MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine has heaped praise on guitarist Teemu Mäntysaari, calling the Finnish-born musician "the missing link that we've been looking for for many, many years." Mustaine made the comments in a new interview with Finland's Radio City, conducted during MEGADETH's appearance at the TUSKA festival in Helsinki.
Mäntysaari officially joined MEGADETH in September 2023, stepping in after Kiko Loureiro stepped away from touring to be with his family. For Mustaine, the transition has been seamless. "He's been the missing link that we've been looking for for many, many years," he said, adding that the guitarist is "a national treasure" in Finland — "the first Finnish man to ever have a Number One record in America."
The frontman recalled how quiet Mäntysaari was when he first arrived. "He was very, very shy when we first hired him, because you go from being in a smaller band into a bigger band... But MEGADETH is not a little bigger band — it's a lot fucking bigger." Mustaine said he promised the newcomer that his life would change "to where you're gonna be the happiest you've ever been," and that the prediction came true: "We play like we've been playing together forever."
Mäntysaari's playing is a centerpiece of MEGADETH's self-titled 2026 album, which Mustaine says contains more than 40 guitar solos. "I think it was 45 or 47 solos on the album, and they're all really involved, complex solos. So it's a great guitar players' record." The record topped the charts in 11 countries — "so we did something right," he noted.
Mustaine drew a direct line between Mäntysaari and a golden era of the band. "It harkens me back to the days when we had Marty Friedman in the band and the four of us actually felt like a band," he said, crediting Loureiro for the introduction. He also stressed that a true metal pedigree mattered: "When you're a metal guy, I think you understand metal compositions more than somebody who... knows progressive rock or bossa nova."
Born in Tampere, Mäntysaari began playing guitar at 12 and has been a member of WINTERSUN since 2004 and SMACKBOUND since 2015. MEGADETH's current lineup is rounded out by drummer Dirk Verbeuren and bassist James LoMenzo. The band's self-titled album has been billed as its final studio record.