Former Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro, who was with the band from 2015 - 2023, recently spoke with Guitar World about his departure from the band. He commented on his replacement, Teemu Mäntysaari - whom he found to fill his shoes in Megadeth -  and revealed that he made another suggestion to management during the scouting process.

Loureiro: "Actually, I even mentioned to management and Dave (Mustaine) that I thought bringing Marty Friedman back would be amazing. I have no idea if they’re talking about it or talking to him, but I did say that. But again, I have no idea beyond that, and I don’t want to make anything more complicated."

"The fans never said anything bad about me or complained, which was amazing, but I’m a fan, and I always understood that Marty was a part of those iconic albums like Rust In Peace and Countdown To Extinction. I understood that Marty was the guy who helped create that sound and style, you know? From the moment I joined Megadeth, I knew the fans could show me love, but I would never win their hearts over Marty." 

Read more here.

For the first time in more than 23 years, in February 2023 Friedman joined Megadeth on stage as the special guest for a one-off global livestream from the legendary Budokan Arena in Tokyo, Japan.

Friedman joined the for three songs, "Countdown To Extinction", "Tornado Of Souls" and "Symphony Of Destruction". Fan-filmed video can be viewed below.

Setlist:

"Hangar 18"
"Dread And The Fugitive Mind"
"The Threat Is Real"
"Angry Again"
"Soldier On!"
"Sweating Bullets"
"Trust"
"Conquer Or Die!"
"Dystopia"
"À Tout Le Monde"
"Countdown To Extinction" (with Marty Friedman)
"Tornado Of Souls" (with Marty Friedman)
"Symphony Of Destruction" (with Marty Friedman)
"We'll Be Back"
"Peace Sells"

Encore:
"Holy Wars... The Punishment Due"