Introduction is the third studio album by guitarist
Marty Friedman. It was released on November 8, 1994, through
Shrapnel Records in the United States and
Roadrunner Records in Europe. It is Friedman's second album to feature
Nick Menza on drums; both Friedman and Menza were members of
Megadeth at the time. Additionally, Nick's father
Don Menza plays
shakuhachi on the album. Introduction was released just one week after the Megadeth album Youthanasia.[1]
Robert Taylor at
AllMusic gave Introduction 4.5 stars out of 5, calling it "An unexpected masterpiece in a genre that could use more releases such as this." The album was described as having built on the formula set out in Friedman's previous album, Scenes (1992), but "with more maturity and musical diversity. Themes are not just introduced and abandoned in favor of gratuitous technical noodling, rather the compositions are thoughtfully explored and brought to a natural conclusion."[2]