MEGADETH's DAVE MUSTAINE Talks KIKO LOUREIRO's Absence, Discusses Working With TEEMU MÄNTYSAARI - "I Wish Kiko The Very Best... I Love Him And I Hope To Get Some Good News From Him Soon"

In the first part of Ultimate Guitar's interview with Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, his recent signature line of guitars with Gibson, Epiphone, and Kramer was discussed in detail.

In this second part, such topics as specific guitar-heavy tunes, his approach to soloing, and whether further collaborations with former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman could be on the horizon were covered. An excerpt follows...

Ultimate Guitar: Are there any plans to work again with Marty Friedman, and would you ever consider doing an album or tour with him added to the lineup?

Dave Mustaine: "I don't know. It's a very interesting idea. Marty is a really talented person. I don't know for sure, but I think this is an area where I need to just talk with my partner and see how he feels about having another guitar player come up there and jam. Because sometimes guys get their feelings hurt, and I don't know that that's possible between Kiko [Loureiro] and Marty – because I think they both have a really high admiration of each other. But more importantly than what I would do with Marty right now is what I'm going to do with Kiko – because I love the guy and I want him to get whatever he's going through worked out."

"And fortunately, he had mentioned the name of a guy, Teemu Mäntysaari. Teemu came out, and he was prepared. Like I said, I don't know when Kiko is coming back. He won't be back for this run [of tour dates]. He's at home, and he's soldiering on – for lack of a better term – and working through whatever it is he needs to get through. Out of respect for him, I didn't pry and ask what exactly it was – because it's really none of my business unless he tells me. But I think for any of the fans that are going to say, 'How's it going to sound? What's it going to be like?' Don’t worry. I've picked good guitar players in the past, and I train them well. Teemu is very capable of playing these songs. In fact, we're adding new songs to the set. That is really exciting, too. I wish Kiko the very best – I love him, and I hope to get some good news from him soon."

Read the full feature at ultimate-guitar.com.