DAVE MUSTAINE On Current Version Of MEGADETH: 'This Is Probably The Best-Playing Lineup That We've Had For A Long Time'

MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine took part in a video chat on Monday (February 6) during which he discussed the band's upcoming one-off global livestream, "They Only Come Out At Night", from the legendary Budokan in Tokyo, Japan.

"They Only Come Out At Night" will be streamed worldwide and fully live on Monday, February 27 at 6 p.m. Tokyo time (JST).

Asked what MEGADETH fans can expect to see during the livestream, Mustaine said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we haven't been to Japan for a while, and we obviously proudly are boasting a new lineup. And fans in Japan, they all know Dirk [Verbeuren, MEGADETH drummer] and Kiko [Loureiro, MEGADETH guitarist]. And they know James [LoMenzo, MEGADETH bassist] too; James has been over there with a multitude of different performers. So it's not gonna be like any of us are gonna go and say, 'Hey, look, we're gonna surprise you.' But I think the sum of the parts… this is probably the best-playing lineup that we've had for a long time.

"Usually when you're out with a new record, the person who's in the band is able to play those songs because they recorded them, but it's kind of hit-or-miss with the other material, 'cause it's not theirs," Mustaine explained. "They're doing the best that they can to kind of comprehend it, and then sometimes they just don't feel like it. I know there's times I've done cover songs of other people, and when it's time to do the solo, if I make a mistake, it's a new solo.

"I think the show that they can count is gonna be 90 minutes of MEGADETH music," Dave added. "We're hoping to play some songs that they haven't heard for a very long time and a lot of new ones they haven't heard at all. And also we're gonna be going to have an opportunity to meet all the fans while we're there. Not all of them, per se — I think it's only 150 of them — but whoever is out in the street in front of where we're gonna be, we'll be able to say hi and wave and all that good stuff."

Before the livestream commences, fans will be treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes video capturing the band's trip through Japan, leading into their first-ever live performance at the Budokan where they will be performing classic tracks, as well as songs from their current album, "The Sick, The Dying...And The Dead!" The show will then be re-broadcast three times, so fans around the world can watch at a time suitable for them. Thereafter, the whole performance will be available to watch "on demand" for another 48 hours, as follows:

• Live Show: 6 p.m. JST / 9 a.m. GMT / 4 a.m. EST / 1 a.m. PST
• Rebroadcast #1: 7 p.m. GMT / 8 p.m. CET
• Rebroadcast #2: 8 p.m. EST
• Rebroadcast #3: 8 p.m. PST
• On demand opens: Monday, February 27 11:30 p.m. PST / 2:30 a.m. EST* / 7:30 a.m. GMT* (*Tuesday, February 28)
• On demand closes: Wednesday, March 1 at 11:30 p.m. PST / 2:30 a.m. EST* / 7:30 a.m. GMT* (*Thursday, March 2).

Ticketholders will get access to the livestream, all re-broadcasts, and to on-demand replays. Fans can buy tickets via Dreamstage and watch all broadcasts and on-demand replays from anywhere around the world, except Japan.

For fans in Japan, "They Only Come Out at Night" is only accessible via Wowow.

Exclusive livestream merchandise is available to pre-order with tickets, during the livestream, and during the on-demand period. Orders will begin shipping approximately four weeks after the show.

According to the MEGADETH fan page Megadeth Of Destruction, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman strongly insinuated that he will join the band on stage during the Dave Mustaine-fronted outfit's concert at Budokan.

While appearing on the Japanese radio program "Next Guitar Hero Is..." on InterFM897, the 60-year-old Friedman — who has been living and recording music in Japan since 2003 — said: "I can't give details. But we'll play together … I believe it will be a magical night."

If Friedman's performance with MEGADETH materializes, it will be his first appearance with the band since he exited the group in 2000.

Mustaine has seemingly been on good terms with Friedman in recent years, with the MEGADETH leader stating in a Cameo video (see below) that he had spoken with Marty as recently as this past New Year's Eve.

