Dave Mustaine has confirmed that Teemu Mäntysaari will proceed to play guitar for MEGADETH for the foreseeable future.
The MEGADETH chief addressed the band’s present lineup in the future after longtime MEGADETH guitarist Kiko Loureiro introduced his choice to “lengthen” his absence from the group’s touring actions.
Earlier as we speak (Monday, November 20), Mustaine launched the next assertion: “Hey Droogies, final week I acquired a name from my accomplice, Kiko Loureiro, and we spoke for some time. I requested him how issues had been going relating to the necessary points that led to his absence from our earlier run, which was essential for him to be together with his household.
“I need to replace you now on what Kiko shared with me. However earlier than I do, need you to know that I really like, respect, and absolutely help Kiko‘s choice. He has emphasised his love for me, MEGADETH, and all of you, our followers.
“As a reminder, Kiko needed to go away the tour final August to deal with some essential and personal household enterprise. He was conflicted however appreciative once I informed him that he wanted to go to care for his household. He agreed however was nonetheless involved about us — which means the followers, and MEGADETH. I informed him on the time, ‘Go! Kiko, you possibly can by no means regain this time with your loved ones, I do know first hand… I paid the worth myself’. Finally, he agreed.
“Kiko is a top-notch skilled, a maestro — and he didn’t need to damage me or MEGADETH,” Mustaine continued. “We got here up with an answer to discover a fill-in for him throughout that point and that is when he introduced and skilled Teemu Mäntysaari to take over for us. At first, this was solely going to be till the primary week of October 2023. Nevertheless, issues hardly ever prove the best way they’re deliberate.
“The 2023 tour is over, and it was lengthy and arduous. Final yr noticed a considerable quantity of touring, and it seems that 2024 is gearing as much as be much more intense, with intensive touring commitments protecting us on the highway for many of the yr. We’ve had many conversations with Kiko about this they usually have all been very constructive. Kiko goes to stay on an prolonged go away of absence, because of our heavy touring commitments subsequent yr and we’re going to proceed to maneuver ahead with Teemu Mäntysaari because the guitar participant for MEGADETH.
“I wish to thank Kiko for his dedication and arduous work these previous 9 years, serving to us to realize a Grammy on ‘Dystopia’ and the extra awards we’ve acquired on this newest document ‘The Sick… The Dying…And The Useless’,” Mustaine added. “I couldn’t have carried out this with out Kiko Loureiro.
“We hope to see all of you supporting Kiko in his subsequent endeavors, and we need to see you subsequent yr out on the Killing Street. We’ve thrilling plans to share with all of you in our subsequent e-newsletter.”
Kiko, who revealed in September that he would sit out the following leg of MEGADETH‘s “Crush The World” tour to be able to keep house together with his kids again in Finland, introduced his choice to step again from the band in a social media put up on Sunday (November 19). He wrote: “Pricey MEGADETH followers, I need to share with you a choice that hasn’t been straightforward for me. In September, I needed to step away from the U.S. leg of the tour for household causes. Trying forward, throughout 2024, we anticipate a good heavier touring schedule for MEGADETH. After thorough reflection and discussions with Dave Mustaine and MEGADETH‘s administration, we’ve collectively agreed that it’s the proper transfer to increase my absence. I do not need to hinder any of the band’s plans or the arduous work of all of the unimaginable folks concerned within the tour.
“My 9 years with MEGADETH have been an unbelievable journey, crammed with numerous ‘pinch-me’ moments,” he continued. “Unforgettable excursions, a Grammy Award for ‘Dystopia’, a Grammy nomination, and varied accolades for ‘The Sick, The Dying, And The Useless’ are just some of the highlights. It’s arduous to place into phrases the magnitude of those experiences. I’m positive any heavy metallic fan can admire how unimaginable it’s to play and create music in a band you grew up listening to, and to share the stage with a guitar legend like Dave Mustaine, together with phenomenal musicians like James LoMenzo and Dirk Verbeuren, to not point out our unimaginable crew. Nevertheless, essentially the most cherished side of those 9 years has been attending to know the unimaginable military of devoted MEGADETH followers world wide. Your dedication is inspiring, and I’ve immense admiration and respect for all of you.
“A lot love, see you quickly!”
Final month, Mustaine informed Final Guitar about Kiko‘s absence from the band’s latest tour: “I really like [Kiko] and I need him to get no matter he is going by labored out. And thankfully, he had talked about the identify of a man, Teemu Mäntysaari. Teemu got here out, and he was ready.
