MARTY FRIEDMAN Is Putting Finishing Touches On New Solo Album

Former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman has confirmed that he is putting the finishing touches on his new solo album. Speaking to Bob Nalbandian of the "Shockwaves/HardRadio" podcast, he said: "I'm still working on the record. I haven't really got anything to report as for when and where it's gonna get released, because, obviously, COVID changed a lot of release dates and event things.

"I haven't really talked about the record anywhere yet, because I wanna wait till I can tell people when it's coming out and stuff," he continued. "But I'm still working on it. It's really close to being done, but since we got so many exensions because of the COVID thing, I've been able to go in and re-tool it and just have the luxury of doing remixes and replaying stuff. It's really kind of the ultimate way to make a record."

Asked what fans can expect to hear on the follow-up to 2017's "Wall Of Sound", Marty said: "Any record that I do, as you know, as everybody who listens to my stuff knows, it's gonna be — at least in my opinion — one step further, deeper, more, above, whatever it is; just a new step farther ahead, advanced — just something I've never done before. And I've had the luxury of much more time and much more of other people's time as well.

"Usually, it's really hard to track down and nail down members and studio people," he explained. "You really wanna have your 'A team,' but sometimes the 'A team' is very busy. But now it's been a lot easier to get people on board who are usually really, really busy, so scheduling has been just a breeze. And [I] love that."

As previously reported, Marty's long-awaited documentary, titled "Spacefox", will tentatively arrive in 2021. The film, which is being directed by Jeremy Frindel, the founder of Substratum Films, follows Friedman's reinvention from lead guitarist in MEGADETH to one of the most famous TV personalities in Japan.

This past June, Friedman released a "Home Jams" version of his song "Self Pollution", which originally appeared on "Wall Of Sound". The new rendition of the song features Friedman, along with his longtime bandmates Kiyoshi (bass) and Jordan Ziff (guitar),plus Anup Sastry (drums). The split-screen video was filmed in Tokyo, Osaka, Phoenix and Baltimore, with each musician separated in his or her home.

Friedman's latest record, "One Bad M.F. Live!!", came out in October 2018. The album was recorded in Mexico City on April 14, 2018 during the final concert of Friedman's world tour in support of "Wall Of Sound".

"Wall Of Sound" was released in August 2017 via Prosthetic Records.