megadeth
01:27 Tuesday, 7 February 2023
Rumors began circulating last month that Marty Friedman would join Megadeth on stage for the first time in 23 years on February 27 at the Nippon Budokan venue in Tokyo.
Now – and for no reason at all – Megadeth has named the show They Only Come Out At Night and will be livestreaming it in its entirety. Neither Megadeth nor Friedman have confirmed the reunion, but what other reason is there for the band to stream such a heavily-rumored show? So if you're free that night, maybe tune in and watch metal history be made. If the rumors are true, of course.
Tickets for They Only Come Out At Night are available here.
The rumors began when Friedman was asked in an interview with Next Guitar Hero about his potential appearance. Friedman simply stated "I can't give details. But we'll play together […] I believe it will be a magical night."
Blabbermouth also pointed out at the time that an article about the potential appearance published in Japan's Burrn! magazine has since been taken down. Friedman joined Megadeth in 1990 and performed with the band until 2000, playing on every record between Rust In Peace and Risk. Friedman has since enjoyed a massively successful musical and acting solo career in Japan.
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine explained in a 2022 interview that the breaking point for Friedman in the band was the "Breadline" solo on 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," said Mustaine. "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'."
"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."
