something you shit out with as much care as something you've worked on for a long time. If you've played music for a long time, you can shit out some pretty good stuff. Of course, you can shit out some garbage as well [Laughs]."

Do you feel stream-of-consciousness writing is more effective than potentially overwrought writing?

"As long as you grow and evolve as a musician and an artist, your judgment becomes deeper and sharper. So, you can listen to something you've just done and say, 'Wow, I love this. I really love this because all these things happened.' That level of detail happens at the listening stage, not the planning stage. Because in the planning stage, you're just kind of stream of consciousness, shooting something out.

"That's probably the biggest thing that has evolved in my playing – those albums that you mentioned before, like Dragon's Kiss, and stuff like that, I had a lot to say, but I wanted to make sure I said it in an acceptable way and get that thing out. If I were doing the same material now, I would give each track a little more tender loving care.

"I think more about things like, 'How does it start? When does the not cut off?' A lot of times, notes are cut off earlier than they should be. Little things like connecting notes, lengthening notes, and effectively shortening notes are important details that are seemingly extremely tiny."

What pedals and amps are you going with for the upcoming tour?

"The same as I've been using, no changes. I've been using all my signature stuff for the last few tours. So, that's my signature guitar, signature pickups, and signature amp. I'm very fortunate that great companies like Jackson, EMG, and ENGL have provided me with some excellent signature gear that I'm proud to use. Honestly, my stuff is full-on workhorses, and they've been great for me.

"The only effects pedal I really use is the Maxon AF-9 Auto Filter. Other than that, I'm not really into effects; I like to keep it pretty simple when it comes to that."

What makes your Jackson MF-1 the perfect guitar for you?

"Well, the first thing is looks [Laughs]. It was modeled after a very famous guitar that we all know, so I was going for that shape. I don't know… I think it just looks good on everybody and anybody. I used to have an Explorer-shaped signature model, and while I was lucky it worked for my body type, that was kind of a pointy guitar, and it doesn't work for everybody.

"I mean, let's call a spade a spade – my signature model is shaped like a Les Paul – and that shape looks good on everybody. But, for example, a crazy shape like a Dimebag Darrell's Dean guitar that looked fantastic on him, but if I had one of those things, I'd look like a complete dork [Laughs]. So, there's just something about those fancy shapes… they fit certain people and their personalities, but not mine.

"But there's something about the Les Paul that, for me, just works. If you look at it in that case, it looks drab. It looks dull, unlike those pointy guitars. But put a Les Paul on your body, and suddenly, you'll look really cool, even if you don't play guitar. And I noticed that years ago when I'd look at pictures of people playing Les Pauls, and that's when I realized that the Les Paul is an excellent fit for my body type."

So, it's more of an aesthetic choice than anything else, then?

"In a way, yes. A lot of thought went into making it an accessory and something that just looked really cool. But the thing that made it my own was all of the details: the building of the guitar, the neck, the frets, the tuners, and making it a guitar that was a real workhorse and would stay in tune under all sorts of conditions. All those things are the kind of things that I can put my name on. But the shape is something I borrowed from the best, or should I say – I stole from the best [Laughs]."

Are you working on any new music?

"I've been working on my next album, which is still in pre-production. I've got about half of the basic tracks done. I'm really, really excited about it. But I'm equally excited about not having a deadline. I started working on it last year, and honestly, it's kind of an extravagant piece of music, so not having that deadline has been great.

"When I did my Wall of Sound album, I found out that the reason it came out so good, in my opinion, was that I spent forever on the demos and lived with the music. So, when it came time to record, I did the whole album and recorded all the guitars in nine days. That was insane for that much guitar work, but I was just so in tune with what I was doing. I enjoyed the process.

"So, I've been taking my time while working on this new record, and it will probably come out by the end of 2023 or sometime in 2024. But it gets harder and harder every time because I put more and more work into each album. With that, the bar gets raised higher every time, but yeah, I'm working on it. I'm enjoying it. I'm liking it."

• Marty Friedman tours the USA throughout March and April 2023 – head over to MartyFriedman.com for full dates.

Earlier this week, Megadeth finally reunited with their long-estranged guitarist Marty Friedman, who joined Dave Mustaine and co during their concert at Tokyo’s prestigious Budokan arena for a three-song cameo.

The performance was historic on a number of fronts. Not only did it mark Megadeth’s first-ever headline show in the country, it was also the first time the heavy metal heroes had shared the stage with Friedman in over two decades – 23 years, to be precise.

Despite the wait, Friedman and Mustaine showcased their evergreen chemistry with three devastating performances of tracks from the guitarist’s 10-year tenure with the band – Countdown to Extinction, Tornado of Souls and Symphony of Destruction – with the former also neatly slotting in next to the band’s current electric guitar hero, Kiko Loureiro.

Given the clear compatibility between the two parties, everybody had the same question when Friedman’s cameo came to a close: “When will we see that happen again?” Naturally, another 23-year wait seemed implausible, but without any word from the band, fans feared another Friedman feature was a long way down the road, if at all.

Fortunately, after voicing his enthusiasm for another guest spot to Consequence, Friedman has now shed even more light on his next potential Megadeth performance – and we might not have long to wait.

Speaking to Guitar World, when asked if there were any imminent plans for another Megadeth cameo, Friedman teased, “We [Megadeth and Friedman] are both playing at Wacken Open Air Festival in Germany this summer, so you never know.”

Though the specific date and time of Friedman’s first-ever Wacken Open Air Festival set is yet to be announced, the guitarist confirmed he’d be performing at the German event in a video message posted to Facebook last month.

Megadeth’s own spot on the festival running order is similarly undetermined, though Mustaine, Loureiro, James LoMenzo and Dirk Verbeuren have already been confirmed as one of Wacken’s standout performers.

Furthermore, the festival itself is scheduled to kick off on August 2 – exactly five months today (March 2) – and if Friedman’s cryptic hints are to be believed, there’s a high possibility that he could join the stage with Megadeth for another cameo.

Nothing has been confirmed yet, and we imagine if Friedman and Megadeth do plan on sharing the stage again, it will be a surprise, spur-of-the-moment thing, so don’t expect to hear anything about it until the weekend itself. That is, of course, if anything does actually happen.

Elsewhere in his interview with Guitar World, Friedman reflected on his Budokan cameo, and said the biggest challenge he faced was performing his guitar solos the same way fans remember from his original stint with the band.

“If there was any challenge at all, I guess it would be playing the solos the way the fans remember them, which is something I wanted to do,” Friedman noted. “My playing has evolved so much since those songs came out, and there are so many nuances I would naturally do differently now. 

“I had to resist the urge to play it like I would in 2023 and stick to the original way. For example, in a couple of those songs, I entered the solo on the downbeat, with the first note being the root of the chord. I would definitely avoid both of those things now, but apparently, I was fine with it back then.”

Onstage nerves are something that every performer has to deal with, but judging by a recent revelation from Marty Friedman, it sounds as though most players’ experiences don’t come close to what the former Megadeth man had to deal with when he performed at an early Jason Becker tribute concert.

In a recent conversation with Guitar World, Friedman – who recently reignited his relationship with Megadeth at a show in Tokyo – paid tribute to the late Jeff Beck by recalling the time he bravely decided to cover one of Beck’s songs in front of an especially star-studded audience of electric guitar players.

As Friedman explains, he opted to perform a Beck track at one of the first Jason Becker tribute concerts due to the latter’s fondness of the former’s music, and though he admitted the gesture “sounds nice on paper”, he quickly came across two sticking points: Beck’s inimitable style and the fact he’d be playing it in front of Eddie Van Halen.

“I became aware of Jeff Beck a bit late in the game through my dear friend Jason Becker, who was constantly extolling Jeff’s many virtues,” Friedman recalled. “Beck is a peerless role model, especially in the sense that his playing identifies him immediately, and it is always played with so much finesse and the depth of a master. 

“I knew how much Jason admired Jeff, so I made the rather foolish decision to play a Jeff Beck song for Jason at one of the first Jason Becker tribute concerts in Chicago. Doing that sounds nice on paper, but Jeff’s touch is inimitable; you would have to literally live his life and go through his experiences to play like that. And then you would need a master’s degree in unique techniques that he invented and polished over the years.”

Despite this, Friedman pressed on, closing his own set with a rendition of Cause We’ve Ended as Lovers – a cover of a Stevie Wonder composition that Beck turned into an instrumental masterclass for his 1975 record, Blow by Blow.

And, though Friedman notes the track is a “relatively simple and familiar melody”, Beck’s touch turned it into a far more sophisticated showcase of feel and dynamics.

“The thing is, the more simple a melody is when it’s in the hands of Jeff Beck, the more exponentially difficult it becomes for others to interpret on the same instrument,” he observed, “because the feelings, inflections and emotions in the original version are Jeff’s and Jeff’s alone.”

Of course, there was also the small matter of trying to emulate Beck’s elite touch within the presence of another fretboard master, Eddie Van Halen, who was scheduled to take the stage after Friedman.

