"It's hard to know what to expect. And it's devastating that I can't play the guitar, but your love has been so strong. I'm completely overwhelmed by all the love and support from family, friends and fans," he said in a statement, according to Billboard.
The 72-year-old Friedman, from the Bronx, New York, was one of the founders of punk pioneers The Dictators in 1972. Eight years later, he started the heavy metal band Manowar with Joey DeMaio.
He left Manowar in the late 1980s and has since toured under his own name and with The Dictators in reunion shows.
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