In a new interview with the Guardian, Marty Friedman opened up about what we had left unfinished with Dave Mustaine.
The guitarist referred to his reunion with Megadeth last year at Nippon Budokan, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan and said:
“[Mustaine and I] love each other but it was time for me to leave the band when I did. The only piece of unfinished business that we had was Budokan. It was equally important for both of us because we’re both rock fans at heart – growing up with Cheap Trick at Budokan, and all our heroes who played there, we both wanted to play it together. Dave got hold of me and said ‘Dude, have you ever played Budokan?’ I said yeah, and he said: ‘Do you wanna play it again?’ It was the sweetest exchange.”
The Rocker Enjoyed Performing With Megadeth Again
Friedman joined Megadeth on stage towards the end of the live-streamed set, playing songs like ‘Countdown to Extinction,’ ‘Tornado of Souls,’ and ‘Symphony of Destruction.’ The musician talked about what it was like to play with the band again in a chat with The Aquarian Weekly:
“It was wonderful. What I think is great about Megadeth is that being a legacy act, there’s also new kids discovering them, and then they discover you and look to see what you’re doing now, so they get that experience of Marty Friedman as well. I’ve always been rooting for Megadeth and they really did great.”
Marty continued:
“A lot of the things that they did in my absence led them to a very, very good place, and a lot because of Dave’s effort and the bandmembers’ efforts. When they made it to Budokan, I was just so glad to hear that. Then they offered me to play and it was just the cherry on top. I had such a great time playing with them. It was something that the fans enjoyed as much as I did.”
After leaving Megadeth due to creative disagreements, Friedman found fame in Japan and appeared on many TV shows. He’s now a Japan Heritage ambassador and made the ‘Japan Heritage Official Theme Song.’