“Inferno”: Friedman’s Flaming Hot New Video

The subplot to Marty Friedman’s upcoming album of instru-metal rippage involves his former partner in shred, Jason Becker: For the first time since two albums as Cacophony 25 years ago, Friedman and Becker have collaborated on a new jam. It was a few years after their friendly split that Becker was rendered unable to even pick up a guitar by Lou Gehrig’s Disease, while Friedman’s stock was peaking as ace sideman in Megadeth’s biggest era.

As told in Not Dead Yet, the awesome documentary about Becker’s battle (spoiler: Becker grapples the fatal disease to a draw, what a stud), he is unable to move or speak, but communicates, composes, and charms anyway. So for Friedman’s album, the parts he created are performed by a mutual friend, and we can predict that his music expresses something that most people have never felt.

To some extent, the same goes for Friedman: Most of us aren’t slight white guys living the life of a Japanese rock icon, lending an outsider’s perspective to an insular culture on popular chat shows, and modeling your look after teen goth girls like that breed of Japanese rocker does. Keep that in mind while rocking Friedman’s new video, for maybe there’s a deep observation about humanity in all the footage of Friedman mean-mugging like Tommy Shaw while a quartet of fleshy girls take turns sprinting NYC sidewalks like they’re late for Hot Topic. You never know!

Marty Friedman’s Inferno is out May 27 via Prosthetic. Pre-orders here.