Finish guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari joined Megadeth last September, stepping in for Kiko Loureiro during the “Crush The World” tour. As of now, Mäntysaari seems to be a permanent fixture in the band, with Loureiro showing no signs of returning. It also seems that Megadeth’s leader Dave Mustaine is very pleased with Mäntysaari‘s presence in the band, and anticipating his contribution to their next studio album.
In a recent interview with Sakis Fragos of Rock Hard Greece, Mustaine expressed confidence in Mäntysaari‘s potential when asked if the axeman will bring ideas to the band’s upcoming album: “Yes, I do. I think he’s gonna be a great addition to Megadeth. He already has. We’re playing more songs now than we were playing before. And that has nothing negative to say about any of the previous lineups. It just says that he knew more about the band and understands the metal backbone of so many of these songs more than some of the other people would understand it.”
Mustaine elaborated on the significance of having a guitarist who inherently understands metal music. He pointed out the diverse backgrounds of previous guitarists, such as Chris Broderick‘s expertise in progressive rock and Kiko Loureiro‘s proficiency in bossa nova. “When you’re a metal guy, I think you understand metal compositions more than somebody who, say for example, knows progressive rock like Chris Broderick does, or somebody who knows bossa nova, which Kiko does, or somebody that plays jazzy, like Glen Drover would play, maybe Al Pitrelli. These guys all have their strengths.”
Reflecting on the departure of Loureiro, Mustaine showed empathy and support for his decision to prioritize family over the band. “Well, it wasn’t really a surprise, because it started to become clear that his family was gonna need him. And I’m a dad too, so I saw it and I knew that his wife and babies all needed their daddy. And Kiko is a good husband, he’s a good dad, and he needed to do what was right for him and for his family. And I applaud him for doing what he did. A lot of people would not have the guts to walk away from being a rock and roll star to take care of their kids. They would somehow sacrifice something, and it probably would not be their family.”
Mustaine also addressed the persistent rumors about former guitarist Marty Friedman potentially rejoining the band. Despite Friedman‘s guest appearances with Megadeth last year, Mustaine, once again, clarified that there are no plans for a reunion. “We played together for a couple of tracks, which was fun, and it was a very natural feeling,” Mustaine said. “But I know that Marty, when we got together in Japan and we talked, Marty‘s changed a lot; he’s a different man. And it’d be really fun to play with him every once in a while, see what’s going on. But the problem is a lot of fans will misunderstand us doing something with Marty and think that there’s some hope of Marty joining Megadeth again, and there’s not, that there wouldn’t be, because Marty is doing his own thing in Japan and I am 100 percent satisfied with Teemu right now, and I’ve already told the world that he’s our new guitar player.”