“The bill was full of super guitar players, including Eddie Van Halen, who was to follow my set,” Friedman went on. “Imagine the tremendous stupidity (or balls... but probably leaning toward stupidity) I must have had to play a Jeff Beck song in front of Eddie Van Halen... and just before his set, no less. 

“So, I played the song and survived it; maybe it was passable at best. Most likely, it just plain sucked. I am pretty sure it was the latter.” 

As Friedman concludes, the anecdote highlights “just what an extremely unique and special identity Jeff Beck is”, and how reciting his music “inspired me to try to carve out my own musical road”.

“I’m not the only one Jeff inspired in this way,” Friedman wrapped up. “There might be something in the fact that when many of us tried to play some of Jeff’s material, we just gave up and sat there in wonder, thinking, ‘Who am I kidding? I’ll never be able to play like that.’”

Head over to Magazines Direct to pick up the latest issue of Guitar World – a special tribute issue to the late Jeff Beck, who passed away at the age of 78 earlier this year.

Earlier this month, Megadeth announced their first-ever headline show at Tokyo’s prestigious Budokan arena, for which they would be reuniting with the band’s former electric guitar player, Marty Friedman.

That show took place last night (February 27), marking the first time Friedman had performed alongside Dave Mustaine and co under the Megadeth banner in over two decades.

Friedman – whose highly successful spell with the band saw the release of some of Megadeth’s biggest albums – was introduced to the stage near the end of the first set, and helped Mustaine, Kiko Loureiro, James LoMenzo and Dirk Verbeuren through three iconic tracks.

Specifically, Friedman donned his Jackson Kelly for renditions of Countdown to Extinction, Tornado of Souls and Symphony of Destruction – three songs from his 10-year tenure with the band.

“Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome my dear friend, Marty Friedman,” announced Mustaine at the start of Friedman’s cameo, with whom he shared an embrace after the three tracks had been performed.

Simply seeing Friedman back in the Megadeth fold, even just for one night, will no doubt be enough to satisfy Megadeth fans, but witnessing the band’s former guitarist engage in some ferocious triple guitar action with Mustaine and the band’s current resident shred star, Loureiro, would have no doubt made the spectacle even sweeter.

In the first track, Countdown to Extinction, Friedman rolls back the years for his cameo, nonchalantly strolling around the stage as he warms up for some harmonized face-to-face soloing action with Loureiro at the 3:50 mark in the video above.

More of that same six-string action can be heard in Tornado of Souls and then Symphony of Destruction, with the latter bringing the curtain down on Friedman’s 14-minute feature, which ended with an impenetrable riff wall courtesy of the three onstage guitar heroes.

“Last night at Budokan with Megadeth was so cool on so many levels,” Friedman wrote on social media after the event. “Proud to be part of this band’s history, and the fans mean the world to me.”

There’s no denying it was a historic night for Friedman and Megadeth, particularly when the context surrounding Friedman’s exit is taken into account.

Speaking to Guitar World recently, Mustaine voiced his regret of Friedman’s departure, which was caused by managerial miscommunication regarding a guitar solo in Risk’s Breadline – a solo that had to be rerecorded at the request of Meagdeth’s managers, but whom failed to inform Friedman of the decision.

“What happened to Marty was definitely not okay,” Mustaine reflected. “Our management was supposed to tell him and, for whatever reason, they didn’t do it. I think that was a terrible thing to do to him.”

Now the floodgates for a Friedman/Megadeth partnership have opened up, there’s no telling where the pair will cross paths next – let's just hope it doesn't take another 23 years…

Megadeth have announced they’re set to reunite with their former electric guitar player Marty Friedman for the first time in over two decades for a concert at Tokyo’s Budokan arena.

Friedman has not performed with Dave Mustaine and co for 23 years, after playing an integral role on some of Megadeth’s best-selling albums, such as 1990’s Rust in Peace and 1992’s Countdown to Extinction.

The upcoming concert – which will therefore mark a fairly significant footnote in heavy metal history – will take place on February 27, and will be both livestreamed on the night and available on demand for two days after the event.

Not only will the concert mark the reunion between Megadeth and their long-estranged guitarist, who left the band in 2000, it will also be the band’s first-ever headlining show at the prestigious Japanese venue.

On the band’s social media, Mustaine broke the news by saying, “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,” he continued. “I am going to enjoy this as much as the fans are, and I’m sure many of you will catch me sneaking a peek during Marty’s appearance.”

Speaking to Rolling Stone, Mustaine further revealed that it was Friedman who originally approached the band over a potential cameo, but it was a suggestion that Mustaine thought to be “magnificent”.

It was also confirmed that Friedman will join the band, including current lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro, for a three-song encore.

“It’s gonna be so much fun to get Kiko and Marty together, because they’re both geniuses on guitar,” he went on. So this is like a gigantic birthday and Christmas present for me.”

Of his upcoming cameo, Friedman commented, “It has been a long time. 23 years to be exact since I've been on the same stage with Dave Mustaine making music. 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,” Friedman added. “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.”

After contributing to Rust in Peace (1990), Countdown to Extinction (1992), Youthanasia (1994) and Cryptic Writings (1997), Friedman’s last Megadeth album arrived in the form of 1999’s Risk. His exit from the group came soon after, due to tensions over a guitar solo on the record.

In a recent conversation with Guitar World, Mustaine reflected on Friedman’s departure, and conceded that “what happened to Marty was definitely not okay”.

According to the Megadeth frontman, Friedman recorded a solo for Breadline, though the band’s management deemed it surplus to requirements as they wanted the track to be a single. As such, Mustaine issued them an ultimatum.

He recalled, “I said [to management], ‘Well, you have three choices. Either you mute the solo completely, have Marty come back and redo it, or I do it.’ And then I said, ‘If I do it, you’d better tell him.’ Well, I redid it and nobody told Marty. 

“So we’re in there listening to the finished album and the solo comes on. It’s my solo, not Marty’s… I looked at him as tears ran down his face and I knew right away that nobody had told him. I knew that was probably going to be the end of Marty Friedman.

“What happened to Marty was definitely not okay. Our management was supposed to tell him and, for whatever reason, they didn’t do it. I think that was a terrible thing to do to him.”

Following his exit, Friedman moved to Tokyo in 2003, and quickly became an influential figure there, starring in TV shows such as Mr. Heavy Metal and Rock Fujiyama.

For tickets for Megadeth's upcoming livestream, head over to Dreamstage.

In other related news, Friedman recently shared the video for a new instrumental track – titled Japan Heritage Official Theme Song – which celebrates Japanese history and culture.

Marty Friedman has shared the video for a new instrumental track that celebrates Japanese history and culture, and of course furthers the idea that the electric guitar can work in any context.  

Japan Heritage Official Theme Song features the former Cacophony and Megadeth guitarist collaborating with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and percussionist Shonosuke Okura, on an arrangement composed by Akira Sasaki. And the video finds him plonked on a tatami mat with his Jackson MF-1 signature guitar in hand, doling out casual virtuosity as we are offered a picture tour of Japan. 

The track is as far away from Tornado of Souls as you will get, but the playing is unmistakably Friedman, his unanchored picking hand hovering closer to the neck pickup on those cleaner passages, the intonation and dynamics 100 percent on point when it’s time to go big with the track’s signature melodies. 

Writing on Instagram, Friedman encouraged more people to dig deeper into Japanese culture, and for visiting bands to look beyond the big cities of Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. 

“Many people outside of Japan relegate their image of Japan to anime/cosplay conventions, Harajuku fashion, futuristic neon signs and Samurai warriors,” he wrote. “This is an incredible shame because as uniquely Japanese as all those things are, that isn't even the tip of the tip of the iceberg. I always wanted to do a spectacular video showing the rich yet completely understated beauty of Japan, to show people a side of the country rarely seen outside of Japan.”

Friedman has lived in Tokyo since 2003. He is a regular guest on Japanese TV, and we’re not just talking guitar shows. He has appeared in sitcoms and on cookery programs. Friedman’s consumption of snacks from the local konbini and then translating this taste into a guitar part for the edification of us good folks on the internet is just proof that his sensibility is totally in tune with his adopted country. He has even performed for marathon runners.

“Most bands from overseas come to Japan and play in three cities – Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya,” he continued. “If they are lucky, they come again and add Sendai, Fukuoka, maybe Kyoto. Since I was constantly touring all over Japan, I was fortunate to play also in Akita, Nobeoka, Hiroshima, Tottori, Kagawa, Sapporo, Kobe, Nagaoka, Kanazawa, Yokohama, Yonago, Okinawa, Nagasaki and so many other wonderful places. 

“I wanted to make a video to show these rarely seen locations and unique artistic customs, and just share some of the wonder that I was lucky to experience over the time I lived in Japan.”

Ultimately, Friedman wants to take us along and make Japanophiles of us all, and we are totally here for that. If you have ever visited a gear shop in Tokyo, you’ll understand why any guitarist would want to live there. 

Even if you haven’t, you know the rule: Japan gets all the cool stuff. Right? Just look at those Fender Japan exclusives. Anyway, Friedman’s advice? Come on over. And who knows, maybe Jackson could look at updating the options on the MF-1. It would sure look the part with Shibori-inspired color design, or a Tenmoku-style glaze finish.

