‘I’m Ready for Anything’: Dave Mustaine Speaks on How Megadeth’s Latest Lineup Change Affected Him….

Megadeth has seen a great many impressive guitarists come and go over the years, each one bringing their strength and uniqueness to enrich the beloved thrash giants’ sprawling six-string legacy.

At this point in time however, any new lead guitarist is bound to carry at least a bit of Megadeth in his artistic DNA, which makes the tasks of upholding the band’s legacy and introducing some fresh creative energy even more intertwined. This, of course, is also the case with Teemu Mäntysaari, a player profoundly influenced by Marty Friedman and hand-picked by Kiko Loureiro to be his successor after the Brazilian guitarist made the tough decision to bow out of Megadeth’ intense schedule in order to spend more time with his family.

In a new interview Colombia’s Alejandrosis, Dave Mustaine had a lot of praise for his newest lead guitarist, even though he admits that Kiko’s departure didn’t leave him indifferent. Reflecting on the circumstances behind the thrash giants’ most recent lineup change, Dave said (transcription via Blabbermouth):

“Well, I can tell you that Kiko leaving was bittersweet. Kiko is a really good dad, and he loves his family, and he also loves his craft. He’s a wonderful guitar player, and he’s been a good friend to me and to Megadeth fans and the band. And we found out that Kiko was having stress and strain on his family, being away so much, and we knew that it wasn’t gonna get any better; it was just gonna be more shows and more time away from home right now. And he’s got three little ones [at home].”

“So, in the formidable years, he needs to be there. We all agreed and said that we’re gonna bring in an understudy. Teemu came in and helped us for a little while, and then we realized that this is probably the best thing, is for us to stick with Teemu and [for Kiko to] step aside and go back and take care of [his] little ones until everything’s okay.”

He added:

“Teemu is a monster. He is the guy I’ve been looking for for a very long time. I ask him to learn a song, he learns it. I ask him to learn a solo, he learns it. I ask him to learn a vocal part, he learns it. And he has a really great right hand. It’s very intelligent. It’s a lot like mine.”

“I love watching him play and I love watching him learn, because he learns as fast as anybody else could, and it’s made me really interested in my craft again. I can tell you I was not really looking at guitar like something that I needed to make part of my day every single day.”

“Sometimes I would set the guitar down and I wouldn’t touch it for a couple of days. Ever since Teemu came in, I’m ready — I’m ready to warm up, I’m ready to practice, I’m ready to go over the solos, and I’m ready to fucking rip.”