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“F*ck This Band” — Marty Friedman’s Megadeth Exit

Guitar Meets Science

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The Marty Friedman Story. This week, we dig into the wild, painful, and utterly fascinating saga of Marty Friedman—the guitar god who walked away from one of the biggest thrash metal bands on the planet because he said the music was “boring.” Before becoming a household name with Megadeth, Marty was melting fretboards in Cacophony with Jason Becker, a band so technically intense it practically redefined shred guitar. But when Dave Mustaine brought him into Megadeth in 1990, things exploded. With albums like Rust in Peace, Countdown to Extinction, and Youthanasia, Friedman helped push the band to commercial and artistic highs. His exotic, melodic soloing transformed songs like “Tornado of Souls” into instant classics. But behind the walls of stadium success, Marty was quietly checking out. His heart belonged to Japanese music, not thrash metal. After years of internal frustration, artistic clashes, and a breakdown over having one of his solos secretly replaced by Mustaine on the album Risk, he finally quit the band cold. What happened next? He moved to Japan, became fluent in the language, reinvented himself in the J-pop world, and ultimately became a beloved national TV personality, cultural ambassador, and living legend. This is the true story of Marty Friedman—the virtuoso who left metal behind and somehow became bigger than ever. Like, comment, and subscribe for more deep dives into the lives of the guitar gods.

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20 Comments

@zakkrick 1 year ago

Every guitar player left megadeth, even Metallica left Dave

@DROOtoob 7 months ago

Dave owes a lot more to Marty than he would admit.

@Pepsolman 1 year ago

Nobody wants to be Dave’s minion.

@Jorenyan 1 year ago

Marty was a secret otaku before it was cool

@korsakovpodcast 1 year ago

I loved how Marty did not joined any band and started his own project on his own terms doing what he wanted. It was a big middle finger to mainstream metal scene, like "screw you guys i'm gonna play japanese stuff, crazy solos, and i'm going to enjoy my career". What a dude. Marty is a legend.

@DrMurdercock 1 year ago

As a kid, metal heads think everything non metal is a poser. As an adult, they learn all those metal guys listen to everything.....

@GamingManual 1 year ago

Marty was the best! The 1990-2000 lineup will always be the quintessential Megadeth for me. Great video!

@truthabomber 1 year ago

Marty is the only ex-member of Megadeth that Dave doesn't have any leverage over. He can do whatever he wants and return Dave's calls or not. Kerry King was only briefly a touring guitarist for Megadeth and doesn't count. It's ironic because Dave is still bitter about being leveraged right out of Metallica.

@GaijinMecha 7 months ago

I can't fucking imagine replacing a Marty Solo with Dave... Just shows how stupid their management was at that time

@AWFDEEZNTS. 1 year ago

You know a lot of these guys would have stuck around if there weren’t paid as salary employees, a shockingly low amount of money. Dave is the Vince McMan of metal

@kibagami25 1 year ago

Marty Friedman was a huge reason i got into metal more and he became one of my favorite guitarist of all time. Rust in Peace came out when i was in high school and it was amazing.

@CSA71666 8 months ago

Man, i love this freakin channel..
Thank you for your work!

@bakstabbath 1 year ago

Rust in Peace is a thrash masterpiece.

@BigislandEJ 1 year ago

I can relate with Marty, maybe not as a super rocker, but breaking down because you find yourself trapped amongst those that don’t get you, I get that …

@Gitfiddle 9 months ago

Marty Friedman is an unnatural freak of a guitar player. There’s a lot of great guitarists in the world. Marty is a musician. He just chose the guitar as the instrument that could make the sounds he hears in his head. He made his FU money in Megadeth and I don’t think he really cares about money or being a rock star. He just likes playing music. I’ve been playing guitar for 30 years and I’m no slouch. Marty Friedman was better than 95% of guitar players by the time he was 17 years old after only a few years playing the instrument.

@H_Kongsgaard 7 months ago

Man, Marty makes such beautiful solo's

@rad4924 7 months ago

Marty Friedman - the greatest Weeb guitarist of all time

@itchydino15 10 months ago

There will never be a soloist like Marty

@KyleReese84 1 year ago

He still has anxiety to a degree. I paid for a meet and greet back in 2016. We were led onto his bus in groups of 12. A girl handed him a CD cover and told him her name. Very clearly spoken.
He must have misheard and began to sign "To Jamie" and she quickly said "My name is Jeanine". His reaction was pretty agitated and responded "Well that's the name you told me." It wasn't but she wasn't gonna argue w Marty Friedman on his bus. Regardless he's been one of my favorites since he first joined Megadeth.