gerrythedon

07/22/06

GIGANTOUR IS BACK:

'THE MOTHER OF ALL SHRED FESTS'
TO KICK OFF SECOND YEAR IN SEPTEMBER;

MEGADETH RETURNS AS MAIN STAGE HEADLINER
WITH LAMB OF GOD CONFIRMED

The fast and furious traveling festival that was hailed last year by Revolver magazine as "the mother of all shred fests" will kick off its second year in early September.

Look for the tour--the brainchild of MEGADETH frontman DAVE MUSTAINE --to launch in the Northeast and to work its way through 25 major markets before wrapping in mid-October, with Xbox's "Gears of War" sponsoring the trek. MEGADETH will return as the festival headliner on a bill that includes fellow heavy-hitters Lamb of God, plus Opeth, Arch Enemy, Overkill, Into Eternity, Sanctity and The Smashup all confirmed for these mostly outdoor shows. Other second stage artists will be announced soon.

MUSTAINE personally hand-picks all the GIGANTOUR bands, with a sharp eye on true musicianship. He says GIGANTOUR is a great place for like-minded music fans to see a full day of music on two stages without breaking the bank, and he's glad the tour is back in '06. " This is the concert that I, as a heavy metal music fan, would want to see," says MUSTAINE. "It is going to be something to look forward to each year, to see what kind of tremendous talent we can assemble, for GIGANTOUR festivals in the years to come."

Lamb of God's Mark Morton says, "Megadeth is one of the main reasons I started playing metal guitar in the first place. To finally tour with them is really exciting and it's a great way to start off our world tour supporting Sacrament . We've been dying to get the new material up and running on the live stage. We've worked so hard on the new record--it's really a great sense of accomplishment to see the new tunes come to life in a live setting. We're really looking forward to this one." The group's Chris Adler says, "Teaming up with Megadeth on GIGANTOUR is a metal dream come true. The lineup represents some of the most proficient metal bands and players from across the world and we are looking forward to joining forces and kicking ass. We're planning on a nice long set, introducing a lot of new and very heavy material from Sacrament as well as keeping the brutal live tracks from our previous albums. We can't wait to take the stage and destroy it."

Last year's inaugural GIGANTOUR was a six-week trek that was hailed by the Miami Herald for featuring "only bands whose musicianship matches their ability to melt faces with sheer volume and power." The Orange County Register agreed, saying, "...it does a heart good to see Mustaine able to buck the chameleon trend of rock and stay firm to his ideals, keeping the music the priority and not the image."

As for joining forces with GIGANTOUR, Craig Davison, Director of Global Games Marketing for Xbox, says, "We're totally jazzed about the partnership between Gigantour 2006 and our forthcoming Xbox 360 blockbuster, Gears of War ! Partnering a music extravaganza like GIGANTOUR with the launch of a mega-hit game like Gears of War captures the excitement around two awesome happenings for fans of music and video games!" Gears of War is a blockbuster video game exclusively for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system that blends tactical action with survival horror. Gears of War thrusts gamers into a harrowing story of humankind's epic battle for survival and is available this holiday.

In other GIGANTOUR news, Image Entertainment will release two-DVD and two-CD sets of GIGANTOUR 2005, which included Megadeth, Dream Theatre, Fear Factory, Anthrax, Nevermore, Life of Agony, Symphony X, Dry Kill Logic and Bobaflex. The CD is out August 22, with the DVD hitting stores September 5--just in time for this year's tour.

Stay tuned for more details, or check out www.GIGANTOUR.com , www.megadeth.com , www.myspace.com/gigantour2006 , and www.myspace.com/megadeth .

The current itinerary is below (note: exact line-up for shows subject to change).

September:
7 San Diego - TBA
8 Oakland - Oakland Coliseum
9 San Luis Obispo - Pozo Saloon Amphitheatre
10 San Bernardino - Hyundai Pavilion
12 Las Vegas - TBA
13 Phoenix - Dodge Theatre
15 Salt Lake City - USANA
16 Denver - Coors Amphitheatre
17 Albuquerque - Journal Pavilion
19 TBD
21 Milwaukee - Eagles Ballroom
22 Chicago - Congress Theatre
23 Columbus - Nationwide Arena
24 Detroit - DTE Energy Amphitheatre
25 Toronto - Molson Amphitheatre
27 Montreal - Bell Centre
28 Uniondale - Nassau Coliseum
29 TBD
30 Holmdel - PNC Bank Center

October
1 TBD
3 TBD
5 TBD
6 Tampa - St Pete Times Forum
7 Orlando - Hard Rock Live
8 Sunrise FL - Bank Atlantic Center

gerrythedon

FUCK I GOTTA GO!!!!!! MEGADETH & LOG!!!!

not having a close venue to here. Last year was in Irvine, Ca. I hope that I get to go.

