Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine praises once more Teemu Mäntysaari

Guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, known for Smackbound and Wintersun among others, got a big job towards the end of 2023 when he joined thrash metal giants Megadeth. Mäntysaari replaced Kiko Loureiro, who left the band.

The band’s leader Dave Mustaine has already expressed his satisfaction with Mäntysaari‘s work on a few occasions. Mustaine told Rock Hard Greece that he believes Mäntysaari is involved in the band’s songwriting process:

Yes, I do. I think he’s gonna be a great addition to Megadeth. He already has. We’re playing more songs now than we were playing before. And that has nothing negative to say about any of the previous lineups. It just says that he knew more about the band and understands the metal backbone of so many of these songs more than some of the other people would understand it. When you’re a metal guy, I think you understand metal compositions more than somebody who, say for example, knows progressive rock like Chris Broderick does, or somebody who knows bossa nova, which Kiko does, or somebody that plays jazzy, like Glen Drover would play, maybe Al Pitrelli. These guys all have their strengths. I’ve often thought, although I’ve never said it, I do believe that when somebody gets singled out by me, that’s pretty much it for them. They’ve been indoctrinated into the world of great guitar players, and from that moment on, their life will change.

Talking about Loureiro leaving instead Mustaine stated:

Well, it wasn’t really a surprise, because it started to become clear that his family was gonna need him. And I’m a dad too, so I saw it and I knew that his wife and babies all needed their daddy. And Kiko is a good husband, he’s a good dad, and he needed to do what was right for him and for his family. And I applaud him for doing what he did. A lot of people would not have the guts to walk away from being a rock and roll star to take care of their kids. They would somehow sacrifice something, and it probably would not be their family.