MARTY FRIEDMAN On Making Of MEGADETH's 'Rust In Peace': 'We Knew That What We Were Doing Was Gonna Be Cool'

In a new interview with Jason Fraley of the Beyond The Fame podcast, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman was asked what it was like to work on his first album with the band, the now-classic “Rust In Peace”, which came out in 1990. Marty responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Well, if those fans are out there [who want to know about that stuff], they’re really gonna enjoy [my recently released autobiography, ‘Dreaming Japanese’] because I outlined all of that stuff, like almost on a day-to-day timetable. I’ve listed every little detail about what it felt like to do this and what it was like doing that. But to bring it up here, the short version is a lot of that stuff, at that time, was all written together with the four members in the band. When I first joined the band, maybe two or three songs had been roughly outlined and the rest of it had not even been written yet at all. So all of that stuff was written with four of us in the same room, same amount of time, working on things together. And I detailed that process in the book, and it’s an interesting process. But we just all knew that what we were doing was gonna be cool. And when we started recording it, it became very obvious that we had something that was very lucky to have. None of us did the same thing. There were two guitar players in the band, but we sounded totally different, which can be good or bad. In our case, we were very lucky that they fit in together like springs in a watch or something. And we didn’t repeat each other at all. And that worked out nicely. We knew that we had something, and then when we took it out on the road, people were just like — their jaws were dropping because it was not like the previous MEGADETH. It wasn’t anything like the previous MEGADETH.”

Asked if he thinks 1992’s “Countdown To Extinction” album was some of his “best work” with MEGADETH or if he is more of a “Youthanasia” (1994) of “Cryptic Writings” (1997) kind of guy, Marty said: “It’s all my best work, man. If I’m playing on it, it’s the best I can do. So whatever year any one of those records was done, if it was done in one year, if I would have done the same thing a year later, it would have been one year better.

“When you’re working on something, especially for people’s consumption, you automatically put your best foot forward and you don’t release it until you’re a thousand percent happy with it,” Marty explained. “And that goes for all those albums you listed, that goes for the album that I just released now, ‘Drama’, it goes for the next album that I’m gonna release. And then only with the benefit of hindsight can you look back and say, ‘I would have done this differently’ or ‘I don’t like this as much as I did at the time.’ But I can assure you that at the time, not only myself but everyone involved thought it was the best thing that we could possibly do, or else we would have kept working on it. We would have kept going.”

Friedman kicked off his “Live Drama 2025” U.S. tour on January 25 at Count’s Vamp’d in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Friedman‘s latest solo album, “Drama”, came out last May via Frontiers Music Srl.

Recorded in Italy, “Drama” showcases Marty‘s unique touch, for the first time using both vintage and modern guitars, delivering a pure delight for lovers of music everywhere. From the captivating first single “Illumination”, to the album’s breathtaking “Mirage” and 10 other emotionally charged mini-symphonies, Marty paints atmospheric elements with a modern and exotic flair, promising an unforgettable musical experience.

Marty‘s presence in the world of music, the world of guitar and Japanese pop culture is mystifying, bizarre, and nothing short of inspiring. His first major impact in music was in the game-changing guitar duo CACOPHONY, which he founded with equally enigmatic and now-legendary guitarist Jason Becker. He then spent 10 years as lead guitarist in the genre-defining thrash metal act MEGADETH before moving to Tokyo due to his love for Japanese music, language, and culture.

Following his move, he landed a starring role for a new TV comedy “Hebimeta-san” (“Mr. Heavy Metal”) and its spinoff, “Rock Fujiyama”, which ran for six seasons and propelled him into the living rooms of Japan’s mainstream. He has since appeared in over 800 TV shows, movies and commercials, including a two-year campaign with Coca-Cola for Fanta, authored two best-selling novels and was the first-ever foreigner to be appointed as an ambassador of Japan heritage and perform at the opening ceremony for the Tokyo Marathon.

At the same time, Marty has continued his career in music with several solo albums in addition to writing and performing with the top artists in Japanese music, racking up countless chart hits, including a No. 1 with SMAP, two No. 2 songs with MOMOIRO CLOVER, a No. 2 with SOUND HORIZON — just to name a few.

Friedman‘s autobiography, “Dreaming Japanese”, arrived on December 3, 2024 via Permuted Press.