“Tornado of Souls” goes down in history as one of the greatest guitar-oriented pieces ever written. For this, we’ll have to thank Marty Friedman who is still dearly missed by Megadeth fans. Of course, it’s highly unlikely that he’ll reunite with Dave Mustaine. But even Dave still praises his work in Megadeth.
But although we know Marty Friedman as a virtuosic and technically skilled player, he’s actually not all that obsessed with guitar-based music. In a recent chat with Young Guitar, he explained that performance technique was his main focus for only about a couple of years back when he started playing.
While promoting the Guitar Monsters Japan tour with Ichika Nito and Takayoshi Ohmura, both of who were also present for the interview, Marty said (via Ultimate Guitar):
“We have totally different flavors as guitar players. It’s very important not to bore the audience. Although I’m a guitar player, I get tired of guitar music [everyone laughs]. I can’t listen to [it] long enough.“
“If it is good music, I want to listen, but I’m not interested in technique at all. I was into technique only for the first two years after I began playing.”
“Everybody plays great, that is obvious. Now I feel good when I hear the music only you can create. Then I feel something. I can feel [the player’s] soul. I feel good when I understand what [the player] is trying to say through the music.”
He also adds:
“To make that a standard is more important. We’ll do the opposite of showing off our skills. I’d rather say this event is anti-technique. After watching our performances, you will have a heavenly experience, instead of being awed by great chops.”
In the past, Marty also openly talked about how he’s not very fond of the term “shredder” that’s often used to describe virtuosic guitar players. Back in June 2022, he explained while chatting with VWMusic:
“You know, terminologies or stuff like that aren’t used by guys doing it as much as they are by the guys talking about it. But as long as they’re talking about it, and enjoying the music, I don’t really care what they call it. [Laughs]. Even if they’re not enjoying it, if they’re talking about it, then I’m still happy about it.”
Photo: Hiroshi Yamazaki (Marty Friedman – 01)