Megadeth leader Dave Mustaine has reflected on the departure of guitarist Marty Friedman, who left the thrash metal outfit in 2000.

In an interview in the new issue of Guitar World, Mustaine expresses regret at the circumstances surrounding Friedman’s exit, which took place following tension over a guitar solo on the band’s 1999 album Risk.

“I’ve always believed we should give the guitar player an opportunity to do a solo that he feels is right for the song,” he starts. “If someone plays something that doesn’t work for the part, then I may make some suggestions. If it’s still not happening, I might say, ‘Okay, this is what I want you to play here.’

“If a lead totally doesn’t work then I’m going to do the part myself. That’s what happened [on] Breadline. And Marty Friedman quit over the solo in Breadline.”

Mustaine explains that Friedman had written and recorded a solo for Breadline in the studio, but Megadeth management wanted the track to be a single, and thought his solo wasn’t right for the song.

“I said [to management], ‘Well, you have three choices. Either you mute the solo completely, have Marty come back and redo it, or I do it.’ And then I said, ‘If I do it, you’d better tell him.’ Well, I redid it and nobody told Marty.

“So we’re in there listening to the finished album and the solo comes on. It’s my solo, not Marty’s… I looked at him as tears ran down his face and I knew right away that nobody had told him. I knew that was probably going to be the end of Marty Friedman.”

Questioned on whether he could have asserted that it wasn’t his call to axe his solo from the track, Mustaine continues: “Having been a partner with Marty for so many years, as much of an enigma as he was, I could tell he was really upset and he had had enough.

“What happened to Marty was definitely not okay. Our management was supposed to tell him and, for whatever reason, they didn’t do it. I think that was a terrible thing to do to him.”

Marty Friedman appeared on some of Megadeth’s most iconic albums during his 10-year tenure. He played guitar on five LPs in total: Rust in Peace (1990), Countdown to Extinction (1992), Youthanasia (1994), Cryptic Writings (1997) and Risk (1999).

Megadeth are gearing up to release their 16th studio album, The Sick, The Dying… and The Dead! on September 2. The band’s first album since the departure of longtime bassist David Ellefson, three singles have been released thus far: We’ll Be Back, Soldier On! and the fastest song the band have ever written, Night Stalkers.

“I think that’s the fastest song we’ve ever done – 190 bpm – and it took a while to get working up to that speed,” Mustaine explains, also in the new issue of Guitar World.

“The song just needed that frantic pace because Night Stalker is a secret helicopter division of the military. They fly missions at night and no one knows what they’re gonna do until it happens.”

Elsewhere in the discussion, Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro recalls Mustaine’s unwavering attitude to songwriting for The Sick, The Dying… and The Dead!, despite undergoing radiation and chemo treatments for cancer.

“He was coming from chemo and he was still showing up for work every day,” Loureiro says. “When you see him doing this, you’re like, ‘Fuck yeah, let’s work on this album, man!’ It was very inspiring to see him come in and pick up his guitar and not slow down. The songs, the whole thing. Everything was there.

“Nothing can destroy this guy, you know? We were like, ‘Are you sure you want to work today? If you go home, we can still work on some stuff.’ And he’d always say, ‘No way.’ He wanted to be there. And he put everything into the songs.”

Read the full interview with Dave Mustaine and Kiko Loureiro in the new issue of Guitar World, available via Magazines Direct.

Though the high-impact sound of Mötley Crüe's many-times-platinum 1989 album, Dr. Feelgood, was what ultimately inspired Metallica to hire Dr. Feelgood producer Bob Rock to produce their even-more-times-platinum 1991 self-titled effort, it's difficult to imagine the Bay Area quartet jamming on one of the glam metal landmark's tracks.

More difficult still is imagining Metallica's lead electric guitar ace, Kirk Hammett, finally settling his band's often-rocky relationship with fellow thrash pioneers Megadeth via a guitar duel – over a Mötley Crüe song, no less – with the latter band's former lead axeman, Marty Friedman. 

It's that very improbability though, that makes the TikTok below – created by San Diego-based guitarist Kyle Norris – such an enjoyable watch.

Officiated by Crüe guitarist "Mick Mars" (also Norris in costume), the video shows Norris don a pair of wigs and true-to-life outfits to approximate the looks of the metal guitar legends.

Though he uses a pair of PRS Custom 24s, rather than Hammett and Friedman's usual respective signature ESP and Jackson models, Norris manages to nail both guitarist's signature soloing styles, too.

Norris doesn't tape his picking hand, and there's no wah pedal in sight, but his take on Hammett's fleet-fingered, blues-influenced leads is otherwise commendably accurate. Likewise with his recreation of Friedman's more internationally-flavored, technical and always-dazzling lead breaks.

So, who won? The video's comments seem to lead "Friedman"'s way, but the jury's out on our end...

For more of Norris's videos – among them a fantastic simulated guitar duel between Eddie Van Halen and Dimebag Darrell – visit his TikTok page.

Marty Friedman has shared a think piece on new streaming stats indicating users are beginning to skip guitar solos when listening to songs, suggesting why he thinks the electric guitar might be resonating less with mainstream audiences.

Responding after the term ‘guitar solo’ began trending in Japan – where he currently resides – the former Megadeth guitarist says the data “makes sense and it wouldn't surprise me if it were true”.

“First of all, I believe that this data must be referring to the mainstream hit music, not heavy metal bands and rock bands,” he says in a new Facebook post. “I'm talking about what the vast majority of people listen to – pop artists who are on the top of the charts.”

Friedman adds that the gradual demise of lead guitar in chart music may be due to a decreased level of time, effort and money spent crafting worthy solos for these songs.

“The journey of an actual hit song from creation to the end user is incredibly long and a laundry list of professional people are involved,” he continues. “Aside from the artist himself, you have the songwriter(s), lyricist(s), producer, arranger, studio musicians for the demo, studio musicians for the master, label people, recording engineers and technicians, music video creators, directors and tech staff and more.

“At this point we still don't know if the song will even be popular or not, but one thing is for sure: there is a lot of money and time being gambled.”

For this reason, he adds, “guitar solos have all but vanished in the top levels of the US mainstream”, as well as other countries, too.

Homing in on why Japanese audiences in particular might be skipping guitar solos in the modern age, Friedman says despite the fact they're “ingrained in the consciousness of the Japanese listener” and offer “a necessary sound of familiarity”, they can sometimes take on an “obligatory existence, where as long as there is some kind of distorted guitar solo for eight bars somewhere in the song, the quota is met and all is well”.

“That just don't cut it, people!” he continues. “No wonder people skip the guitar solos when they listen. Even I skip them sometimes. I can tell in the first opening phrase whether or not I will give a rat's behind what the rest of the solo will be like.”

Friedman says that the key to writing memorable guitar solos – ones people won't skip – is to ensure there's just as much reason for the solo to be in a track as its vocals.

“In heavy rock,” he continues, “the fans care a lot about nuances of guitar solos and love them, even more than the rest of the song, but in the mainstream pop world, that solo better have just as much care, magic, and reason for being there going for it as the vocal that preceded it does.

“Imagine any Queen song with some decent random guitar solo coming in directly after Freddie's performance. Those solos would be skipped for sure. So instead of having a guitar solo in the song just for the sake of familiarity, or because a guitar solo sounds cool (they usually do), it must be there for a deeper reason.

“The solo's content, performance and unique magic that fits that one particular song should be committed to and given a lot of thought. As a fan I would wish that, and as a guitarist I always strive to do that.”

While the data Marty Friedman is referring to suggests a decline in appetite for lead playing in the mainstream, the electric guitar has seen its place in chart music become more prominent in recent years with the revival of pop-punk, spurred on by artists like Machine Gun Kelly and Yungblud.

And who knows, maybe the solo will make a comeback on the charts, given this month's news that John Mayer has recorded a “wicked” guitar solo for Justin Bieber’s forthcoming album.

Though not as much of a household name as the likes of Hendrix or Jimmy Page, Leslie West was a towering figure in hard-rock guitar.

His death last December provoked an outpouring of tributes from guitarists across the musical spectrum, a testament to the enormous influence of West's work with 70s hard-rock titans Mountain.

Another testament to West's enduring influence is Legacy, a newly-announced tribute to the guitarist with one of the greatest tribute album lineups we've ever seen.

You can check out a preview of the album, a rabble-rousing cover of Mountain's Blood Of The Sun by Zakk Wylde, below.

About that lineup, though. Aside from Wylde, Legacy features contributions from: Dee Snider, Slash, Randy and Tal Bachman, Martin Barre, Joe Lynn Turner, Charlie Starr, Elliot Easton, Robby Krieger, George Lynch, Marty Friedman, Steve Morse, Eddie Ojeda, Marc Labelle, Yngwie Malmsteen, Mike Portnoy, Bobby Rondinelli, and Rev Jones.

The album is set for a March 25 release via Provogue / Mascot Label Group, and can be preordered via Leslie West's website.

You can examine the album's cover art and tracklist below.

