INTERVIEW WITH MARTY FRIEDMAN

Marty Friedman

“We recorded it between January and May of this year. It was in Nashville with Dan Huff as producer.”

Marty Friedman

“Dan has a lot of experience with high-level artists in the US. He worked with Shania Twain, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, people who sold millions and millions of records... so far he has worked with only one rock band, which is Megadeth. He feels like a teenager with us, making wild music and having fun.”

Marty Friedman

“Because hard rock, heavy music comes naturally to us, we don't need someone to tell us how to do it. But we do need someone with experience in another field, someone we can respect and who can advise and support us.”

Marty Friedman

“All the songs are by Dave (Mustaine) and me, except for 'Insomnia' which is just Dave's.”

Marty Friedman

“What Jimmy really wanted to do on this album is just play the drums correctly and straight, while the rest of the band worked together to perform good teamwork under Dan's direction. Jimmy played what we asked him to, quickly, without wasting time. We would throw him an idea and he would show us different options for the basics, which were generally all very good.”

Marty Friedman

“Yes, definitely. More "straight" but also more powerful. Jimmy's only responsibility was to join Megadeth and play the drums, he didn't have the pressure of behaving like a rock star. He adapted very well to our ideas.”

Marty Friedman

“On Cryptic Writings we tried more to grow as a band, to go in a more pop direction. This time maybe we also went towards pop but we also got into something much heavier than on Cryptic Writings. They are two different extremes. The heavy songs are much heavier than anything we've done before, and the pop songs are more mainstream than anything we've done before.”

Marty Friedman

“I wouldn't say we want to become a pop band, we just want to be a legendary band. We want to be the kind of band whose music is still good 15 or 20 years after it was composed. We want to be remembered among The Beatles, Rolling Stones, U2... we want to be included in that group. We no longer worry about being "more pop" or more "heavy", we just want to write songs that last.”

Marty Friedman

“Yes, it's funny. We joke about it a lot. We've talked about it, but it's impossible to change the name... we don't know what would happen... (laughs). Our goal, despite the band's name, is to make the best music we can.”

Marty Friedman

“Not exactly, although it has something to do with it. Actually, every album you make is a risk. Before it comes out, you get very nervous. "Oh god, will we have more or fewer fans?"... "Will we still have fans?" "Will we lose our contract because no one buys the album?", "Will we be even more famous?" (laughs). All that comes to mind. It's risky no matter what music you make.”

Marty Friedman

“Mmmmmm, I never thought there was a connection with Alice Cooper, although it could be because Alice and Dave are very good friends. However, I don't know what was on Dave's mind when singing "The Doctor Is Calling." It's a song that I definitely wanted on the album, it was made based on a riff of mine. It's dark and slow, and it contrasts a lot with other tracks that are too "cheerful". But for the moment my favorite song is "Ecstasy", it has a very good melody that I can't get out of my head. But as you know, it's very difficult to choose one song from an entire album composed by yourself. The favorite changes every day!”

Marty Friedman

“That they are the best we have written so far. They are simple, made for ordinary people who identify with the themes. But at the same time they are very intelligent, personal and emotional. For people of all ages.”

Marty Friedman

“(Surprised) Not on this album... I think. I don't really know what you're talking about. It's possible that one of the songs is based on that track, but I didn't realize it. I'm just not very familiar with that Metallica song.”

Marty Friedman

“Definitely not! These comments really surprise me, they don't seem true to me. They sound like internet gossip (laughs).”

Marty Friedman

“Look, there are two ways to look at it. The first is to get very angry, which is natural; the second is to save the worrying for when no one is interested in pirating our material, that's when we should start worrying!”

Marty Friedman

“Mmmm, there are problems with that. We made the song, but in the end it won't be included in the game's soundtrack. Problems arose from the company, boring and bureaucratic details... nonsense.”

Marty Friedman

“Yes. It will be on July 25 in New York, but I don't know yet which other bands will participate.”

Marty Friedman

“Oh, yes. We are friends. He is a very good drummer and a good person. I wish him the best of luck. I don't know exactly what he's doing now but I hope he's doing well.”

Marty Friedman

“It's really very good. Difficult to describe. The concept is based on a mouse and a mousetrap. A not very fortunate mouse. It's a perfect equivalent for the title "Risk".”

Marty Friedman

“It's strange that we didn't realize the connection before. Especially with everything that has to do with wrestling, which is immensely popular in the US right now. Even now I am in Atlanta, Georgia where tonight we will play "Crush 'em" live at a wrestling event, which will be televised to almost 30 million people. The song itself talks about wrestling and Bill Goldberg and Jean Claude Van Damme appear in the video, as you said before. The thing is that the song will be part of the soundtrack for the film "Universal Soldier: The Return" starring Van Damme.”

Marty Friedman

“I think it's Megadeth's opportunity to play for huge numbers of people every night, since Maiden today is a massive event in Europe. Our show will be as always, according to a secondary stage. We don't have many tricks on stage, it's just us and our music. And I think we fit into all kinds of stadiums and cover more classes of public, broader than Iron Maiden's target.”

Marty Friedman

“I think evolution is the most important thing in music. As a musician I want to do something new every time, otherwise I don't do it. It bores me to make the same album over and over again. And if the musician gets bored, the fans do too. It's good to buy albums that mean some growth, because in the world people grow, society grows, and with music it's the same. For a band it is very important to evolve, to grow....”

Marty Friedman

“To be honest, I have no idea what they are doing now! I remember when the Killers album came out, I thought it was the best thing I had ever heard in my life! It was great, but I didn't really follow them much after that time.”

Marty Friedman

“Yes, yes. We are going to give shows in England and I think in Portugal. And of course we want to return to your country. We love Argentina! There is no doubt that we will go there, the question is when, and under what circumstances. But Argentina is definitely a must for Megadeth.”

Marty Friedman

“Good! But you should prepare for much more than that. We really enjoy the acoustic shows in Argentina, because the audience is very understanding... It's not the kind of show we are used to giving, it doesn't come so naturally to us, we don't sound as good as Crosby, Stills & Nash, that's for sure! (laughs). But the fans scream very loudly, and thus they save themselves from hearing all our mistakes. That's why we love them!”

Marty Friedman

“There are no definitive plans. We are still thinking of doing it in Argentina. We already recorded something there, but that was with Nick. Now that Jimmy is here, we will surely record everything again.”

Marty Friedman

“I don't think we were ever "just a thrash band". Even before "Countdown To Extinction", I think "Rust In Peace" was a change from what Megadeth had been doing before. We always take small steps forward, little by little. We grow as a band, we make new music, we take risks. We are not afraid of challenges. It would be very easy to make another album like "Countdown to Extinction" which at the time sold 2 million copies in the US. It would be tempting to make the same album again, but we would never take that path. Our fans expect something new every time and so do we.”

Marty Friedman

“There is nothing wrong with mainstream music. Mainstream means that many people enjoy the same music and we want many people to enjoy Megadeth. Of course, it is not as easy as saying "OK, now we are going to make mainstream music". If it were that simple everyone would do it. The important thing for us is to maintain our identity and the fans know it, the new album is still Megadeth. It is very powerful. We would never try to deceive the fans. The point is that the new albums are more accessible to more varied audiences, not just hard rock and heavy fans. I think all big bands think the same way about that.”

Marty Friedman

“We will always try to create music that lasts. That people can enjoy forever. Music that is not fleeting, not fashionable. We want to stay in this for a long, long time.”