MARTY FRIEDMAN Pays Tribute To BOB NALBANDIAN: The Man Who 'Introduced Me To MEGADETH'

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman has paid tribute to veteran heavy metal journalist, historian and documentarian Bob Nalbandian, who passed away on Friday, December 30 in Redding, California. According to Bob's sister, he was recently diagnosed with mantle cell lymphoma, an aggressive, rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma that arises from cells originating in the "mantle zone."

Earlier today (Saturday, December 31),Marty took to his Twitter to share MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine's tribute to Bob, and he wrote in an accompanying message: "Bob introduced me to MEGADETH, and for that I'll always be grateful. He also did similar deeds for countless others, as he was a walking encyclopedia of metal, and a trusted confidant to all. I'll miss my dear friend Bob. who did so much for others, purely for the love of music."

In a 2018 interview with Loudwire, Friedman credited Nalbandian with getting him into MEGADETH. Recalling how he ended up landing the gig, Marty said: "I had a friend — he's still a good friend of mine — named Bob Nalbandian. Right now he's doing some fantastic documentaries on heavy metal and stuff. He's a brilliant guy. He's been my friend since forever. He heard about MEGADETH's audition. He called me up and said, 'Dude, they're looking for a guitar player. If you're interested, call Ron Laffitte,' who was MEGADETH's manager at the time. I didn't know anybody in the band or Laffitte. And I called. And that's what happened."

In his December 30 tribute to Nalbandian, Mustaine wrote: "Sad news today, my friend Bob Nalbandian, the metal legend who helped me find Marty Friedman, has passed away. We will miss you terribly, Bob. My sincere condolences to his family and friends."

Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson also mourned Nalbandian's death on Friday, writing: "With deep shock and sadness, we here offer our condolences for our friend Bob Nalbandian who passed today. Bob was one of the first metal historian journalists I met when I moved to LA in 1983. A true friend, fan, supporter and lover of all things heavy metal, he did so much for our community and will be deeply missed."

Nalbandian started in the music and entertainment business at age 17 as the publisher/editor in chief of the seminal heavy metal fanzine The Headbanger in April of 1982, a nationally distributed zine which featured the very first profiles of then-unsigned Los Angeles bands METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ARMORED SAINT. Throughout the '80s and '90s, Nalbandian was also a contributing editor to several well-known music mags, including Metal Rendezvous, Creem, Music Connection, Hit Parader, BAM, Foundations as well as associate editor for men's magazines Platinum and Men's Perspective.

Prior to discontinuing The Headbanger in 1985, Nalbandian took on management for the Orange County, California metal metal band EDEN, signing the band to a worldwide deal with Enigma/Restless Records in 1984. In the 1990s, Nalbandian headed the West Coast office of Roadrunner Records, working closely with the label's cutting-edge artists at the time, including SEPULTURA, TYPE O NEGATIVE and LAST CRACK. After a year-long stint at Roadrunner, Nalbandian went on to work for Bizarre/Straight Records (Rhino/WEA) assisting label president Herb Cohen. Throughout the '90, Nalbandian also acquired license deals with major international companies such as Century Media (U.S. and Europe),Roadrunner Japan, Cherry Red/Hear No Evil/Universal Music (Europe),JVC/Victor (Japan),Music For Nations (U.K.),Bandai/Apollon (Japan),Polystar (Japan) and High Vaultage/Metal 4 Muthas (Germany).

Most recently, Nalbandian directed and co-produced the "Inside Metal" documentary film series (MetalRock Films) and the "Band Vs Brand" documentary film (Cleopatra Entertainment). These feature-length documentary films are available on DVD and all the major movie streaming outlets. The "Inside Metal" movies include "Pioneers Of LA Hard Rock And Metal", "LA Metal Scene Explodes", "The Rise Of LA Thrash Metal" and "Bay Area Godfathers" (each film is two parts). Nalbandian was also the founder and host of two major metal podcasts: "Shockwaves Skullsessions" and "Shockwaves/HardRadio".