Megadeth frontman, Dave Mustaine discussed Marty Friedman's departure from Megadeth, telling AXS:
"One of the main reasons Marty Friedman left Megadeth was because of the solo in 'Breadline' [off 1999's 'Risk']. That was a song where Marty wanted to do the solo so badly.
"And he did, but when we got the song back our management said, 'We don't like the solo.' Marty was already gone, so I agreed to redo it.
"But I told them they'd have to tell Marty they didn't like his solo and wanted it redone, because I knew it was gonna cause problems!
"So then we're sitting in the control room and the song comes on. Everyone's there, we're all excited. I'm fat, dumb, and happy because I think they told Marty it would be my solo, not his.
"So the song comes up and there's my solo. Dave Ellefson and I look over at Marty, and he's got tears coming down his face. I was like, 'Oh my God! You didn't tell him!'
"I felt terrible. Those are the little things that just fuck everything up. People don’t see that part of it.
"They think it's my fault. I mean sure, I had a part in it, yeah. But who forgot to tell him?"
He also said that Marty Friedman had a mental breakdown when leaving Megadeth, saying:
"It's no fun having to replace musicians. It's hard because, along with having to replace the person and the band, you usually end up having the personality loss. And very rarely do guys leave on good terms.
"Marty [Friedman] had a nervous breakdown and he quit. And I remember, it was like 'Did I do this?' And [David] Ellefson has told me after the fact everything that was going on with Marty before that happened, so I'm very happy to know it wasn't me.
"And a lot of the other guys when you have to let them go - you know, it's really hard to fire somebody and remain friends with them.
"Unfortunately we had to let some guys go. It's not because I don't love them and it's not because they're not good. It's because what our vision was was not a common goal anymore.
"I mean there were a couple of situations where one guy called up my fiancee and said 'I fantasize about being with you when I'm with my girlfriend.' And I thought 'Oh, you're fired.'"