Ergyu

jesus LOG and Opeth. I wouldn't mind seeing Megadeth too; but LOG and opeth are two of m favorite bands. I wish they were coming to Oregon/Washington.

gerrythedon

Aug 2nd:
New GIGANTOUR date added! Boise to kick off the tour

"GIGANTOUR 2006"

MEGADETH ~ LAMB OF GOD ~ OPETH ~ ARCH ENEMY
OVERKILL ~ INTO ETERNITY - SANCTITY ~ THE SMASHUP

North America
Date City Venue Tickets
September 6 Boise, ID Idaho Center TBA
8 Oakland, CA Oakland Coliseum On Sale Aug 5
9 San Diego, CA Cox Arena TBA
10 San Bernardino, CA Hyundai Pavilion On Sale Aug 5
12* Las Vegas, NV House Of Blues On Sale Aug 12
13* Phoenix, AZ Dodge Theatre On Sale Aug 5
15 Salt Lake City, UT USANA Amphitheatre On Sale Aug 5
16 Denver, CO Coors Amphitheatre On Sale Aug 5
17 Albuquerque, NM Journal Pavilion TBA
19 TBD TBD TBD TBD
21 Milwaukee, WI Eagles Ballroom TBA
22 Chicago, IL Congress Theatre TBA
23 Columbus, OH Nationwide Arena TBA
24 Detroit, MI DTE Energy Amphitheatre On Sale Aug 5
25 Toronto, ON Molson Amphitheatre TBA
27 Montreal, QC Bell Centre On Sale Aug 5
28 Uniondale, NY Nassau Coliseum On Sale Aug 5
29 TBD TBD TBD TBD
30 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center On Sale Aug 5

October 1 TBD TBD TBD TBD
3 TBD TBD TBD TBD
5 TBD TBD TBD TBD
6 Tampa, FL St Pete Times Forum On Sale Aug 5
7 Sunrise, FL Bank Atlantic Center On Sale Aug 5
8 Orlando, FL Hard Rock Live TBA

Note: Exact line-up for shows subject to change

* Las Vegas - 4 Bands only - Megadeth, Lamb Of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy
* Phoenix - 5 Bands only - Megadeth, Lamb Of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy, Overkill

MEGADETH.com

gerrythedon

updated [above post]

Some tickets go on sale this weekend...that sucks for Las Vegas & Phoenix [not all 8 bands will play...

I WILL NOT BE GOING.

dvduser6

I wonder if that means the bands get to play longer sets in Vegas and Phoenix. It would almost be worth a road trip just to see Opeth...

Rypro 525

i so wish they'd come to dc, opeth, arch enemy and lamb of god in one building, i never was a big fan of megadeth.

dick_grayson

same here. Opeth will be killer (even though Martin Lopez has left). I'm sure it'll be at some outdoor venue (merriwether, nissan..etc.) which I'm not a fan of, but I'll probably have to go just to see these metal drummers live. Daniel Erlandsson of Arch Enemy is badass live as well as Chris Adler of Lamb of God.

cactusoly

I think I'll pass. I just saw Lamb of God with Slayer and I've already seen Megadeth too many times. It would be cool to see Overkill, but I dont like any of the other bands on the bill.

Rypro 525

or hope both bands do a club tour. I think arch enemy was at 930 club a few months ago with chimira, and lamb of god was at recher in i belive august or septeber of last year.

harpo787

Martin Lopez leaving Opeth sucks...I guess according to the link I posted here, it was due to his health problems. That's a shame...I missed him last time I saw Opeth here in S. Florida (w/ Nevermore and Into Eternity) at the Culture Club, which must struggle to hold more than 200 people. Hope the guy is going to be ok.

I'm about to order two tix to see Gigantour in a few minutes.

Snowmaker

Any word on second stage acts yet?

harpo787

There's more than just the 7 or 8 bands listed on gigantour's page? I just figured that one big band would headline the 2nd stage and the rest would be the lesser known bands...with most of the big names being on main stage.

mndtrp

Hmmm... Fiddler's Green? No thank you. I will not see any shows at that venue. Come to a decent venue, and I'll see you, Dave.

gerrythedon

Gnarly Charlie’s Speaks With Megadeth Frontman/Gigantourprenuer, Dave Mustaine

"It’s not about going out there and making money and charging 100 dollars a ticket...Gigantour is about giving back."

