Teemu Mäntysaari has opened up the process of joining Megadeth, explaining how he worked with frontman Dave Mustaine to get to grips with how the band like to approach their guitar work.

Mäntysaari stepped in as lead guitarist in place of Kiko Loureiro on their Crush The World tour last year following the release of their 2022 album, The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! Loureiro had stepped down from the tour due to family reasons, and it currently looks as though he will not return.

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Mäntysaari has a rather impressive CV, having played in a range of bands before joining Megadeth (most prominently Wintersun), but despite this he says he “never thought something like this” would happen to him. “But at the same time, I’ve always felt like being prepared was important in case a big band like this did call me,” he tells Guitar World in its new print edition.

“I have a specific skillset where I can learn fast, jump into new situations, and be comfortable,” he explains. “I’ve always liked doing that. I love teaching, and I’ve been on many cover projects, so being detail-oriented is part of my skillset.”

Despite his wide range of experience, each band is different, and so Mäntysaari worked closely with Mustaine to get used to their approach to playing.

“[We’d] look at the small details of how they groove, the moods, and the technical side. We talked a lot about what Dave [Mustaine] wants to project, picking directions, being very aware of down-picking, alternate picking, and, in many of the songs, being aware of both.

“We also talked about things like dampening, the flow of songs, creating contrast, hand positions, and trying to get things right fingering-wise, all of which I enjoy doing. There’s a bit of detective work involved, and to get that information from the source in Dave was amazing,” he says.

View Megadeth’s upcoming live dates via their official website.