First impressions can be everything, especially when you are recruiting a new member of your band. But sometimes it pays to take a deep breath and think again, like Dave Mustaine in 1989 when he was looking for the next hot-shot lead guitar player for Megadeth.
Friedman needed a gig after Cacophony had split up, and Friedman had to be in contention. His 1988 solo album, Dragon’s Kiss, was state-of-the-art Shrapnel shred (featuring some blazing guest spots from Friedman’s old Cacophony bandmate Jason Becker). He was one of the hottest players around.
But in a recent interview with Guitar World, Mustaine admitted that he had his doubts. Dragon’s Kiss was sitting in his management’s office. Friedman was in contention and yet…
“The cover was this black picture with bright orange lettering on it, and it was pretty eye-catching,” said Mustaine. “But I just couldn’t do it because of his hair.”
Maybe Mustaine had simply had his fill of strange auditions. He was trying to fill a spot that was previously occupied by Chris Poland then Jeff Young, who had raised the bar and here he had some guy turning up and asking the band to show him the material, and another who actually claimed he wrote Megadeth classic Wake Up Dead.
Just how bad was Friedman’s hair?
“He had two different colors in his hair. His hair was black from the roots down to about his ear line, and then it was red all the way down to his armpits,” continued Mustaine. “I thought, ‘I can’t do this,’ but against my will, I said, ‘Okay, let’s do this…’”
He didn’t much like Friedman’s gear either. This would be one of the most legendary auditions in metal, captured on film, and inevitably posted to YouTube. With one million views and counting, chances are, you will already have seen the footage of Friedman in his Ramones T-shirt playing his red Carvin V220.
His choice of electric guitar was another red flag for Mustaine. A Carvin? Who played a Carvin!? Friedman didn’t even have a rig worthy of the name. This being the ‘80s, he did however bring an ADA rackmount unit. Mustaine got someone to set Friedman up with a stack and called out Wake Up Dead.
“We’ve been through guitar player after guitar player, and we get to the solo part in Wake Up Dead, and he nails it,” said Mustaine. “I just thought, ‘Oh, my God…’ and I reached behind me, turned off my wireless, went out and called my manager and said, ‘I think we’ve got him.’”
The rest is history. Friedman was there for what many fans will argue is the band’s finest hour, 1990’s Rust In Peace, with 1992’s Countdown To Extinction burnishing his reputation as Megadeth’s finest lead player.
He remained in the Megadeth lineup until 1999’s Risk, when management told Mustaine that he should cut or redo Friedman’s solo to Breadline.
Mustaine redid it, but management never told Friedman until the band listened back to the album, and that was that. Friedman left, moving to Japan and pursuing a solo career.
The Risk business was all water under the bridge by 2023, when Megadeth invited him to join them onstage at the Budokan, in Tokyo. Friedman sat in with the band for Countdown To Extinction, Tornado Of Souls and Symphony Of Destruction.
Mustaine tells Guitar World he had “a fun time” with Friedman in the band.
“Marty is an enigma, and a very unique human being,” he said. “I think you can ask any of the people who have played with him… he’s incredibly talented, but very mysterious.”
Is he the best lead guitarist in Megadeth’s history? That’s up for debate.
“The fans all have their own favourite guitar players in the band besides me,” said Mustaine, speaking to MusicRadar in 2021. “Some are very vocal, some even spiteful in the things they say… quite often their favourite will be whoever was in the band when they got into Megadeth. I wouldn’t ever deny anyone of that. If someone prefers Marty – we did several albums together – that’s totally fine.”
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