MARTY FRIEDMAN

Tokyo Jukebox 3 THE PLAYERS CLUB/MASCOT LABEL GROUP

Former Megadeth axeman reignites his love of J-pop

Marty Freidman’s career has been marked by a reluctance to do the same thing for too long. After a decade as Megadeth’s lead axeman, the shredder moved to Japan, embracing the music and culture of his new home. This third volume of reworkings of J-pop tunes from Momoiro Clover Z, Sekai No Owari and DA Pump is allinstrumental save for a cameo from singer Alfakyun on The Perfect World. But no matter – it’s a reminder us that few artists can make a guitar sing like Friedman. Vacuous pop this is not. There’s an intensity to his rendition of Grunge,

the theme from Netflix’s Demon Slayer that really gets the blood pumping. ■■■■■■■■■■

FOR FANS OF: Joe Satriani, Steve Vai, John Petrucci DAVE LING