MartyFriedman

Marty Friedman

Exotic scales and fearless bends that reshaped thrash metal soloing

Marty Friedman was born in Washington, D.C., and picked up the guitar as a teenager after being drawn in by hard rock and punk. His family later spent time in Hawaii, where he played in the heavy metal band Hawaii in the early eighties. Largely self-directed in his learning, he developed an unorthodox picking hand and an ear that gravitated toward melodies outside the usual blues-based vocabulary of rock, including sounds from Japanese and other Asian music traditions.

Friedman's reputation grew rapidly in the mid-1980s when he joined forces with the teenage prodigy Jason Becker in Cacophony. Their album Speed Metal Symphony (1987) was a dazzling display of neoclassical harmony lines and interlocking solos, and it made both players stars of the shred scene. Friedman also released his first solo album, Dragon's Kiss, in 1988, a set of instrumentals that highlighted his distinctive exotic phrasing and his taste for melodies that sounded almost like folk songs played at high speed.

In 1990 he joined Megadeth, and his first album with the band, Rust in Peace, is widely regarded as a thrash landmark. His solos on tracks such as Tornado of Souls and Hangar 18 set a new standard for melodic sophistication within the genre. Over the following decade he recorded Countdown to Extinction, Youthanasia, Cryptic Writings and Risk with the band, helping Megadeth reach its commercial peak while pushing its sound toward more structured, song-focused hard rock.

Friedman left Megadeth at the turn of the millennium, feeling the band's direction no longer suited him, and in 2003 he moved to Tokyo. There he reinvented himself as a Japanese media personality, hosting television programmes about heavy metal and the Japanese language, and working with J-pop artists. His Tokyo Jukebox series reimagined Japanese hits as guitar instrumentals, while solo albums such as Inferno and Wall of Sound returned to heavier territory. In 2023 he guested with Megadeth at the Nippon Budokan.

The 10 greatest Marty Friedman solos

1. 1
   Tornado of Souls

   Megadeth · solo by Marty Friedman · 1990
2. 2
   Hangar 18

   Megadeth · solo by Marty Friedman & Dave Mustaine · 1990
3. 3
   Holy Wars... The Punishment Due

   Megadeth · solo by Marty Friedman, Dave Mustaine · 1990
4. 4
   Lucretia

   Megadeth · solo by Dave Mustaine & Marty Friedman · 1990
5. 5
   Symphony of Destruction

   Megadeth · solo by Marty Friedman · 1992
6. 6
   Ashes in Your Mouth

   Megadeth · solo by Dave Mustaine & Marty Friedman · 1992
7. 7
   Dragon Mistress

   Marty Friedman · solo by Marty Friedman · 1988
8. 8
   Speed Metal Symphony

   Cacophony · solo by Marty Friedman, Jason Becker · 1987
9. 9
   Train of Consequences

   Megadeth · solo by Marty Friedman · 1994
10. 10
    Trust

    Megadeth · solo by Marty Friedman · 1997

The sound

Friedman is instantly recognisable for his bending technique: rather than simply pushing a string up to pitch, he often bends into notes from unusual angles, releases and re-bends, and adds ornaments that echo Japanese enka singing. He draws on pentatonic and exotic scales and frequently resolves phrases to unexpected notes, giving his solos a slightly off-centre, mysterious quality. His picking hand is famously unconventional, yet highly precise. Within Megadeth his leads were carefully composed rather than improvised, which is why so many of them feel like songs within songs.

• Jackson Kelly (guitar) The pointed-body Jackson shape associated with his Megadeth years, including a signature version.
• Ibanez MFM signature (guitar) His signature model from the 2010s onward, used on later solo albums and tours.
• Marshall stacks (amp) The backbone of the classic Megadeth-era live rig.
• Engl Inferno signature (amp) A signature high-gain amp developed with Engl for his later heavy solo work.
• Carvin guitars (guitar) Associated with his Cacophony-era period in the shred scene.

Covers

• Paranoid, originally by Black Sabbath Megadeth's tribute contribution gave the proto-metal classic a thrash edge.
• Polyrhythm, originally by Perfume He translates an electro-pop hit into a lively guitar instrumental.
• Tsunami, originally by Southern All Stars A famous Japanese ballad becomes a showcase for his singing, vocal-like bends.
• Amagi-goe, originally by Sayuri Ishikawa An enka classic that openly shows the source of his bending style.
• Romance no Kamisama, originally by Ryoko Hirosue A nineties J-pop hit rebuilt with heavy rhythms and bright melody.

Timeline

• 1962 Born in Washington, D.C.
• 1987 Cacophony releases Speed Metal Symphony with Jason Becker
• 1988 Releases solo debut Dragon's Kiss
• 1990 Joins Megadeth and records Rust in Peace
• 1992 Countdown to Extinction becomes Megadeth's biggest-selling album
• 2000 Leaves Megadeth
• 2003 Moves to Tokyo
• 2009 Releases Tokyo Jukebox, an album of J-pop instrumentals
• 2014 Releases heavy solo album Inferno
• 2023 Guests with Megadeth at the Nippon Budokan

Facts

1. He speaks fluent Japanese and became a familiar face on Japanese television.
2. He played in a band named Hawaii before becoming a shred star.
3. Cacophony paired him with Jason Becker, who was still a teenager at the time.
4. Rust in Peace was his first album as a member of Megadeth.
5. He cites Japanese enka singing as a major influence on his bending style.
6. His picking technique is widely described as unorthodox.
7. He recorded five studio albums with Megadeth.
8. He was appointed a Japan Heritage Ambassador by the Japanese government.
9. His Tokyo Jukebox series covers Japanese pop and ballads as guitar instrumentals.
10. He has collaborated with many Japanese pop and rock artists as a guitarist and producer.