Ex-MEGADETH Guitarist MARTY FRIEDMAN Announces More U.S. Tour Dates

With his first live appearances in North America in more than a decade, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman recently mesmerized fans across the continent in support of his Billboard-charting, critically acclaimed 2014 solo album "Inferno". Now, Friedman is excited to announce that he'll return Stateside once again in early 2016. Following a solo guitar clinic in Mexico City, the second American leg of the "Inferno" world tour will kick off in Phoenix on February 8, with support on most dates provided by HOLY GRAIL.

Tickets will go on sale on this Friday, November 6 at 10 a.m. local time. VIP packages, which include the opportunity for fans to watch Friedman perform during soundcheck before getting a special one-on-one meet-and-greet and photo opportunity, are on-sale now in limited quantities at store.prostheticrecords.com/martyvip! (Please note: concert admission is not included with VIP packages and must be purchased separately.)

Immediately following the tour, Friedman will appear on the inaugural 2016 Axes & Anchors cruise, where he will perform two sets and host a guitar clinic. Reservations can be made now at www.axesandanchors.com.

Marty Friedman upcoming appearances:

Feb. 05 - Mexico City, MX - Centro Cultural Ollin Yolitzli
Feb. 08 - Phoenix, AZ - The Rebel Lounge
Feb. 09 - El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls #
Feb. 11 - San Antonio, TX - Fitzgerald’s #
Feb. 12 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar #
Feb. 13 - Dallas, TX - Trees
Feb. 14 - Little Rock, AR - Juanita’s #
Feb. 16 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade #
Feb. 17 - Jacksonville, FL - Jack Rabbits #
Feb. 18 - Orlando, FL - Backbooth #
Feb. 19 - St. Petersburg, FL - The State Theatre #
Feb. 20-24 - Miami, FL - Axes & Anchors Cruise

# with HOLY GRAIL

"Inferno" sold around 2,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 186 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on May 26, 2014 via Prosthetic Records (except in Japan, where the album was made available through Universal Music). The CD was the 52-year-old musician's first collection of material recorded for the U.S. market since 2003's "Music For Speeding". Among the guest collaborators that appear on the effort are CHILDREN OF BODOM's Alexi Laiho, REVOCATION's Dave Davidson, acoustic flamenco-metal hybridists RODRIGO Y GABRIELA and Friedman's pre-MEGADETH bandmate in CACOPHONY, Jason Becker.

Speaking to Guitar World magazine, Friedman said: Each of the guests on this record took a song from scratch — they would write it and then I would arrange it and add my parts to it. That way we were both invested in it and it's a little bit of a deeper experience."

Friedman described the new album as the most "Marty" record has has done in years. "I figured if I was going to come back to America, I was going to come back big and give people something they want out of me," he told the magazine. "And I know that what they want is not some avant-garde thing. What they want is just the most intense writing and playing I can do."