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Megadeth’s lead guitarist Kiko Loureiro will miss the next leg of the band’s Crush The World tour in order to spend more time with his family.
In a statement shared on Instagram on Tuesday, a temporary replacement will fill-in for Loureiro during the group’s upcoming North American tour leg, which begins Wednesday. Written by frontman Dave Mustaine, the announcement includes a quote from Loureiro explaining why he’ll be stepping out.
“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,’” the guitarist wrote.
He continued, “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!’”
Mustaine assured fans that the tour will not be cancelled and that Mäntysaari would take the stage during their next stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico. “To my bandmates and all of our fans around the world, see you all very soon, back out on the Killing road!” added the band’s co-founder.
In February, Megadeath reunited with guitarist Marty Friedman — who played on the group’s platinum and multiplatinum Rust in Peace and Countdown to Extinction albums — for the first time in 23 years.
During an interview with Rolling Stone in 2022, Mustaine discussed the band’s 16th studio album The Sick, The Dying…And The Dead!
“I have spent enough of my life watching our fans struggle, and my heart just bleeds for them,” said Mustaine at the time. “And I watch how our opportunities become less and less. And to think that that’s based on the music that appeals to you is just fundamentally wrong. I try and take a lot of those things into consideration and sing about them, and in a way that will present the yin and the yang of the situation.”