Dave Mustaine seems to be looking ahead with optimism to Megadeth’s future after the recent departure of long-time guitarist Kiko Loureiro. In a recent interview with Brazil’s A Rádio Rock (transcribed by Blabbermouth), Mustaine heaped praise on the band’s new axeman 37-year-old Finnish musician Teemu Mäntysaari, handpicked by Loureiro himself.
“Well, I’m expecting us to keep doing what we’ve been doing. Kiko had recommended Teemu, and Teemu is an exceptional guitar player,” Mustaine declared, acknowledging the disappointment of Loureiro‘s absence but emphasizing the smooth transition.
“Kiko was at the top of his game when this happened, so we were obviously disappointed, but it is what it is. If Kiko would have said, ‘I don’t know anybody, and you’re on your own,’ that would have been a lot harder. But Teemu is the right guy for Megadeth. And Kiko knows that Teemu is the right guy for me. So, he actually did us a really big favor, and I love him and I wish him the best with everything that he does.”
Mustaine also revealed a special treat for fans on the upcoming South American tour: deep cuts.
“Teemu is gonna make a lot of people happy, because we’re gonna be playing some songs that we haven’t played for a long time,” Mustaine added. “When he came in, I figured instead of just saying, ‘Well, you’ve gotta learn these 30 songs here,’ I asked him to learn a couple more. I mean, what’s the difference when you’re learning 30 songs? What’s 33, right? Well, if he learned three and I said he’s gotta learn 30, that’s different. But I asked him to do some other songs that Dirk and James have been asking me to play for a very long time, and we’re adding them now, which is great.”
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