Metal Anarchy

During a recent interview with Guitar World, Kiko Loureiro opened up about his departure from Megadeth. The guitarist says he exited the group to spend more time with his family.

Loureiro said the following:

“It started when I booked a trip home to Brazil. The last time I’d been was in 2019, before the pandemic; I got to a point where I said, ‘I need to visit my family,’ so I booked a trip for the Thanksgiving period in 2023 because Megadeth never does anything around that time.

When you’re young, not married and have no kids, the mindset is, ‘The more concerts, the better.’ But my daughter is 12 now, and I want to spend time with her. I also want to be out there playing. When the Megadeth thing happened for me in 2015, I had a young daughter and twins who were newborns. I was always struggling with knowing I needed to be touring, but also wanted to be home with my kids and my wife. So the feeling of, ‘Should I be out doing this rock star thing while my kids are at home?’ kept coming up. And the more moments and important dates I missed, the harder it was. It got harder in 2023, especially during the three-month summer tour. So I went to Dave [Mustaine] in June, saying, ‘This is too much. I’m not feeling like I’m in the right place or mood to give 100 percent.’ It was complicated for me to say because I wanted to play, but I knew I needed to be at home. And, of course, Dave was not expecting it. We had just done a show in Florida with the Misfits, and it was right after that show that I talked to Dave. And then Megadeth management was there, and I let them know I could not do the September gigs. I offered to help find a replacement and do what was needed to help Megadeth be ready to go.”

He continued when asked how his hiatus turned into something permanent:

“My proposal was not to do the September shows and help them find a replacement, which turned out to be Teemu [Mäntysaari]. But then I had some situations with my kids and had to go to the doctor, and I felt like I wanted to be home.

And I get it — Megadeth must go on, right? Being able to pick and choose where and when I play is not going to be a thing. I mean, I guess it could be, but that’s not the way it turned out. Maybe they felt like, ‘Well, Kiko might come out on the next tour and say the same thing,’ which I understand. So I told them, ‘I understand if you guys feel that I’m unreliable,’ They kept asking me, ‘Are you sure?’ Ultimately, I had to take control because I knew I needed and wanted to be home. People who don’t have kids won’t understand, while if you do, you will.”

He also confirmed that he is on good terms with the band:

“It’s all positive vibes, man. I’ve been in situations in the past where it wasn’t, and I’ve learned that when you dedicate your life to creating music with someone else, you don’t want bad feelings.

I don’t want weird feelings connected to music. When you’ve make music with someone, you don’t want to disconnect over stupid fights. So while I didn’t want to be in Megadeth anymore, I’m still proud. And I’m glad about that – as everyone knows that it hasn’t always been that way when it comes to Megadeth.”

He added:

“Everybody knows that Megadeth is a place where musicians come and go. It’s not surprising to anybody that I’d eventually go.

People were probably saying, ‘Oh, if he stays, he’ll be there longer than Marty,’ or whatever math people like to do. No matter what, people would [eventually] say, ‘Kiko is past his due date.’ Some bands are more stable, and others keep changing members. It’s whatever works, you know?

It’s rare that any band stays together forever like U2 or Rush. So nine years was okay, and I did well. It could have been more – but I needed to be out for personal reasons. I had the freedom to choose if I wanted to stay or go. I made my choice. No regrets.”