Although Kiko Loureiro already had his fans while he was in Angra, his life changed completely when he joined Megadeth. The incredibly humble and charismatic musician got the chance to show his playing and songwriting talents to wider audiences when he joined Dave Mustaine’s band. But, to those familiar with Mustaine’s work, it’s well-known that adapting to his way of work isn’t always simple.
Nonetheless, Kiko gave his 100% and did everything that he could, and more, to prepare for being a guitar player in Megadeth. Not long after joining, the Brazilian guitar player was recognized for his musicianship.
In a recent interview with Lou Brutus of HardDrive Radio, Kiko discussed how he approached becoming an official member of one of the greatest metal bands of all time back in 2015. Asked whether joining Megadeth was a life-changing experience, Kiko said (transcript via Blabbermouth):
“It [was]. Yeah, I would say so. Although when you joined, you don’t know what to expect. It’s just like this legendary band. And then I was already in the studio, so I was already, ‘Man, I need to know those ideas. I need to learn those parts. I need to understand better who is who here’ — the producer, the owner of the studio.”
“And I was having a lot of talks with Dave, and Chris Adler [Megadeth drummer at the time] was there already kind of rehearsing the drum parts. So there was a lot of stuff going on already. So I couldn’t really think, ‘Oh, my life’s gonna change,’ or stuff like that. I was already, like, ‘Okay, let’s start working here.'”
Of course, joining such a band requires additional education. And Kiko was open to learning about every aspect of the
“I tried to understand the whole dynamics so I could bring my musicality, my ideas as soon as possible without interfering… Understanding the concept of the band, because I knew Megadeth has fans, as you know, and from the outside.”
“I remember the first thing I bought was the Dave Mustaine biography, to know everything in the personal life as well. Because making music is very intimate in a way — sharing your ideas. You have to feel like you’re free to share your ideas.”
“You cannot feel like you’re an impostor; you cannot feel like you don’t belong to that place. You have to feel that you deserve to be there. You have your place now, and you have to feel free to give your ideas, even if they suck. So it’s very hard — to feel confident with strangers, strangers in this sense.”
“So I was, like, thinking a lot about those kinds of things when I was there because it was pretty challenging. It’s a great thing, but also if I suck — recording ‘Dystopia’, if I suck or if I don’t give my best, this is not gonna last without that.”
Photo: Tilly Antoine (Kiko Loureiro au Hellfest 2022), Will Russell (Dave Mustaine 2011)