“Nobody in this world has ever made me feel loved as much as Leslie, and I feel so honored and grateful that I could give him this gift," said West's widow, Jenni, in a statement. “He would often say, ‘If it doesn’t make my balls rumble, it’s not right.’ And I think there’s some balls-rumbling tones on this record. 

"When you’re listening to it, you might even think it’s Leslie playing – and that’s a good thing. He really believed that adage of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.  Even when some of the players do their own twists on the music, they’re still doing it in a way that’s authentic and respectful, and Leslie would have appreciated that.”

Legacy: A Tribute to Leslie West

1. Blood of the Sun (feat. Zakk Wylde)
2. Nantucket Sleighride (To Owen Coffin) (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Marty Friedman)
3. Theme for an Imaginary Western (feat. Dee Snider, Mike Portnoy)
4. For Yasgur's Farm (feat. Joe Lynn Turner, Martin Barre)
5. Why Dontcha (feat. Steve Morse, Ronnie Romero)
6. Sittin' On a Rainbow (feat. Elliot Easton, Ronnie Romero)
7. Never in My Life (feat. Dee Snider, George Lynch)
8. The Doctor (feat. Robby Krieger, Ronnie Romero)
9. Silver Paper (feat. Charlie Starr)
10. Money (Whatcha Gonna Do)/By the River – medley (feat. Randy Bachman & Tal Bachman)
11. Long Red (feat. Yngwie Malmsteen & Teddy Rondinelli)
12. Mississippi Queen (feat. Slash, Marc Labelle)

Earlier this year, former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman set out on a Japan tour in support of his latest solo album, Tokyo Jukebox 3. The run included a show in Osaka, which saw a guest appearance from social media sensation Mateus Asato.

Of course, with the limitations of the pandemic, and the fact that Asato resides overseas, he appeared – in very 2021 fashion – via video link.

Jamming over an instrumental version of Crowded House's Don't Dream It's Over, the pair prove they have the best bends in the business, effectively singing with their guitars and trading soaring licks aplenty. Check out the performance below.

Marty Friedman has been complimentary about Mateus Asato's playing in the past. Back in March, Friedman said Asato's eclectic style has helped breathe new life into the guitar.

“I like Mateus Asato,” he said, “he's from Brazil and he's just a beautiful guitarist... The guitar just got a lot of life breathed back into it and that's thanks to a lot of people just showing how fun it is and showing the great things that you're able to do with the guitar.

“These guys are bringing the instrument to a whole new level. There are so many people who may have just given up on guitar had it not been for these fun YouTube videos.”

Mateus Asato, who built a following on Instagram posting one-minute soundbites of his playing, shut down his account on the platform in February, and announced he was taking a break from music.

In an Instagram Story posted at the time explaining the decision, the guitarist said he hadn't “played guitar for three weeks”.

“I honestly don't remember staying away from my source of creation for so long,” he said. “This feels very weird because I don't even feel the excitement of grabbing my guitar to enjoy the goodness and blessings that music creates on us artistically.”

While he remains inactive on Instagram, Asato has restarted his musical endeavors: in March, he teamed up with LA singer-songwriter Annalé on her track Goodbye, and more recently, recorded an acoustic remix of DJ Snake's 2021 single with Selena Gomez, Selfish Love.

While most musicians' tour plans are still sidelined by COVID-19, Marty Friedman happily reports that he’s already played live dates – in Japan. “Gigs are happening here, and for a lot of people that’s a great thing,” says the guitarist, a Tokyo resident since 2003. 

However, he’s quick to point out that, for the time being, concerts in his adopted homeland have been a far cry from what he’s used to. “There are very strict guidelines everybody has to follow. We can’t go beyond 50 percent capacity at any venue. Don’t get me wrong – touring now requires 10 times the effort to achieve half the results, but if that’s what it takes to play, that’s what I’ll do. Everybody needs music. I mean, sure, there are other priorities in life, but music is really important. They need something that makes them happy, now more than ever. If I have the chance to play, I’m there.”

Friedman’s dates in Japan have been his first live shows since 2019. For much of 2020, he was recording Tokyo Jukebox 3, the third album in a series he began with Tokyo Juke-box in 2009 and continued with – you guessed it – Tokyo Jukebox 2 in 2011. 

The new record finds the guitarist putting a crunching, metallic spin on his favorite hits from the Japanese pop charts. “If I can say anything positive about the past year, it’s that I was pretty much forced to work on this record – there was very little else I could do,” he says. “It was great to work without all the usual distractions. I don’t usually get so much time to focus on just one album.”

On Tokyo Jukebox 3, Friedman blitzes his way through instrumental versions of tracks such as Gurenge (a big hit for LiSA) and Skukumei (originally made famous by Official Hige Dandism) as well as other contemporary J-pop selections. 

The only exceptions are The Perfect World, a reworking of the guitarist’s own 2018 composition that now features vocals by the popular Japanese singer Alfakyun, and Japan Heritage Theme Song, which Friedman wrote and then recorded with the Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra.

“Those are the only two songs that don’t fit the rest of the format,” says Friedman, “although I guess you could call The Perfect World a self-cover. Everything else is me doing instrumentals of Japanese vocal songs. The guitar is a new element on these tracks, so that was fun for me. It’s pretty much straight-up J-pop that I put on steroids and made really heavy and emotional. I wanted to bring up the goosebumps and tear-jerking elements using the guitar. That was the big challenge.”

When recording covers, did you feel as if you were halfway home? You were starting with proven material. 

“Sure. That’s a total double-edged sword, though, especially with songs I really love. They don’t need anybody messing with them. But yeah, you’re already starting with something great. Some songs I know I can’t do anything with; they’re so perfect that I can’t make them my own. I don’t even deal with them. But when I have a song I know I want to cover, I start to do prep. There’s a lot of prep with these things.“

What kind of prep?

“It’s all stuff I have to do beforehand. In Japan, I have to get permission from the publisher to record my version, so I’ll work out an arrangement and record a demo, and that’s what I submit for clearance. 

“The only issue with that is, once permission is granted, I have to follow through; it would be rude to make these people work and get their OK only for me to say, 'I’ve changed my mind.' And I have to stay true to the version I sent them. So considering all that, I make extensive demos. That way, I know I’m going to like it, and it’s gonna kick ass.“

What you’re describing is different from how publishing works in other territories.

“This is how it is for a major-label situation in Japan. If you’re doing something on indies where it’s going to fly under the radar, you could probably do whatever you want. People wouldn’t notice. But in my case, my label is Avex here in Japan, and I’m dealing with Japanese songs. Not only do you need the permission of the publisher, but you need the permission of the person who wrote the song to actually release it and put it out. 

“On my first Tokyo Jukebox album, there was one artist called Mr. Children who’s notorious for not allowing anyone to cover their stuff. But I loved this song called Gift, and I just said, “What the hell? I’m going to do my cover.' If they hated it, so be it – I tried. But they loved it and gave me the OK. That was pretty cool.“

To many people, these will sound like new songs. You have a lot of leeway there; nobody will say, “Oh, he screwed this stuff up.”

“That’s an excellent point. There’s two meanings to that: one is that, for a lot of people, I’m introducing my interpretation of these songs, but it sounds like my music. I mean, it basically is my music. You could put this new album next to other records I’ve done, and you’re going to know it’s the same artist. The only difference is that I’m covering very well-known Japanese songs. 

“It’s great because I love these songs so much, and I really like the idea of opening up the wonderful world of this music to people outside of Japan. To some people, if they’ve heard the originals, they might go, 'What the hell is this? It’s overload. It’s too crazy.' I get it. But now you have two ways to enjoy these songs. You can hear my versions, and you can seek out the originals. I hear that from a lot of people: They were exposed to my version first, but then they write to me: “I found the original, and I love it, too!”

You concentrate on J-pop. Are you a fan of K-pop bands like BTS?

“I’m very familiar, but that’s a completely different genre from J-pop. Melodically, K-pop doesn’t do much for me. It’s very dance-oriented. To my ears, it sounds derivative of other music, whereas J-pop is an island unto itself; nothing else really sounds like it.“

How much do you listen to American rock? Are there any bands from the States that have had an impact on you lately? 

“I like Deafheaven. I’m sure there are some other cool things coming from the States, but they’re kind of escaping me right now. Oh, I did see this cool band… Starbenders. They’re pretty cool.“

I understand that in making this album you decided to remove reverb and delays from your guitar tracks. How did that affect your playing? 

“I removed reverb and delay for a lot of parts, but not for the entire record. It did affect my playing, though. I had to be more exact. What I found was, when I did that, there was an impact – an urgency or tightness – to certain lines. It was more aggressive. 

“Even if it was something I did record with delay, when it was mixed down I would try different interpretations, and I found that by taking the effects off, things sparkled more – they hit you in the face harder. I’ve been trying to play that way more. When I play something with a dryer sound, it can be more effective; the way phrases end sound sharper and brasher.“ 

Senbonzakura exemplifies your rhythm sound; it’s very harmonized. Do you do a lot of multi-tracking?

