Megadeth's Marty Friedman claims KISS told him he was too short to join the band

Short Kings -- let's all take a moment to unite around guitarist Marty Friedman , who aside from his tenure with Megadeth has also revealed he had a chance to play with Rock Titans KISS , but was ultimately turned down because of his height.

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Friedman, who was with Metal behemoths Megadeth from 1990 to 2000 and performed on all of the band's releases from 1990's Rust in Peace to 1999's Risk , gave Sam Ash Music an interesting Metal tale while sitting down for a recent interview. When asked if he would have liked to have played on any KISS songs, Friedman said flat out, “I would’ve wanted to be on any KISS song!"

Marty explained further, “When they were changing guitar players a long time ago, I got a call from KISS’ people," who had quite a few inquiries about him that were not exactly related to his musicianship.

“They say like, ‘Do you think you’d be interested in auditioning for KISS?’ I’m like, ‘Tell me when and where,’” Friedman remembers. “They came back and were like, ‘We’ve got a couple of questions for you. You don’t have any facial hair, do you?’ No. ‘You got long hair right?’ Right. ‘You’re skinny right?’ Right. ‘And you’re over 6 feet tall?’ and I’m like, ‘What? I’m 5’7 but I’ll have an operation, I’ll do something.'”

In the end, Marty says he was completely let down when they told him it wouldn’t work out, but completely trusted the process. “I was so bummed,” he says, but admits, “I get why they did it. KISS is meticulous about their image, and having a height difference wouldn’t fit the band’s aesthetic.”

Megadeth's current lineup of Dave Mustaine , James LoMenzo , Dirk Verbeuren , and Teemu Mäntysaari is on the road now on a 33-city nationwide tour riding the wave of their successful 2022 release The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead! .

TIckets are on sale now -- take a look at their remaining list of dates below.

Remaining Megadeth - Destroy All Enemies 2024 U.S. tour dates:
Sept 3 | Tinley Park, IL | Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre
Sept 5 | Huntington, WV | Marshall Health Network Arena*
Sept 6 | Charlotte, NC | PNC Music Pavilion
Sept 7 | Raleigh, NC | Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Sept 9 | Reading, PA | Santander Arena*
Sept 10 | Albany, NY | MVP Arena*
Sept 11 | Boston, MA | Leader Bank
Sept 13 | Bethel, MY | Bethel Woods Center For The Arts
Sept 14 | Wantagh, NY | Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
Sept 15 | Richmond, VA | Virginia Credit Union Live!*
Sept 17 | Cincinnati, OH | Riverbend Music Center
Sept 18 | Pittsburgh, PA | Stage AE
Sept 20 | Noblesville, IN | Ruoff Music Center
Sept 21 | Clarkston, MI | Pine Knob Music Theatre
Sept 24 | Minneapolis, MN | The Armory
Sept 26 | St Louis, MO | Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre STL
Sept 27 | Southaven, MS | Bankplus Amphitheater at Snowden Grove*
Sept 28 | Nashville, TN | Nashville Municipal Auditorium
* Non Live Nation Dates