Kiko Loureiro to miss next leg of Megadeth’s tour

Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro is going to sit out the next leg of the band’s tour in order to be present for his children at his home in Finland.

The guitarist released the following statement:

Kiko checking in here! Our new record ‘The Sick, The Dying, and The Dead’ and our ‘Crush The World’ tour have been great. The worldwide chart positions have been our best yet! We want to really thank you for that.

I have something that is difficult to share, but we always like to keep you informed with the truth. I have to leave the tour for now, to be home with my children, and to help them face the difficult challenges that arise from us being ‘Dads that work away from home.’

I found a guitarist, Teemu Mäntysaari, to fill in for me during the fall, and I think you’ll be very happy. He’s an amazing, incredible player. I have shared this with my partner in shred, Dave Mustaine, and to no surprise, he said, ‘Go! Go be there for your family and keep us posted!’

To my band mates and all of our fans around the world, see you all very soon, back out on the Killing Road!

Dave Mustaine has also shared:

Kiko has had something come up in his family life that requires him to miss this next leg of our ‘Crush The World’ tour.

We will not be cancelling the tour, and we’ll introduce you to Teemu on September 6th in Albuquerque, New Mexico, at the Revel Arena. We are asking for your support and understanding at this time.

Teemu Mäntysaari was born in Tampere, Finland and took up the guitar at age 12. In 2004, he joined the band Wintersun, and has been a member of Smackbound since 2015.