“Absolutely. There’s a lot of multi-tracking on backgrounds, especially on that song. I’ve always been big on that approach, ever since I was a kid. It’s probably Brian May’s influence. I try to multi-track everything on backgrounds, but I don’t do the same with the main solos. Why, you ask?“

Well, I was about to…

“[Laughs] I mean, you don’t want to harmonize Pavarotti, unless you’re in the Three Tenors. You’ve got a picture frame, and if you can make that frame really gorgeous and ornate, what-ever you put inside it is going to look that much better. So I spend about 80 percent of my time on the arrangement of the music that’s going to be played under my solos and melodies. If I have that beautiful frame, the notes I play inside it are going to really come through.

You recorded Japan Heritage Theme Song with an orchestra. Is that as difficult as it sounds? 

“That song came about because I’m an ambassador of Japanese heritage here in Japan, appointed by the government. They asked me to create a Japan heritage theme song to be played at government events. It was a real honor, but it was also a huge responsibility. Government people had to OK it; they came to the studio to listen to what I was doing. 

“I wrote music that reflected day-to-day Japanese life, not the type of music a foreigner would typically consider. I wanted to really capture the music of today’s Japanese people – and yesterday’s Japanese people – and I wrote the entire thing for an orchestra. I had an orchestral arranger to separate the parts because the layout of an orchestra is very important, so it was great to have somebody who is versed in doing that.“ 

U.S.A. is a lot of fun. What was it like originally? Was it a Japanese tribute to the States?

“That song is hilarious. I think it was written by an Italian artist, and it became a viral hit in Japan by a group called the Da Pump. They had me come on TV and play it with them. It’s a disco song, but I thought, 'I could do a full-on rock version of this thing.' I thought it was ironic, me being an American in Japan playing a song called U.S.A. with a Japanese group. 

Is it safe to assume you used your Jackson signature guitars on the record?

“That’s it, really. There were a few parts where I used a Strat-type guitar, but it was mostly my Jackson signatures and a couple of Jackson signature prototypes.“

Last question: what do you feel you need to work on as a player? Anything you can pinpoint? 

“I work on everything all the time. If you’ve followed my career, you’ll know I’ve evolved as a player. I’m constantly renewing myself and working on my game. New phrases and motifs, new musical sentences and expressions – it’s never-ending, and it will never be mastered by me or anyone.“

• Tokyo Jukebox 3 is out now via The Players Club.

Steve Morse

BACK TO LIVE: First thing is to keep your calisthenics/mechanical practice to where you can handle your difficult parts without strain. I figure that if I can make a part 10 times in a row in my home, that I have a decent chance of pulling it off at a gig where there are multiple distractions, and no second chances. 

Left-hand strength is something I concentrate more on before a tour. The vibrato, bending, and building up calluses is very important. Most players find that their fretting fingers are sore after the first or second gig. 

Toughen up two weeks before with extra fretting work. Make some chord and drum loops to play along with, preferably of solo sections you might play at the gigs. Just spend time experimenting, getting comfortable. It’s different than doing technical practice, and is a very important part of the ‘gearing up’ process.

Never forget that the people out there took money out of their pockets to be there, and that your preparation is something you owe them. But once you’re onstage, laugh at everything that goes wrong, enjoy the things that are great, and give out that positive energy which makes live music the one universal language!

Paul Gilbert

I start bending strings like crazy, to get my fingers’ calluses back in shape. If my calluses are really gone, I’ll bring a few sets of what I call ‘Anti-Gravity’ strings. 

Here’s how to make a set:

1. Get a set of 9s. (9-42)

2. Throw away the 42.

3. Use the 32 as your sixth string, and keep going from there.

4. Use an additional 8 for the first string.

5. So your gauges will be, 32, 24, 16, 11, 9, 8. Your chords won’t tune up very well, but you’ll be able to bend all night without ripping up your fingers too badly.

After two or three gigs like this, you can go to a standard set of 8s. (8-38) I usually stay there, as I like to bend, unfettered.

Kirk Fletcher

Preparing for gigs can be very exciting and also stressful. If I have been off the road for a while, I’ll be a little rusty. Number one thing is to know all the material inside and out. That will put your mind at ease. 

Guitar gear-wise: triple-check all gear including guitars and all the hardware on the instrument or instruments you will be taking out. Bring more than enough strings – I’ve had it happen on the road where I snap strings like crazy for various reasons. 

Check all cables and bring extra. Make sure if possible your pedals can run on batteries. I learned this the hard way by having my power supply die on me. The road can sometimes be strange with gear; if something is going to stop working, a Sunday when everything is closed is when it’s most likely going to happen!

Make sure you bring a power strip and a long enough AC cord. Also, it's a good idea to have a clock and pen and paper. I like to pack at least the day before so I’m more calm and I can really think of everything I might need. I also always check in early to the airport, as airports are always an adventure, so the earlier you are the better.

Also an old trick is, bring enough undergarments for every day you’re away. You just never know how long before you have time to do laundry. Have fun and maybe I’ll see you somewhere out there!

Steve Lukather

Every tour starts out a little different. Trying to add more deep cuts and just getting my chops up. There’s nothing like playing hard for two-plus hours a night, five to six days a week, to really feel ‘on your game’. I sure have missed it. I do vocal exercises, hike and really rest up. It’s also about getting your own head together for it. 

I don’t have the same guitar routines always – I see how I am feeling as the time gets closer. I can’t tour till 2022 as it looks at the moment, so it will take more time to get my full chops back up. Band rehearsals usually get me close to 100%, then by the time we leave I am ready. Been doing this for 45 years now. I can’t wait to get back out!

Michael Landau

Play your fucking guitar… make sure your rig is working and that it sounds great… do your fucking homework regarding the songs… so basically, don’t show up to a paying gig unprepared! 

I’m not a fan of reading music on stage, so use some common sense like: warm up and reconnect with your instrument by playing a lot in the days leading up to a gig. Make sure your rig is sounding great. 

If it’s a band that I don’t play with on a regular basis, I’ll make a small setlist ‘reminder sheet’ for myself with some basic notes on the songs. I lay it on the floor so I can glance down at it if I need to, and this also helps to see what’s coming up next in the set.

Marty Friedman

Songs that I’ve played on recent tours will come back to me within the first rehearsal and need little or no prep. So here is how I prepare for any additions to the setlist. 

Step one: try to play new songs in the set list, see where any weak spots are. 

Step two: look closely at those weak spots and try every possible fingering until deciding on the easiest fingering. This is important because remember you will have to perform the music, not just play it. Massive difference. 

There are tons of important nuances in my music that I am very detailed about when recording, but many of those things would not translate to a live setting and would take concentration away from my performance if I tried to replicate every tiny thing on the record.

Think of the big picture. It’s no fun dreading certain tricky parts of songs that no-one will notice if you nailed or not anyway. Simplify your parts down to the most important parts that get the job done, and enjoy performing. 

Step three: once you have decided on those fingerings, practice the hell out of those weak spots, standing up (as most likely the parts were recorded sitting down, and practicing sitting down will not help you perform). And finally, don’t waste time working on things that don’t need work. Spend all your practice time focused on anything that is not coming out easily.

As former Megadeth lead guitarist and a wondrously technical solo artist, Marty Friedman has established himself as one of the world's leading guitar virtuosos. But as it turns out, he isn't too keen on being labeled a “shredder”.

In a new interview with Kylie Olsson on her Life In Six Strings YouTube show, Friedman explains why he doesn't like being lumped into the category.

“There's a lot of people out there who just play really, really fast all the time, and to me, it just sounds like noise,” he says.

“Playing fast was interesting when I just picked up the instrument, but it certainly lost its interest quite quickly after you were able to do it... Now, it really has nothing to do with speed, whether it be slow, medium, fast or anything in between, because music is of all tempos.”

“But at the same time,” he continues, “if you love shredding and you think I'm a shredder and you love my music, we're bros. I still love you... You can call me anything, as long as you like the music.”

Elsewhere in the interview, he explains why being able to play slower phrases is a more accurate test of one's ability than playing fast.

“Playing slow is a thousand times more difficult than playing fast – it really, really is. It's where you can separate the men from the boys, so to speak... When you hear somebody play something slow, you can tell if they're any good right then and there; you can tell.

“When you hear something fast – even eight-year-old kids can play really fast and really clean and really accurately. It's really an illusion, but it's the thing that keeps guitars selling. You've gotta have something that is like a holy grail for beginner people to get inspired by.

“So a lot of them hear this fast stuff and they're like, ‘I wanna do that so bad.’ Okay. Now you've done it. You practiced for a couple of years. You've done it. Now what?”

The guitar wizard also explains that there's a difference between speed and difficulty.

“Sometimes things sound really fast because the choice of notes is so unusual that the notes go by and they make different clicks in your head when it's registering in your ears. If you play a succession of notes that people are used to hearing, you have to really play it fast – like 200 beats per minute – for it to sound fast...

“But if you do unusual groups of notes and unusual subdivisions of notes... it can be not even that fast at all and it'll just sound fast because so many things are going by that you're not used to; you're not accustomed to hearing these sequences of notes.”

Back in April, Marty Friedman released the third installment in his Tokyo Jukebox album series. In a new Guitarist interview, he detailed the process of choosing Japanese pop songs for six-string reinvention.

