Megadeth to Continue with Wintersun Guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari Into 2024
Over the weekend, Megadeth guitarist Kiko Loureiro announced that he would have to extend his leave of absence from the band due to familial obligations. Though his statement a couple days ago sounded like a final farewell, it actually was more of a “see you soon” kind of thing.
In a bid to further clear the air as to what the band will do moving forward, Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine issued a measured and mature statement on the official Instagram page.
“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, I 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…I 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 Mäntysaari 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 Mäntysaari 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.”
So the long and the short of it is that the band intends on moving on with their commitments without Loureiro. That being unsaid, it’s unclear if that’s forever or if it’s just until his familial problems get sorted out. Either way, it seems like his replacement, Wintersun guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, has handled the job pretty well.
With 2024 looking like a crazy year for Megadeth’s touring plans, including one night in Buenos Aires that’s supposed to come with a “big surprise,” it makes sense that the plan is to forge ahead without Loureiro.
Crush The World Tour 2024
Sat April 6 Lima, Peru Arena 1
Tu April 9 Santiago, Chile Movistar Arena
Thu April 11 Montevideo, Uruguay Arena Antel
Sat April 13 Buenos Aires, Argentina Movistar Arena
Tue April 16 Asuncion, Paraguay Jockey Club
Thu April 18 São Paulo, Brazil Espaco Unimed
Sun April 21 Bogota, Colombia Movistar Arena
Tue April 23 San Salvador, El Salvador Complejo Cuscatlan
Thu April 25 Ciudad de México, México Arena Ciudad de México
Sat April 27 Monterrey, México Arena Monterrey
