MEGADETH's KIKO LOUREIRO Shares Video From Rehearsal Sessions For 2022 Leg Of 'The Metal Tour Of The Year'

MEGADETH guitarist Kiko Loureiro has shared behind-the-scenes video from the rehearsal sessions for the 2022 leg of the band's "The Metal Tour Of The Year" with LAMB OF GOD, TRIVIUM and IN FLAMES. Check out the 11-minute clip below.

The 49-year-old Brazilian musician, who lives in Finland with his wife and kids, and his MEGADETH bandmates kicked off the 2022 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year" on April 9 at Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Last month, MEGADETH bassist James LoMenzo discussed the band's setlist for the 2022 leg of "The Metal Tour Of The Year" during a bassist roundtable video chat with Knotfest's Ryan J. Downey. "You have to take into account that Dave's [Mustaine, MEGADETH frontman] been through a lot with his voice, so a lot of the songs that we pick are predicated on [the fact] that he is healing correctly," the bassist said at the time, referencing Mustaine's recent battle with throat cancer. "So that's part of it as well. But it's a long road ahead. We're always swapping in songs. We've got a whole pile — they're all sitting, waiting to be let loose. That's the great thing about being in this band, is that there's just an inexhaustible catalog.

"I don't know how to say this delicately, so I'll just say it. The truth of the matter is when you go to see a lot of your favorite bands — let's be the fan guy; okay, let's go to see our favorite band… I remember when JUDAS PRIEST was doing all of 'Nostradamus'," he continued. "It was a good record, but it wasn't 'Hell Bent For Leather'. And I've gotta say that people wanna hear the songs that they love. Why wouldn't you play them for 'em?

"So that's the problem with a band like MEGADETH," James added. "And there are bands, as we move along — all bands, as you move along, you start just getting this giant catalog. And how do you get enough in there to give the core fans what they really want as opposed to the esoterics? You try and throw a thing here and there, but you've gotta keep the hits, man."

LoMenzo joined MEGADETH in 2006 and appeared on two of the group's studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame". He was fired from the band in 2010 and replaced with returning original MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson.

In addition to MEGADETH, LoMenzo has played with Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde and WHITE LION. For the past nine years, LoMenzo has been performing with iconic rocker John Fogerty.

LoMenzo played his first show with MEGADETH in nearly 12 years last August in Austin, Texas. The concert took place three months following Ellefson's dismissal from MEGADETH after sexually tinged messages and explicit video footage involving him were posted on Twitter.

Ellefson was in MEGADETH from the group's inception in 1983 to 2002, and again from 2010 until his latest exit.