Marty Friedman hails 'fantastic' Kiko

Marty Friedman has congratulated new Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro and wished the band “nothing but the best” for the future.

Guitarist Friedman – who was a member of Megadeth’s classic Rust In Peace lineup – was strongly linked to a return to the band following the departures last year of Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover.

And this week, former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza suggested he and Friedman were offered the chance to return, but Menza says the deal on offer was “unfair.” The band hired Lamb Of God’s Chris Adler alongside Loureiro.

Asked by a fan at Guitarfest in Chile what he thought about Loureiro’s appointment, Friedman says: “I think he is fantastic. I want to say big congratulations to Kiko. I wish them nothing but the best success. I think this is a fantastic thing, and I just wanna say congratulations, Kiko.”

In the wake of Broderick and Drover leaving, Friedman said he wouldn’t rule out a return.

Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine this week revealed 15 songs had already been written for their 15th album.

Stef wrote close to 5,000 stories during his time as assistant online news editor and later as online news editor between 2014-2016. An accomplished reporter and journalist, Stef has written extensively for a number of UK newspapers and also played bass with UK rock favourites Logan. His favourite bands are Pixies and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah. Stef left the world of rock'n'roll news behind when he moved to his beloved Canada in 2016, but he started on his next 5000 stories in 2022.