photo by Marv Watson

Marty Friedman joined Megadeth on stage in Waken, Germany for the Waken Open Air Festival last Friday, August 4, 2023. Friedman performed four songs with his former band including “Trust”, “Tornado Of Souls”, “Symphony Of Destruction” and “Holy Wars… The Punishment Due”. This was the 2nd time in six months that Friedman decided to perform with his former band on stage. The first was in February at the band’s first gig at Budokan in Tokyo, Japan where they performed 3 songs together. 

Before the show in Germany, Megadeth’s leading man, Dave Mustaine hinted at Friedman’s return by posting on social media, “Wacken! Make sure to head over to the faster stage. We have a special surprise for you. You’re not going to want to miss it.” Friedman also hinted at this reunion in late February mentioning to Guitar World, “We [MEGADETH and Friedman] are both playing at Wacken Open Air festival in Germany this summer, so you never know.” With all these hints some fans must have been sure of the appearance and wouldn’t have missed it for the world. 

After the most recent show in Germany, Blabbermouth states, “In a recent interview with The Aquarian Weekly” Friedman mentioned, “It was wonderful. What I think is great about MEGADETH is that being a legacy act, there’s also new kids discovering them, and then they discover you and look to see what you’re doing now, so they get that experience of Marty Friedman as well.” Megadeth and Friedman performed a great show on both occasions and we can only hope more will follow.