KIKO LOUREIRO tells why he left MEGADETH
01-12-2023
Former MEGADETH guitarist Kiko Loureiro discussed his decision to leave the band during an appearance on the “Amplifica” podcast, hosted by his former ANGRA bandmate Rafael Bittencourt.
According to the Brazilian-born guitarist, the reason he decided to exit Dave Mustaine‘s band was “freedom”. He described himself, as transcribed by the Confere Rock web site, as someone who “needs freedom,” explaining that he went to the United States for the same reason in the early 2000s, and that having freedom after more than eight years with MEGADETH was “important.” “And now, due to circumstances in my life, I have taken the liberty of choosing not to be in MEGADETH,” he said. “Because it’s my option. Because freedom is having the choice between two viable options; that is freedom.”
Kiko also revealed that at this point in his life, he will prioritize his family over everything else. He mentioned that he almost missed his daughter Lívia‘s birth after returning home from an appearance with ANGRA at the Rock In Rio festival in 2011. In 2016, he left for a MEGADETH tour just 10 days after his twin sons were born. If he was faced with the same circumstances today, he “wouldn’t be on that stage, risking missing the moment of Lívia‘s arrival,” even if Rock In Rio was the reason he started playing guitar. He also confirmed that there is a situation that requires his attention at home, but he did not disclose any more details about it.
Kiko said he felt “comfortable” as a member of MEGADETH, explaining that it was very easy to be in that position, as there is a team of around 20 people who prepare everything so the bandmembers just arrive and play. Kiko said that the circumstances surrounding his departure were openly discussed, and that he had already been talking to Mustaine about it since June of this year. He noted that he was responsible for finding his replacement in MEGADETH, Teemu Mäntysaari (WINTERSUN, SMACKBOUND),and revealed that he sent videos to the Finnish musician and met up with Teemu in the weeks leading up to the band’s late summer/fall 2023 tour to make the transition more seamless.
Recently, Kiko announced his decision to “extend” his absence from MEGADETH‘s touring activities, explaining that he didn’t want to “hinder any of the band’s plans or the hard work of all the incredible people involved in the tour.”
Kiko revealed in September that he would sit out the next leg of MEGADETH‘s “Crush The World” tour in order to stay home with his children back in Finland.
One day after Kiko‘s announcement that he was “extending” his absence from MEGADETH‘s touring activities, Mustaine released a statement in which he said that he loves Loureiro and respects and fully supports Kiko‘s decision. He described Kiko as “a top-notch professional, a maestro” and thanked the guitarist “for his dedication and hard work these past nine years, helping us to achieve a Grammy on ‘Dystopia’ and the additional awards we have received on this latest record ‘The Sick… The Dying…And The Dead’.” Mustaine added: “I could not have done this without Kiko Loureiro.”
MEGADETH played its first concert with Mäntysaari on September 6 at Revel in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The 36-year-old Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and began playing guitar at the age of 12. In 2004, he joined the band WINTERSUN. He has also been a member of SMACKBOUND since 2015.
In April 2015, it was announced that Loureiro had joined MEGADETH, replacing Chris Broderick, who had left the band five months earlier.
In an October 2015 interview with The Irish Sun, Mustaine was full of praise for Loureiro, saying: “A lot of times guitarists won’t know how to add to something — they’ll put something in there that’s kind of like tits on a bull, unnecessary. Kiko came in and immediately started making some really good suggestions that we applied (to MEGADETH‘s 2016 album, ‘Dystopia’). When he first came in, I knew he had the ability but I didn’t know if the songwriting technique and talent was going to show up this early on.”
He continued: “What was great about the suggestions that Kiko made was that they weren’t just guitar ones — he made a bass part in a song called ‘Me Hate You’ (that made it) really come along. In fact, that was one of the songs where he made a huge melodic contribution in the chorus and I said, ‘Man, this sounds like something.'”
According to Dave, Kiko possesses all the elements that are required to become part of a legendary metal act like MEGADETH.
“For me — really simply stated — if you want to be a musician, that’s one thing. If you want to be a rock star, that’s another,” Mustaine said. “But if you want to be legendary, you need to have three very important components: you need to have ability, you need to have appearance, and you need to have attitude. Without all three of those things, it’s kind of like trying to have a three-legged milk stool without three legs — it’s just not going to work.”
He continued: “I found with Kiko, his ability was astronomical, with his attitude he was very confident in what he did — there’s a difference between confidence and arrogance. In appearance, he was very classy and very subdued on the street, but up on stage he totally takes command of his performance. When he came up to Nashville to visit with me, I didn’t even have him play for the majority of the day he was there. I just wanted to hang out with him and it’s been a really long time since I hung out with a guitar player before I hired him. Usually I would listen to how he played and then I’d go, ‘Okay, we’ll work it out.’ I didn’t want to do that again. Hanging out with Kiko, and having lunch and kicking back and talking music was all I needed — I knew he was the right guy.”
In addition to Mustaine and Loureiro, MEGADETH‘s current lineup includes former SOILWORK drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo.
Last year in September, MEGADETH‘s latest album, “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!”, debuted at the top of the charts during its first week of sales, taking the No. 3 spot on the Billboard 200 as well as number ones on Top Album Sales, Top Current Albums Sales, Top Rock & Alternative Albums, Top Rock Albums and Top Hard Rock Albums. “The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!” was the highest-charting MEGADETH album of all time around the world, notching No. 1 In Finland, No. 2 in Australia, Poland, Switzerland, and Scotland, No. 3 in the U.K., and more.
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