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From Megadeth to Japanese make-up tutorials: the bizarre life of guitarist Marty Friedman

The US musician went from homelessness to multiplatinum success with the thrash metallers – and then became a pop cultural icon in Japan. He explains the weirdest portfolio career in rock

Marty Friedman joined Megadeth in 1990 and helped the thrash band become a platinum-selling mainstream force that decade – one of the genre’s “Big Four” alongside Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax – but he walked away in 2000, and three years later he left the US altogether to start a new life in Japan, where as well as making music as a solo artist, he has established himself as an improbable but sizeable pop-cultural marvel. He has appeared in hundreds of adverts and TV shows, including Hebi Meta-San (Mr Heavy Metal) – championing the genre in millions of Japanese living rooms by way of Wayne’s World-flavoured satire. Last year, the stars briefly aligned as Friedman joined Megadeth live to perform a trio of songs at Tokyo’s illustrious Budokan arena – including Tornado of Souls, which features a famously intoxicating guitar solo.

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