Former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman refused to return to the band because he didn’t want to damage the legacy he’d left from his first stint.
The possibility of a reunion was raised in 2014 after Chris Broderick and Shawn Drover left Dave Mustaine’s outfit, when the leader considered the attractions of bringing back the man who’d helped make breakthrough album Rust In Peace in 1990 and follow-up Countdown To Extinction in 1992.
But Friedman, who played with Megadeth from 1990 until 2000, tells the LA Weekly: “I think anyone that has something as good as Rust In Peace in their history doesn’t want to revisit it, unless you’re going to top it.
“I didn’t see any reason to mess with that. I didn’t see a reunion being what it could be and what the fans deserved.
“If I were to revisit that, there would have to be a reason for me to do that beyond, ‘Let’s go back and do it again.’ That’s not a good enough reason.”
Since leaving Megadeth, Friedman has explored his interest in Japanese pop, and doesn’t often return to the US. “I would go on stage and play American heavy metal, but then at the end of the night in my hotel room I would listen to nothing but Japanese music,” he reports.
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“I decided that I would rather play the music that I was listening to.
“Every time I come back to America is like a Twilight Zone episode. I don’t know the topics people here are talking about. I turn on the TV and I don’t know who the faces on it are. It’s a strange thing because I’m American, but I haven’t been in the country much.”
He’s aiming to release his next solo album in the coming months. Megadeth launched 15th record Dystopia in January, featuring guest drummer Chris Adler and new guitarist Kiko Loureiro. Dirk Verbeuren was later confirmed as permanent sticksman.
Megadeth's Dave Mustaine recalls 'weirdness' between him and Marty Friedman