“[The tracks] are all very different from the originals but still retain all the essential motifs of the original song,” he explains. “Doing that and also trying to make it sound like an original of mine is a challenging thing. 

“I make demos of a bunch of songs; some work and some don’t. When one does, I approach the artist, manager or publisher to get the rights to cover it.

He continues: “I put a lot of emphasis on things that may not have been obvious about the originals, but you have to do that sort of thing when you're taking the place of a vocalist; you have to replace the vocals with something that will hold the listener equally as much.”

• Marty Friedman's Tokyo Jukebox 3 is out now via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group.

Regularly hailed as one of the most innovative and explosive guitarists in the rock arena since his appearance on Cacophony’s 1987 debut album, Speed Metal Symphony, Marty Friedman went on to spend 10 years in Megadeth from 1990. 

For many, the albums Megadeth released with Friedman onboard are the best in their catalogue. Marty left Megadeth in 2000, stating that he felt restricted by the boundaries of traditional metal and that it was counter-productive to his evolution as a musician. 

Life after ’deth included a move to Japan in 2003, where he had already experienced success while in Cacophony and Megadeth. Since then he’s become a huge multimedia star in his new home-country, appearing on more than 800 TV shows – everything from cookery to sitcoms and movie roles. 

His love of Japan is evident in all that he does, and the high esteem in which he is regarded there was reflected when the Japanese government commissioned him to compose Japan Heritage Official Theme Song, to be played at government-sponsored events celebrating Japanese heritage.

This is your third album of instrumental covers of Japanese pop songs. How do you choose the tracks and turn them into the guitar powerhouses they’ve become?

“It’s a crazy long process. They are all very different from the originals, but still retain all the essential motifs of the original song. Doing that and also trying to make it sound like an original of mine is a challenging thing. I make demos of a bunch of songs; some work and some don’t. When one does, I approach the artist, manager or publisher to get the rights to cover it. 

“I never ask for the rights until I’m sure it will work as it would be very impolite to get approval and then not use the track. It is all about the vocal melody: if it is too fast or too repetitive, it can sound funny when you play it on the guitar. Some melodies just sing and those are the ones that I really enjoy.

“As this is my third album of Japanese pop covers, often I will automatically know where I’ll take something, but Shukumei was an unusual one for me to choose. The group who does that, Official Hige Dandism, is huge in Japan at the moment. I like their stuff and I wanted to have a very current song on the record. It wound up going in an extremely progressive direction with really tricky lines to play. When you know what you want it to sound like, sometimes the parts to get there can be crazy hard.”

The melodies on the songs are all very Western-sounding and quite retro, although the artists are all Japanese.

“That’s a great observation. There is a lot of influence from Western pop in Japanese chart music. Much of the Japanese music that is currently very popular has a melodic structure that really echoes a lot of '70s Western rock and pop – the chords, progressions and key modulations. 

“There is also a Japanese trademark thing where they can use a major melody in a major key yet still make it sound wistful and melancholy. I always wondered how they made that happen – that’s a key element in Japanese music that I like to dig into.

“The cover versions add a lot of weight to the originals and really take them into the rock arena with the loud distorted guitars. I definitely put a ton of weight on them and with a ton of guitars. It is a very guitar-intensive type of album. To do that many parts and make them all clear to allow all the melodies, harmonies and counterpoints to shine, you inevitably wind up with a pretty weighty piece of music. 

“I put a lot of emphasis on things that may not have been obvious about the originals, but you have to do that sort of thing when you’re taking the place of a vocalist; you have to replace the vocals with something that will hold the listener equally as much.”

Tonally, you cover a really wide range. What were your key pieces of gear for this album? 

“The whole record was basically all recorded with my signature stuff – my Jackson guitars, Engl amps and EMG pickups. The differences between the clean parts and heavy parts were purely down to playing around with what I always use and just rolling the volume off and that kind of thing. 

“My whole purpose of creating a signature guitar was that I could go to any music store in the world and pick one up off the wall. I’m not a huge gear junkie or gear maniac; I just want something that works and is consistent. If I’m not touring, I might be doing seminars or clinics in strange places, and all that I need to know is that they have a music store that carries my guitar. I can just show up and use that.

“The only effect I find essential is a Maxon AF-9 Auto Filter. It’s a wonderful pedal – it gives a bit of the human wah voice feel without being a typical wah sound. It’s got to the point where I’ve played with it so much that my guitar tech tells me that my playing sounds that way even when it’s turned off [laughs]. 

“I think I’m subconsciously adjusting my playing habits to the sound being shaped by that pedal so much that I’m still getting those nuances, even when it’s turned off. The way I use it is subtle – I keep everything on zero so it just adds a small hint of expression and perhaps humanness than it would otherwise have had.”

What was the recording process?

“I don’t ever do anything more than rough demos at home; I’m no big home-studio kind of guy. I mostly recorded the tracks in Tokyo and mixed them in Sweden. I work so fast that I need a great engineer who can also work super-fast with me. Even though I am a very quick worker, it took several months to get everything completed because there is so much going on with each track. 

“The only plus of the world shutdown was that I actually went back and spent an extra few months really polishing every detail as I had the time to do it. For so many artists, I guess the best way to use the lockdown time has been to make the very best record that they can do. For me, there were no distractions and that degree of focus has been really beneficial.”

What’s coming up for you next?

“I’m going to be making videos for tracks from the record and I’ve got a tour of Japan in April. Japan is almost up and running for live shows now. There are restrictions on crowd sizes, but we can work with that. I’m also doing a big classical concert in April with an orchestra as well. 

“When it comes to playing tracks from Tokyo Jukebox live, I have another guitarist who is in my band. We just keep the main guitar lines and cover as much as we can. Playing live, it’s more about energy and the overall power. As soon as the world opens up I’ll be touring again like crazy the minute it’s safe to do so, hopefully getting back to the UK as I really love playing there.”

• Tokyo Jukebox 3 is out now.

Marty Friedman has enjoyed a successful career as a solo artist – most recently releasing the shred-heavy Tokyo Jukebox 3 – but is perhaps best known for his stint as Megadeth lead guitarist from 1990 to 2000.

However, if history were written a little differently, guitar scholars might be recalling Friedman's seismic tenure with Madonna.

In a new appearance on The Classic Metal Show, the veteran shredder remembers getting the opportunity to participate in a “cattle call audition” to be in the pop sensation's band, but ultimately landing the Megadeth gig before the audition.

“I was struggling to learn all these Madonna songs – I knew I could learn them but most of the Madonna songs didn't really have much guitar upfront in the mix,” Friedman says. “And I knew that I was going to have to get some good texture sounds to be able to.

“I was a metal guy so I didn't have 50 different clean tones and all these different acoustic guitars, and all these capos, and stuff that happens in a pop band. So I was like, 'Even if I get the audition, I'm probably not going to get the gig.'

“But I practiced really hard and I learned a bunch of the songs, even the songs with no guitar parts on them, I learned. I made up little guitar parts so I could get through an audition.

He continues: “And then I got the audition for Megadeth – I got the gig on the day of the audition, which was a Tuesday or something, and the Madonna thing was on a Friday, so I didn't go to that.

“I was pretty sure I was not going to get the [Madonna] gig but I was definitely gonna try my best and see if I could look my way into it.

“Luckily, I got into a gig that was more suited for what I was able to do. And that was the story, so I never even auditioned but I was ready to. And she wound up getting a metal guy, so who knows. Maybe we can do a dual-guitar thing in her band sometime.

Elsewhere in the interview, the former Megadeth man recalls the songs he learned from Madonna's catalogue in preparation for the audition.

“I learned some of my favorite songs: Like a Virgin [and] True Blue,” he says. I remember I really liked her music but that was way after the audition stuff...

“You have to have so much sense of when to lay back and the kind of tones you need that are going to fit the song, to fit the singer. You have to fill it up but you can't fill it up when you're covering up the lead singer.

"And there are so many little subtle things that I had no idea about at that time, there was probably no way in hell I was going to get the gig unless some crazy lucky thing happened.

"So I looked into Megadeth, I got lucky, and played in a band that I really loved."

• Marty Friedman's new album Tokyo Jukebox 3 is out now via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group.

Classical metal ensemble Lost Symphony have unleashed an impressively star-studded and virtuosic new single, Take Another Piece.

Featuring a “quadruple guitar attack” from Marty Friedman, Nuno Bettencourt, Alex Skolnick and Cradle of Filth's Richard Shaw, the track bears no shortage of gravity-defying shred, with winding wah-soaked leads and searing alternate picking runs permeating its near-eight-minute runtime. Listen to the track below:

Take Another Piece is the first single from the group's forthcoming third studio album, Chapter III, which arrives July 9.

In addition to Friedman, Bettencourt, Skolnick and Shaw, the record will feature Angel Vivaldi – who recently unveiled his new Charvel signature model, the Pro-Mod DK24-6 NOVA – as well as Jimi Bell, Joey Concepcion and Ryan Formato, to name a few.

The release will also feature posthumous contributions from former All That Remains guitarist Oli Herbert, who passed away in October 2018.

