After 23 long years, Megadeth will finally reunite with their OG guitarist Marty Friedman to perform for some shows in Budokan in Japan.
"It has been a long time - 23 years to be exact since I've been on the same stage with Dave Mustaine making music," Friedman shared in a statement.
"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 was a member of Megadeth, a thrash metal band formed in 1983; The band's current roaster includes frontman Dave Mustaine, bassist James LoMenzo, guitarist Kiko Loureiro, and drummer Dirk Verbeuren.
In 1999, Friedman announced that he was leaving Megadeth, citing that he wanted to try out new things in his music career.
"There was no bad blood with Marty," Mustain said. "Marty wanted to do something different and that's really the long and short of it."
It also seems like there is also no bad blood on Friedman's part either, "I'm also very, very proud of the band's many great achievements and continued success in my absence.
"For right now, I just feel immense joy and some serious adrenaline. I am looking forward to playing with Megadeth at this very cool place, the Budokan."
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The last time Friedman shared a stage with Megadeth was back in 2000, so it's understandable why everyone-especially Mustaine-was excited to have the guitarist back onstage with them.
"When Marty said, 'Hey, I can play at this gig,' I thought, 'This is so magnificent,'" the frontman said. "It's gonna be so much fun to get Kiko and Marty together, because they're both geniuses on guitar. So this is like a gigantic birthday and Christmas present for me."
According to reports, after Friedman left Megadeth, he began pursuing a music career in Japan, and became successful.
Not only is he a popular musician in the country, but he is also dubbed "the Ryan Seacrest of Japan" by Billboard because of all his success in television, music, and commercials in the country.
Friedman joining Megadeth comes after being appointed as a Japan Heritage ambassador.
He graciously accepted the position and shared the news with his fans on social media: "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."
Having Friedman join them onstage was one of the things that will make Megadeth's concert in Japan special.
"We haven't been to Japan in a long time," Mustaine continued. "I thought that inviting Marty was just a very thoughtful thing to do."
"This is doing something really grateful to the Japanese audience. We want it to be a gift. So everybody who bought that ticket before today, you're welcome. ... I'm really looking forward to this moment. It's gonna be great."
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