Three years ago, Friedman admitted that money was a major motivator for him when he was approached about taking part in a reunion of MEGADETH's "Rust In Peace" lineup.

Friedman had met with Mustaine and then-bassist David Ellefson at the 2015 NAMM show in Anaheim, California to discuss the reunion, which would have seen him and drummer Nick Menza back in the mix.

Friedman opened up about his reasons for turning down the MEGADETH reunion in Mustaine's latest book, "Rust In Peace: The Inside Story Of The Megadeth Masterpiece", which details the making of the iconic record "Rust In Peace".

"My main thing was I'd be happy to do it, but I'm not going to take less money than I'm already making to do it," Marty said in part.

"I'd been in Japan for more than ten years cultivating a career with solid rewards. I was making money not only for myself but also for my management and staff. My manager has been with me fifteen years.

"Everything was sound and solid professionally, and when the offer came up to all of a sudden join MEGADETH again, as long as I would not be making less money, I was ready to go," he said. "But I was certainly not going to take a loss to join a band that, frankly, at that point, didn't seem like they had too much to offer musically. A couple of members of the band had recently quit, and musically I hadn't heard anything that they've done in a long time. I didn't know about how relevant they continued to be in the music business. It wasn't like MEGADETH was on the tip of people's tongues, at least not in Japan. I had reached the point where people stopped immediately connecting me to MEGADETH and were talking about the things that I had done in Japan."

According to Friedman, part of the reason he turned down the MEGADETH reunion is the fact that the group is largely seen as Mustaine's solo project, with members coming and going every couple of albums.

"Had it been more of a band situation and not such a one-man, Dave Mustaine-main-man party, I might have considered doing it for a little less," Marty said. "But, at the end of the day, MEGADETH is so much Mustaine because that's the way he engineered it. I didn't feel that kind of camaraderie, the four-man diamond, THE BEATLES, KISS, METALLICA. I felt like I would be going out there and tour and it was going to be Mustaine's big success. If I'm going to do that, I'm certainly not going to lose money to do that; I was doing great on my own in Japan."

Mustaine told Loudwire that he was put off by Friedman's financial demands when the topic of a "Rust In Peace" reunion was broached.

"Marty has a really successful career in Japan where he makes quite a lot of money," Dave said. "And this is the part where I thought it was a little weird, where he said he said that he has to pay all his team while he's gone instead of just himself. 'Cause I thought we'll pay you what you're making so that's switching horses in the middle of the river — it's no big deal unless you fall off. And then when we found out that he wanted to sell his merch, his this, his that, his this, his that, then he wanted this crazy amount of money and he wanted to fly first class everywhere. I said to our management, 'I can't deal with this.'"

In a 2016 interview with the "Eddie Trunk Podcast", Mustaine confirmed that MEGADETH didn't hold any rehearsals with Friedman while attempting a reunion of the "Rust In Peace" lineup.

"Marty had sent some e-mails saying, 'Oh, man, you know, the fans have this self-inflated importance of 'Rust In Peace' beyond what it really is. And I was, like, 'Huh?'" Dave said. 'So I didn't know if that was a backhand to the face of the fans or not, but he had basically said that if we were gonna do anything, it had to be better than 'Rust In Peace'. And he sent me over some links to some songs that he thought should be the direction that we were going in, and one of it was this J-Pop band with some Japanese girl singing, and I was, like, 'Uh-uh. This ain't gonna work.' More power to [Marty for being into that stuff]. Do what you want, Marty. He's a great guitar player. But I'm not gonna sing like a Japanese girl."

Thanks Marty. You helped in a big way. So @Megadeth and the @marty_friedman project, play Budokan in Tokyo. Sound fun? Haha! Love ya bud 🙂 https://t.co/0SzoFimmKc

— Dave Mustaine (@DaveMustaine) February 13, 2017