In a new interview with Bryan Reesman, guitarist Marty Friedman (ex-Megadeth) discusses his US tour, collaborating with other bands, Babymetal, and the culture in Japan.

On what makes a band such as Babymetal (who combine death metal with pop music) possible in Japan, Friedman says: “That’s just a testament to the kind of open-mindedness towards music that exists here in Japan. Not only that, it’s the pursuit of something that’s exciting and interesting. That’s the biggest thing. That’s why television in Japan seems so crazy, wild, and colorful. There’s so much stimulus. Tokyo is like New York on steroids. There’s so much stimulus coming in that in the entertainment world you can’t just have these soul-searching lyrics like Adele or something like that. 

“There’s a small group of people who really like that, but for the mainstream in Japan there’s got to be some kind of trick to it, there’s got to be something new. It can’t just be this toned down, drab, quiet, low-key, really personal intimate kind of stuff. Of course there’s a place for that, but in the case of Babymetal or a lot of the Japanese music that I work on, it’s just the pursuit of something totally new and fresh, strange combinations of things, beautiful combinations of things, things that you would never, ever imagine. The guitarist in Babymetal is actually the guitarist in my solo band, so when I go on tour he plays with me. It’s really kind of a small world here in Japan actually. But Babymetal is a great example of the great, great possibilities in Japan. The key is the stuff has to be amazing. If it’s not amazing, people are not going to like it no matter how crazy it looks or how insane it might be. Stuff really has to hold your attention and has to have quality at the base of it. I think that’s a decent explanation of why crazy stuff comes out of Japan. People don’t want to be bored.”

Read the rest of the interview at this location.

With his first North American tour in more than a decade set to kick off next week, legendary guitarist Marty Friedman has unveiled a lyric video for "Jasmine Cyanide”, a track recorded during the sessions for his latest album Inferno. The song - which features vocals by Canadian rocker Danko Jones and TesseracT's Daniel Tompkins, as well as guitar work by Keshav Dhar (Skyharbor) and drums by Anup Sastry (Jeff Loomis, Intervals) - is one of two bonus tracks that appear on the new deluxe edition of Inferno, which will be released across digital platforms this Friday, September 4th.

Friedman was 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.

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