“When I first heard Lost Symphony, I wasn’t sure what to expect,” says Skolnick. “I knew there’d be strong technical skills but was pleasantly surprised to hear how much else was going on: melodic development, dynamics, compositional creativity and other elements not always present in music with this high a level of chops. 

“The music may sound serious, but the players have a serious sense of humor, which adds to the overall quality.”

“The folks in the Lost Symphony project have a deep love for guitar,” adds Friedman. “Let me rephrase that: they are dangerously obsessed with it! Take Another Piece, may be my favorite of all the LS songs I've been a part of. There are some really unorthodox things going on.”

Lost Symphony was founded by brothers Benny and Brian Goodman – who assume production and arrangement roles, respectively – and features bassist/guitarist Cory Paza, guitarist Kelly Kereliuk, drummer Paul Lourenco and violinist Siobhán Cronin.

Chapter III is available now for pre-order. Check out its tracklisting below:

1. Denial of Anger (feat. Marty Friedman, David Ellefson, Jimi Bell and Matt LaPierre)
2. Bargaining Depression (feat. Marty Friedman, David Ellefson, Joey Concepcion and Jimi Bell)
3. Acceptance (feat. Alex Skolnick, Angel Vivaldi and Richard Shaw)
4. Decomposing Composers (feat. Jeff Loomis, Jimi Bell, Matt LaPierre and Joey Concepcion)
5. Take Another Piece (feat. Marty Friedman, Nuno Bettencourt, Alex Skolnick and Richard Shaw)
6. My Last Goodbye (feat. Oli Herbert, Matt LaPierre and Ryan Formato)

Following his announcement of the worldwide release date of Tokyo Jukebox 3 – and first two singles The Perfect World and Makenaide – shred wizard Marty Friedman has offered up another sonic morsel in new single Kaze Ga Fuiteiru.

Based on the melody of pop group Ikimono Gakari's track of the same name, Kaze Ga Fuiteiru sees Friedman deploy a characteristic set of soaring, sing-along-style licks. You can take a listen to the track below.

Says Friedman: “While keeping intact the essence of Ikimono Gakari's Kaze Ga Fuiteiru melody that I loved, I tried to destroy it, reconstruct it and create 5 minutes of new music that might bring a tear or a chill, and decidedly lifts your spirits.

“Whether I accomplished that or not is entirely up to you, but when I just finished the recording of Kaze Ga Fuiteru, someone who's opinion I respect very much called it ‘grand and elegant’, so I'll go with that!”

The third installment in Friedman's Tokyo Jukebox series, Tokyo Jukebox 3 is set to arrive April 16 via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group.

On the album, Friedman explains: “I've been playing stuff from the first two Jukebox albums live all over the world, and it's taken on a life of its own. Especially in places like North and South America, Australia, Italy, France and even India.

“My fan base is very dedicated, and what I have found is that lots of new fans have been introduces to Japanese music and culture through me, which is very gratifying. On the tours it seems like aside from the dedicated guitar fans, the Japan fanatics have been noticeably growing, so now felt like the right time to do Tokyo Jukebox 3.

The track follows Friedman's recent declaration that social media stars saved the guitar from extinction. “These guys are bringing the instrument to a whole new level,” he explained. “It’s a very exciting time for guitar.”

It has been announced that a collection of the world’s most prolific electric guitar players will join forces throughout March and April to raise money for – and celebrate the music of – iconic guitarist Jason Becker, who has been living with ALS for the past 30 years.

Hosted by DragonForce guitar wizard Herman Li, the fundraiser will be composed of three separate parts, including a live fundraiser on Li's Twitch channel, a special store on internet gear retailer Reverb.com and a one-off auction of Becker’s prized guitars.

Over $13,000 has been raised so far by the Twitch livestreams, which see special guest guitarists join Li to jam and take part in a range of challenges conceived by those tuning in.

Those who will be participating in the fundraiser – to name but a few – include Marty Friedman, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Petrucci, Kiko Loureiro, Nita Strauss, Orianthi, Guthrie Govan and Tosin Abasi.

Also making an appearance are Mark Tremonti, Nili Brosh, Matt Heafy, Lari Basilio, Jared Dines and Cole Rolland.

Details of the online store and auction are yet to be announced, though it has been revealed that the guitars Becker appeared with on the front of Perpetual Burn and Speed Metal Symphony will be making an appearance.

Becker’s original Numbers guitar, which was played by Eddie Van Halen, will also hit the block in the coming weeks.

Said Li, who co-organized the musical fund-raising marathon, “I’ve been a huge fan of Jason Becker since I was young, and it’s one of the biggest honors of my life to be able to help organize this tribute and raise money for him. It’s been very inspiring to see everyone coming together to celebrate Jason.”

Having never lost his passion for making music, Becker continues to compose music, using a system developed by his father to write musical notes and chords via a series of eye movements.

Of the event, Becker said, “I am so grateful for all the love and support everyone has given me and my family. As far as selling my guitars being sad, and that I shouldn’t have to do it, I just want you to know that isn’t how I feel.

“I feel good about passing on my guitars, thinking they mean something to others,” he continued. “I can’t play them now, but other folks can. That’s a good thing. And I want myself and my family not to have to worry about money, if possible. Thank you for all the love. I send it right back to you.”

Head over to Jason Becker’s website for a full schedule of livestream events.

Marty Friedman has heaped praise on the emerging generation of social media electric guitar stars, saying, "It's a very exciting time for the guitar."

While in conversation with Ultimate Guitar, Friedman was asked about the up-and-coming guitar heroes who inspire him, to which he replied, “I am motivated by everybody and I’m so excited to see the direction guitar has come over the past few years. I’m very excited.”

The Megadeth man singled out Mateus Asato and Japanese guitarist Ichika Nito for specific praise, saying that their eclectic styles has helped breathe new life back into the guitar.

Said Friedman, “I like Mateus Asato, he’s from Brazil and he’s just a beautiful guitarist. There’s another guy called Ichika from Japan and although his style is so completely different from mine, I just like the way he plays. I enjoy it. 

“The guitar just got a lot of life breathed back into it and that’s thanks to a lot of people just showing how fun it is and showing the great things that you’re able to do with the guitar,” he continued. “These guys are bringing the instrument to a whole new level. There are so many people who may have just given up on guitar had it not been for these fun YouTube videos.”

The heavy metal maestro also noted the role that emerging guitarists played in saving an instrument that was “at risk of being completely extinct not too long ago”.

“Rap music just became so incredibly popular that guitar stores were not selling guitars, they were just selling DJ equipment and rap stuff," commented Friedman. "It’s not that I dislike rap – I actually like a lot of rap music. But, guitar-wise, rap was almost the death knell of guitar.

On the future of the guitar and the next generation of axe slingers, Friedman noted, “I’m thankful for them, because a lot of people have discovered guitar through these guys and they’ve discovered my music through these guys. I want to give big props to these guys and I’m so thankful they exist.”

Mateus Asato recently made an appearance on singer-songwriter Annalé's new single Goodbye, which was released one month after the social media sensation announced he was taking a break from music.

Marty Friedman has shared the music video for Makenaide, the latest single from his upcoming album Tokyo Jukebox 3.

Set to arrive April 16 via The Players Club / Mascot Label Group, the 11-track record is the third installment in Friedman's Tokyo Jukebox series, after 2009's Tokyo Jukebox and 2011's Tokyo Jukebox 2.

A reworked version of Japanese pop-rock group Zard's track of the same name, Makenaide is one of several covers to appear on the record. Others include a version of LiSA's Gurenge, an interpretation of DA PUMP's dance track U.S.A., and a cover of Official HIGE DANdism's Shukumei.

On the video, Friedman explains, “I feel so incredibly fortunate and grateful for the love and support of wonderful people from so many countries and cultures around the world. 

“With this video, I tried my best to share that unique feeling with you, and what better way than to have those cool folks jam for us. A huge thank you to everyone who took the time and energy to learn this song and make this video so fun to look at.”

He continues, “I've been playing stuff from the first two Jukebox albums live all over the world, and it's taken on a life of its own. Especially in places like North and South America, Australia, Italy, France and even India. 

“My fan base is very dedicated, and what I have found is that lots of new fans have been introduced to Japanese music and culture through me, which is very gratifying. On the tours it seems like aside from the dedicated guitar fans, the Japan fanatics have been noticeably growing, so now felt like the right time to do Tokyo Jukebox 3.”

Prior to Makenaide, Friedman dropped the album's first single The Perfect World – the only track on Tokyo Jukebox 3 to feature vocals – back in October.

The former Megadeth man also announced his new Jackson model – the Pro Series Signature MF-1 Purple Mirror – earlier this month.

Take a look at Tokyo Jukebox 3's tracklisting below:

1. Makenaide
2. Senbonzakura
3. Gurenge
4. Kaze Ga Fuiteiru
5. Echo
6. The Perfect World (ft. Alfakyun)
7. U.S.A.
8. Shukumei
9. Ikuze Kaitou-Shoujo
10. Sazanka
11. Time Goes By
12. Japan Heritage Official Theme Song

I loved Eddie and was always completely in awe of him. I didn’t know him very well, but he loved Jason Becker, was extremely protective of him, and because of that he was very friendly to me. 

