In a recent interview, former MEGADETH guitarist Chris Poland was asked to name his favorite MEGADETH guitarists besides himself. He responded, “I like Marty [Friedman] and what he brought to MEGADETH, but I think Kiko [Loureiro] was my favorite of everyone. I just liked the way he played probably better than anybody. But Marty would be a close second.”
In 2023, Marty Friedman was asked by Ultimate Guitar about his thoughts on MEGADETH’s guitarists who came before and after him. He shared, “After I left MEGADETH, I didn’t really follow a few of the guys they had after me. I’m sure they were fantastic because that’s just the kind of band it is. But when I think of other MEGADETH guitarists, I think of how Chris Poland was in the band before I was.”
Friedman continued, “I hated copying [Chris’s] stuff, I couldn’t do it. It was just too alien. Like any super musician, they’ve got their own stamp on it, and there’s no way to step into that other person’s shoes. It’s impossible. I love his playing, but I hated trying to copy that. He’s just a super guitar player, and a great guy, too. We toured together once.”
Friedman also praised Kiko Loureiro, MEGADETH’s guitarist from 2015 to 2023, calling him “just a super, phenomenal talent.” Marty recalled a moment shortly after Loureiro joined the band when he received a video from Kiko playing “Tornado of Souls.” Friedman said, “He sent me a video from YouTube, and he was, like, ‘Dude, check this out.’ And I’m, like, ‘Yeah, man, you’re totally kicking ass on this.’ I was very excited.”
“If someone’s gonna carry the torch, I was very relieved that it was someone as great as Kiko,” Friedman added. “He’s just a super-talented guy. There’s never been any slouches in the MEGADETH guitar department, but those are the two that really stand out to me.”
In a 2022 interview with VWMusic, Kiko Loureiro shared his approach to interpreting solos by Poland, Friedman, and Chris Broderick during live performances. Loureiro explained, “It’s funny; I was never a guy who learned solos note-by-note; I never had the patience for that. I still do it like this with those solos; I learn the main things, like the solo sound — very similar, but some things I do the way I feel. If the player does arpeggios a certain way but I feel more comfortable doing it another way, I’ll play it my way. It works live too, because you’re moving and doing your own thing. It has to feel comfortable.”
Loureiro also acknowledged the difficulty of some solos, saying, “The Chris Poland solos are pretty hard, to be honest. The way he plays and his techniques, I wasn’t familiar with, so it was a bit harder to understand and play. Marty Friedman is more from the generation I was studying. I’m a bit younger than him, so I was listening to Marty Friedman, Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, those guys. I was more familiar with his phrasing.”
He added, “But Marty is unique. I had to be smart enough to play the solo the way it is, but I also didn’t want to copy because it’s impossible. Everyone has their own individuality and personality, so I don’t want to be somebody else. I can play the notes, but how those notes come out is going to be my way.”
Regarding the solos, Loureiro said, “Some fans may have opinions about it, but the band or Dave [Mustaine] never said anything about the solos. Dave is really picky about the rhythms and the details that you can’t imagine, because that’s what makes the band’s sound. For him, it’s crucial since we play together on stage. He’s more open about the solos, but of course, I’m not creating new solos.”
Chris Poland was a member of MEGADETH from 1984 to 1987, contributing to the band’s iconic albums Killing Is My Business… And Business Is Good! and Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying? He also played a prominent role as a soloist on MEGADETH’s 2004 album, The System Has Failed.
In recent years, Poland’s primary musical focus has been his fusion band OHM:, which has released several studio albums.
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