Kiko Loureiro in Tokyo
Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro performed a career-spanning show in Tokyo featuring solo material and revisits to his Angra and Megadeth past. Backed up by several Angra members and a guest appearance by Marty Friedman, this turned into a fabulous evening.
Kiko Loureiro at O-East, Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan on 21st January 2026
When Brazilian guitarist Kiko Loureiro plays his guitar, it feels like the guitar is an extension of his body. He is a member of that exclusive club of truly great guitarists in the metal world, string-bending and genre-bending wizards. To this man, the guitar is more than just a six-stringed instrument. The guitar is part of who he is and what he is.
I like artists who aren’t stuck in the past but who also know where they come from and have no problem paying tribute to that. This Kiko Loureiro show in Tokyo was a great showcase of his past, present and future. He knew what the audience wanted and he gave it to them.
The first part of the Tokyo show was focused on instrumental material from his solo albums. He played the excellent “Blindfolded” and “Mind Rise” from his most recent album, 2024’s “Theory of Mind”, and other terrific songs such as “Overflow”, “Reflective” and “Dilemma”.
The show also included tips of the hat to the two bands that helped him build a global fanbase, Angra and Megadeth. We got to hear the Megadeth songs “Conquer of Die!”, “Dystopia” and “Killing Time” as well as, later in the set, “Tornado of Souls”, which he performed together with Marty Friedman. For some of the Megadeth songs, Kiko stepped up to the microphone to sing and thereby demonstrating he is more than “just” a guitarist.
Angra is a big part of what has formed Kiko as an artist. He was the band’s guitarist from 1992 until 2015, when he left to join Megadeth. This evening, his backing band featured Angra members Felipe Andreoli (bass) and Bruno Valverde (drums) as well as vocalist Alirio Netto, who has been announced as the lead singer for Angra at their upcoming reunion gig in Brazil. In addition to “the Angra crowd”, the band also featured guitarist Luiz Rodrigues.
Alirio Netto showed us why Angra has chosen him to join them on vocals. His terrific vocal performances this evening on Angra songs such as “Nothing to Say”, “Late Redemption”, “Rebirth” and “Carry On” were beautiful.
The evening’s special guest was Marty Friedman, who, like Kiko, is a former lead guitarist for Megadeth. They were part of different eras of Megadeth. However, in 2023, they performed together in Megadeth, when Marty did two special appearances with the band in Japan and Germany. Seeing the two former Mega-men battle it out with their guitars on stage again was highly enjoyable. It reminded me of one of my most memorable music experiences: watching Megadeth rehearse with Marty in Toyosu, Tokyo, a few days before they did the big reunion gig at Budokan. Kiko and Marty are two very different guitarists, but their styles are complementary. They seem to have fun together. The mutual respect between them shone through when the pair, among other songs, performed a great version of Marty’s instrumental song “Tearful Confession”.
At the Tokyo show, Kiko showed us that he is not only a fabulous musician. He is humble and he knows why he is on stage. He is on stage to entertain his audience. Instead of being all “me, me, me”, Kiko brought in world-class performers to help him deliver a great show that the Japanese audience loved.