The first time we met was when we played at a benefit for Jason in Chicago. He gave me his home phone number and told me to call him anytime for any reason. Of course, I never did. What was I gonna do… just call Eddie Van Halen up and chat?  

Anyway, to understand just how spectacular he was, you have to go back a bit. I’m a huge advocate for finding amazing new music. There’s an absolute ton of fantastic, fresh and exciting new music out there, and it can be found really easily. 

This being said, I have to admit I am blessed and privileged to have been a teenage hesher at the time Van Halen came out. Yes, there is a lot of super music out there now, but nothing for a really long time will be as revolutionary as what Van Halen did back then. Great and deeply enjoyable music now? Yes. Revolutionary? No.  

For those of you who didn’t experience the first two Van Halen tours live, I’ll try to describe it to you. First thing your senses noticed was “that smell” that greeted you at just about every hard rock concert venue back then.

It was a unique aroma, made up of 70 percent Mexican and Colombian weed, 10 percent the slight but acrid tang of teenage boys’ B.O., 20 percent general female wetness, mixed with that cheap but sweet body spray that all girls used back then, and topped off with a hint of flavored lip gloss.

This glorious combination of scents will probably remain lost forever, but those of us who remember it miss it dearly. This smell was the precursor to the rock show that was about to assault our other senses, the show we waited months for, suffering through our hellish school routines. And no one assaulted us like Van Halen.

Eddie’s guitar literally growled at us. It was almost scary how much sheer force could come out of six strings. Many rock bands back then had two guitarists, but Eddie’s guitar sound was a mammoth, larger than any two-guitar-band sound. It was by far the biggest thing we’d ever heard.

When I say revolutionary, I mean we were all witnessing for the first time. It was later referred to as the “brown sound,” which since then, and still today, a new century later, is the holy grail of rock guitar tones.

Every single rock guitarist has been chasing that sound since then, whether they know it or not. So imagine hearing that when it first came out, blasting through the PA at ungodly decibels. Revolutionary.

But, of course, it wasn’t just the sound. It was what Eddie did with his guitar that made it just so natural and aggressive. No one played lead guitar that aggressively back then – or with so much ease, innovation and new licks for a change! It was a cross between being uber-impressed and enjoying spanking new great rock songs at the same time.

And since Van Halen had great pop songs and one of the most charismatic frontmen of all time, half the audience were excited girls, while the other half were boys pointing at the stage with their mouths open in disbelief.

Even after the show was over, the party continued. Local radio stations played VH on loop after the shows and the parking lot was full of cars blasting their radios before everyone scattered off to after parties, where concert goers bragged to those who missed the show and general debauchery continued until all hours. 

After a VH show, hungover guitar players all over town were glued to their guitars trying furiously to inch a little closer to be a little more like Eddie, because none of us had ever seen a phenomenon like that before.

Many of those guitar players went on to become the guitarists we all know and love, and some have gone on to some really great achievements. We have Eddie to thank for that, and also for the future inspiration he will continue to give the next generations.

Marty Friedman was speaking to Amit Sharma.

Jackson has kicked off its 40th anniversary year with a bang. The company's plethora of new gear for 2021 includes a mind-boggling array of Pro Series, X Series and affordable JS Series electric guitars, a fresh selection of high-spec Pro Series and X Series basses and a string of new head-turning signature models.

Among the highlights of the new artist additions is former Megadeth shredder Marty Friedman's new Pro Series Signature MF-1.

Sporting a striking cracked purple mirror top, the MF-1 features a construction of a mahogany body with a three-ply white/abalone/white binding, a set mahogany neck with a scarf joint and graphite-reinforcement rods and a bound 12"-radius 22-fret ebony fingerboard with pearloid block inlays.

Electronics consist of a pair of passive EMG MF signature humbucking pickups, controlled via two volume and tone tone knobs and a three-way selector switch.

Other features include a Jackson TOM-style adjustable bridge with an anchored tailpiece, a reverse Jackson 3x3 AT-1 black headstock, all-black hardware and a 24.75" scale length.

Says Friedman, “It’s just a gorgeous guitar. The people at Jackson came up with a way to develop this – it’s actually really a custom type of job but they managed to do it in such a way to put it out to the public at a reasonable price point.

“I used this model in the photo session for my Tokyo Jukebox 3 album, and you really can’t take a bad picture with this guitar. Depending on how the light hits it, it really changes its personality and image a lot.”

The Marty Friedman MF-1 is available now for $1,199. For more information, head over to Jackson.

NAMM 2021 isn't taking place in the physical realm this year, but you'll find all the hottest January gear launches in our guide to the biggest guitar, amp and pedal releases of 2021 so far.

Jackson Guitars is currently celebrating its 40th anniversary, and four decades in it’s clear the company is still going strong. For one example…well, actually, many examples, just check out its 2021 line of Artist Signature Series electric guitar offerings.

The range has been expanded with a host of new models, including the Pro Series Signature Brandon Ellis Kelly, the company’s first partnership with the Black Dahlia Murder guitarist. Other fresh looks include the Pro Series Signature Christian Andreu Rhoads RRT, Pro Series Signature Marty Friedman MF-1, MJ Series Signature Misha Mansoor So-Cal 2PT and Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET6 and ET7.

For more info on each guitar, head below.

Pro Series Signature Marty Friedman MF-1

The new Pro Series signature model from the metal legend and former Megadeth shredder boasts a 24.75” scale length, mahogany body, mahogany set-neck with scarf joint and graphite-reinforcement rods and bound 12”-radius ebony fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets and pearloid block inlays.

There’s also dual passive EMG MF signature humbucking pickups with three-way toggle switching, two volume controls, two tone controls and a Jackson TOM-style adjustable bridge with anchored tailpiece.

The guitar sports a cracked Purple Mirror top, three-ply white/abalone/white body binding, all-black hardware and a reverse Jackson 3x3 (3 over, 3 under) AT-1 black headstock.

The Marty Friedman MF-1 is available in February for $1,199.

MJ Series Signature Misha Mansoor So-Cal 2PT

The Periphery mastermind has teamed with Jackson on the brand-new MJ Series Signature Misha Mansoor So-Cal 2PT, which comes in Daphne Blue with a color-matched licensed Fender Strat headstock, white pickguard, parchment skirt-style control knobs and chrome hardware.

Features include a basswood body, bolt-on caramelized maple neck with graphite reinforcement and oiled back finish and 20”-radius caramelized maple fingerboard with rolled edges, 22 jumbo stainless steel frets and white dot inlays outlined in black and Luminlay side dots.

Pickups are a Bare Knuckle Ragnarok humbucker at the bridge and Bare Knuckle Trilogy single-coil middle and neck pickups with parchment bobbins, five-position pickup blade switch, single volume control and single tone control.

The Misha Mansoor So-Cal 2PT will be available in May for $2,699.

Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET6/ET7

Mansoor’s Pro Juggernaut models have also been updated with EverTune bridges for 2021.  

The Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET6 comes in Chalk Gray with a color-matched reverse Jackson 3x3 AT-1 headstock and black hardware, while the Pro Series Signature Misha Mansoor Juggernaut ET7 is available in Gulf Blue with a color matched Jackson 4x3 AT-1 headstock and black hardware.

Other features include a basswood body, bolt-on caramelized maple neck with graphite reinforcement, scarf joint and oiled back finish, 20”-radius caramelized maple fingerboard with rolled edges, 24 jumbo frets and offset white dot inlays, uncovered direct-mount Jackson MM1 pickups, five-position pickup blade switch, single volume control and single tone control with push/pull select.

The guitars will be available in April, with the ET6 offered for $1,299 and the ET7 for $1,399.

Pro Series Signature Brandon Ellis Kelly

This metal-ready monster boasts a Green Crackle finish with a reverse pointed black headstock featuring a matching green Jackson logo, reverse pearloid sharkfin inlays and black hardware.

Tonewoods include poplar body wings, a through-body maple neck with graphite reinforcement and scarf joint and a 12”-16” compound radius bound ebony fingerboard with 24 jumbo frets. 

Other features include an over-wound Seymour Duncan Parallel Axis bridge humbucker for “bright, expressive high-end and endless sustain,” a single volume control, a Floyd Rose 1000 Series double-locking tremolo system, Dunlop dual-locking strap buttons and Jackson sealed die-cast tuners complete the package.

The Brandon Ellis Kelly will be available in April for $1,199.

Pro Series Signature Christian Andreu RRT

This collaboration with the Gojira guitarist is offered in a Natural finish with single-ply black pickguard, color matched pointed headstock and black hardware.

Features include a poplar body with flame maple top, through-body maple neck with graphite reinforcement, scarf joint and satin back finish, 12”-16” compound radius bound ebony fingerboard with 22 jumbo frets, single Jackson covered high-output humbucking bridge pickup, single volume control, Jackson TOM-style adjustable compensated string-through-body bridge and Jackson sealed die-cast locking tuners.

The Christian Andreu RRT will be available in February for $899.

For more information on all the new Artist Signature Series models, head to Jackson Guitars.