Former Megadeth guitarist Marty Friedman has posted the following message to the fans on his official Facebook page prefacing a new interview with Ultimate-Guitar.com:

"When I was a beginning guitarist, all the good players in town would tell me I should listen to this guy or learn from this album, and check out this guitar master or that one. Of course I wanted to impress my friends as well as 'learn from the best' so I diligently checked out all the most respected players. I soon realized that although the artists that were suggested to me were certainly brilliant masters, I found little joy in analyzing their music, because I just plain didn`t understand it or even like much of it. It meant nothing to me, like homework from a teacher in school. When I dug into the music that I did actually like, even though much of it was a bit obscure and not 'approved by the local big shot guitarists' I really enjoyed the process of learning and as a result, I wound up easily and subliminally able to decide what I want to play in my own music."

Friedman is ecstatic to announce his first tour of North America since 2003 - a 21-date headlining run that will kick off September 9th. The trek marks the latest leg of Friedman's ongoing world tour in support of Inferno, his solo album that so far has seen him complete a record-breaking tour across South America; perform extensively in Europe with acts such as Gus G. (Firewind, Ozzy Osbourne), Arch Enemy and Kreator; and play multiple high-profile gigs in his current home country of Japan, including a set at the country's largest heavy metal festival, Loud Park.

Friedman commented on his imminent return to his home continent: "On the rare occasion that I stop and think I about it, I realize I've done an insane thing: I left a successful international band to concentrate my efforts on the domestic music scene of a country thousands of miles from my home. Different culture, different language, different planet. Since I went to Japan, so many Americans have supported me, and while many doubted I would ever play live in my homeland again, now it's happening. Choosing the setlist and doing prep for this tour has been a blast. Words can not describe how excited I am about finally touring North America!"

The upcoming North American leg of the Inferno tour will start in Friedman's hometown of Baltimore and wrap up on the West Coast on October 3rd. Support will be provided by the Los Angeles-based extreme shred outfit Exmortus. General admission and VIP packages will go on sale this Friday (10) at 10 AM, local time.

Tour dates:

September
9 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
10 - NYC, NY - Gramercy Theatre
11 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar
12 - Philadelphia, PA - Northstar Bar
13 - Boston, MA - Brighton Music Hall
15 - Cleveland, OH - Beachland Ballroom
16 - Toronto, ON - Virgin Mobile Mod Club
17 - Detroit, MI - Token Lounge
18 - Chicago, IL - Reggie's Rock Club
19 - St. Louis, MO - Fubar
20 - Kansas City, MO - Riot Room
22 - Denver, CO - Marquis
23 - Salt Lake City, UT - Liquid Joes
25 - Seattle, WA - El Corazon
26 - Vancouver, BC - Rickshaw
27 - Portland, OR - Aladdin
29 - San Francisco, CA - Great American Music Hall
30 - Hollywood, CA - Whisky-a-Go-Go

October
1 - Anaheim, CA - House of Blues
2 - Las Vegas, NV - Backstage Bar
3 - Ramona, CA - Mainstage