Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine Issues Statement on Kiko Loureiro’s Extended Absence

It was recently revealed that guitarist Kiko Loureiro‘s absence from Megadeth would be further extended upon the agreement of both himself and the band. Now, Megadeth’s leader Dave Mustaine has shared further insight upon the group’s inner working concerning the guitarist’s absence in a statement of his own.

In Loureiro’s initial statement, he commented that it was “agreed that it is the right move to extend my absence,” while later speaking about the last nine years in the band as being “an unbelievable journey, filled with countless ‘pinch-me’ moments.”

Upon his initial absence, the group recruited Teemu Mäntysaari to fill-in while Loureiro was away, and the move has worked out well so far. Loureiro also commented, “I don’t want to hinder any of the band’s plans or the hard work of all the incredible people involved in the tour.”

According to Reddit, Mustaine’s statement was initially posted and later deleted on Instagram. It was also shared online through media personality Mitch Lafon, and it reads as follows:

Hey Droogies,

Last week I received a call from my partner, Kiko Loureiro, and we spoke for a while. I asked him how things were going regarding the important issues that led to his absence from our previous run, which was necessary for him to be with his family.

I want to update you now on what Kiko shared with me. But before I do, want you to know that I love, respect, and fully support Kiko’s decision. He has emphasized his love for me, Megadeth, and all of you, our fans.

As a reminder, Kiko had to leave the tour last August to handle some very important and private family business. He was conflicted but appreciative when I told him that he needed to go to take care of his family. He agreed but was still concerned about us – meaning the fans, and Megadeth. I told him at the time, “Go! Kiko, you can never regain this time with your family, I know first hand…l paid the price myself”. Eventually, he agreed.

Kiko is a top-notch professional, a maestro – and he did not want to hurt me or Megadeth. We came up with a solution to find a fill-in for him during that time and that’s when he presented and trained Teemu Maantasary to take over for us. In the beginning, this was only going to be until the first week of October 2023. However, things rarely turn out the way they are planned.

The 2023 Tour is over, and it was long and arduous. Last year saw a substantial amount of touring, and it appears that 2024 is gearing up to be even more intense, with extensive touring commitments keeping us on the road for most of the year.

We have had many conversations with Kiko about this and they have all been very positive. Kiko is going to remain on an extended leave of absence, due to our heavy touring commitments next year and we are going to continue to move forward with Teemu Maantysari as the guitar player for Megadeth.

I would like to thank Kiko for his dedication and hard work these past 9 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”.

I could not have done this without Kiko Loureiro. We hope to see all of you supporting Kiko in his next endeavors, and we want to see you next year out on the Killing Road. We have exciting plans to share with all of you in our next newsletter.

Dave Mustaine

READ MORE: Megadeth Guitarist Kiko Loureiro Pulls Out of Tour, Fill-In Member Announced

Louriero first joined Megadeth in 2015, providing guitar and backing vocals for the band. He’s since appeared on their Dystopia album, which yielded the Grammy-winning title track, while also rocking on 2022’s The Sick, The Dying …. and the Dead.

There will be some time before the band returns to the concert stage as they currently don’t have any dates on the books until April 6 in Lima, Peru next year. The remainder of their tour dates can also be found at this location.

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