Megadeth’s guitarist Kiko Loureiro recently sat down with VWMusic and talked about how his bandmate Dave Mustaine dominates their band’s decisions about the solos.
On April 2, 2015, Megadeth announced that Kiko Loureiro would replace Chris Broderick. He has been a part of the band since then. During these seven years, Kiko had many live performances with the band and appeared on the last two albums of Megadeth, ‘Dystopia’ and ‘The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead!.’
As many would agree, Dave Mustaine is the engine of the Megadeth. Being the founder of the band, it’s not hard to imagine that Mustaine could have a say in the stylistic touches of the band’s music. Dave was also behind many of the decisions that gave Megadeth its character, both in terms of the band’s lineup changes and musical projects.
In a recent interview with VW Music, the guitarist Kiko Loureiro talked about how his bandmate Dave was so firm about the guitar solos of the band. In his speech, Kiko said that the frontman knows what he wants and is a very ‘direct’ person. The guitarist also stated that Mustaine is very experienced. Therefore, he knows what he is saying and makes firm decisions.
Kiko also revealed that although there was a space for them to haggle about songs, Dave was too dominant regarding the decisions. That was the case with the opening song of their latest release, ‘The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead.’ When Loureiro said there was something he didn’t like about the song’s solo and suggested something else instead of the improvised guitar solo, Mustaine again created the solo himself.
Here is Kiko Loureiro’s statement about Dave Mustaine:
“Dave knows what he wants, so he’s very direct. He’s experienced; that’s his thing. So, he’s very strong and bold when he says something. ‘I think the solo is here,’ or ‘I want a fast solo in this part.’ So, then, you listen and try, or you propose something, like, ‘I think instead of a fast solo, it would be nice to have a melody.’ That kind of happened at the beginning of the opening song, ‘The Sick, the Dying… and the Dead.’
The intro was an improvised guitar solo, and I found my way to tell Dave, ‘It’s not this solo. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not this.’ Then he created that part because it was his song. So also understanding that he wrote the song where it’s already almost done, so it’s like, ‘Maybe don’t improvise the solo. Maybe something else: maybe a melody, a theme, or something.’ Then we were discussing a bit and talking, and then he figured it out, ‘Kiko, I think I know,’ and then he did it. So, he did it; that’s his song.”
While not playing other instruments live or on albums, Mustaine composed many Megadeth songs for other band members to play. He also occasionally performs guitar solos on some songs, such as ‘Sweating Bullets,’ ‘Dialectic Chaos,’ ‘Dystopia,’ and many more. While he’s sometimes over-dominating and pushes his bandmates, fans cannot ignore the character he brings to Megadeth.