“I do not know when Kiko is coming again,” Mustaine continued. “He will not be again for this run [of tour dates]. He is at house, and he is soldiering on — for lack of a greater time period — and dealing by no matter it’s he must get by. Out of respect for him, I did not pry and ask what precisely it was — as a result of it is actually none of my enterprise except he tells me. However I believe for any of the followers which are going to say, ‘How’s it going to sound? What’s it going to be like?’ Don’t fret. I’ve picked good guitar gamers previously, and I prepare them nicely. Teemu may be very able to enjoying these songs. In actual fact, we’re including new songs to the set. That’s actually thrilling, too.”
Dave added: “I want Kiko the perfect. I really like him, and I hope to get some excellent news from him quickly.”
In early October, Mustaine informed Shaggy of the 94.9 and 104.5 The Decide radio station in Idaho Falls, Idaho about Teemu‘s addition to MEGADETH: “Persons are dropping their minds over how issues are going proper now ‘trigger we’ve a extremely good chemistry collectively.’
In keeping with Mustaine, MEGADETH has been capable of change up its setlist a bit on account of the guitarist swap. “We have got a bunch of songs from our catalog that we’re enjoying, a bunch of latest songs too,” he stated. “We have been in a position so as to add a bunch of songs to the set as a result of Teemu was a metallic fan. Kiko didn’t develop up baptized in metallic… Just like the present we did a few nights in the past, we opened with ‘Hangar [18]’ after which we adopted it up with ‘Mechanix’. We have by no means carried out that earlier than, so it is a fairly heavy starting. And we have added a second observe off of the brand new album with ‘Soldier On!’, and we’re on the point of add a 3rd.”
In September, Mustaine was equally filled with reward for Mäntysaari, telling Wes Types in a separate interview: “He is actually nice. And I am tremendous excited with what Teemu has introduced. And it is uncanny as a result of he performs lots like [former MEGADETH guitarist] Marty [Friedman]. And it is actually thrilling. At sure occasions I simply shut my eyes in the course of the set and I simply hear these songs performed, whether or not like Kiko previously or Teemu now, it simply sounds actually magic as a result of these guys have realized these songs they usually’re not simply going on the market and simply banging their guitar round; they really realized the solos from a number of the virtuosos that I’ve performed with over my profession.”
MEGADETH performed its first live performance with Mäntysaari on September 6 at Enjoy Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The 36-year-old Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and started enjoying guitar on the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has additionally been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.
Loureiro formally joined MEGADETH in April 2015, about 5 months after Chris Broderick‘s exit from the group.
Shortly after Loureiro‘s addition to MEGADETH, Mustaine known as him “undoubtedly the most effective guitarist we have ever had.” His feedback echoed these he made about Broderick in the course of the latter’s tenure within the band. Again in 2013, in the course of the making of MEGADETH‘s “Tremendous Collider” album, Mustaine wrote in a tweet that Chris was “no doubt the most effective guitarist I’ve ever performed with.”
Mustaine informed Revolver journal that discovering Loureiro “was actually a mind-blower. It was the primary time since Marty Friedman joined the band that I used to be actually intimidated as a participant,” he stated. “He is such a tremendous expertise, and he is been coming in with all of those recent concepts.” Mustaine added that Kiko was a very good match character smart. “Chris [Broderick] and I had a very good chemistry, however we weren’t actually as shut as I might have needed us to be,” Mustaine defined. “Kiko, I really feel like I’ve recognized him for years.”
In 2009, Mustaine praised Broderick, saying in an internet put up: “I’m going on document and I’m saying unequivocally that Chris is THE BEST GUITARIST MEGADETH has ever had. And the actual gifted musicians in MEGADETH‘s alumni will agree, he’s an absolute monster. I imply, he performs the catalog higher than anybody did. Jeff Younger by no means needed to do Chris Poland‘s stuff, and so forth, and so forth, till the final guitarist we had earlier than we disbanded over my arm harm.”
Mustaine added: “It is humorous, as a result of simply once I suppose [Broderick] can get no extra outrageous, or any extra thrilling with the guitar solos, he comes up with one thing actually stunning like Marty Friedman would do (he has Marty fairly nicely down pat),after which goes into the GIT types that Jeff Younger did, but, there may be nonetheless such a freshness to his enjoying and he’s so uncooked, it is like having a brand new prize bull. And although he ain’t a such a younger bull, he is undoubtedly an outdated bull like me.”
Along with Mustaine and Mäntysaari, MEGADETH‘s present lineup consists of former SOILWORK drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo.