“Mega” Dave Mustaine spent a few moments to update KNAC.COM on Gigantour, the upcoming Megadeth album, United Abominations, and how his son will carry the Mustaine torch of guitar-shredalocity.

KNAC.COM: Good morning, Dave. How are things?

MUSTAINE: Pretty damn good.

KNAC.COM: The Gigantour lineup this year seems to be less eclectic than last year.

MUSTAINE: Eclectic?

KNAC.COM: Wouldn’t you say it was rather eclectic last year?

MUSTAINE: Tell me how your using eclectic and I’ll tell you if it was.

KNAC.COM: Well, you had Life of Agony on one stage and Nevermore on the main stage. It was a mixed bag of different bands, from speed to death to progressive metal on up to Life of Agony...

MUSTAINE: Yeah, it was supposed to be that way, brother. Here’s why: I’ve done a bunch of festivals over my career, especially over in Europe. And, the European festivals—if you haven’t gone there, Charlie—they’re different, you know? They’ll have a lot of different bands on them. I played a festival one time and REM was headlining, then Oasis, then it was Soundgarden, and then it was Sheryl Crow, then Megadeth, and then Bo Diddley...and Faith No More was there, too. And I’m thinking ‘That is the weirdest lineup’, but you know what? It works. If you go to a concert and you see kind of the same bands, what have you done? You’ve just played the same record, ten times in a row. So, why not have a festival that has a bunch of different types of metal bands; hardcore, punk, speed, thrash, black, death, power…you can’t do it all every year. This year’s a little different from last year. But see, Gigantour is about a spirit. It’s about the spirit of the guitar and about the spirit of heavy metal. It’s not about going out there and making money and charging 100 dollars a ticket. The tickets are really low-priced, because it’s about a legacy, you know what I mean? It’s about giving something back, because my career’s kind of winding down as far as what I want to do that’s left. Basically I’ve done everything I wanted to do with my career. I would like to get the seemingly, uh … (laughs) I don’t have the right word to say this, but the unobtainable Grammy, because I’ve been nominated 7 times for that. That’s like one of the only things left that I need to get to complete my collection –that and a Diamond Award, but hell, that’s the kind of stuff Carlos Santana gets.

KNAC.COM: Putting a big event like Gigantour together makes me think that you’re like the Bob Geldof of heavy metal.

MUSTAINE: Oh my God! Do I look that bad?

KNAC.COM: No (laughs). Father Time has been good to you, considering the battles you’ve had with alcohol and chemical dependency. How are things now? It seems like that is in remission…

MUSTAINE: No. No. Let me reassure you on something. For me, there was something that happened in the ‘90’s, where the “sobriety police” went through the music business and anybody that did anything to excess was immediately branded a drug addict. And, to me I believe that there is use, abuse, and addiction. Am I in a 12-Step program, no? I made a personal decision a few years ago to change my life and it’s affected all areas of my life. I enjoy who I am right now—I’m no teetotaler. I have a much better life right now than I used to have. About the temper—when you get angry you get just as angry…for me, it was such an uphill battle in the music business for so long, because my previous band had a great opportunity and not everybody else had the same opportunity. In order to get to the top of the heap that’s that high there’s a lot of kicking and scratching going on, and unfortunately you pick up a bad reputation along the way. This is my way of making good for it.

KNAC.COM: How is your arm feeling these days?

In January 2002, Mustaine suffered from radial neuropathy, a compressed radial nerve in his left hand and arm, making it impossible for him to play guitar. In April of that year, Megadeth was disbanded.

MUSTAINE: It’s good—I’m completely healed with my arm and I’ve gone back to full on physical training, all around taking care of my body and my health. I was really active in physical training when I lived out here before because the person I would train with was legendary and when I moved to Arizona an 8-hour flight, round trip, when you leave the front door to when you return, if you’re going to go there for an hour to train, gets to be kind of a bit laborious.

KNAC.COM: Where are you living now?

MUSTAINE: I live in Fallbrook [California] now. So now I drive three hours each way to come up and train.

KNAC.COM: The injury had you immobilized—you were not playing guitar at all, right? The pain was that bad?

MUSTAINE: It wasn’t pain, it’s just the hand refused to take signals to the brain. I mean, for that matter, there’s a lot of radial neuropathy going on in my life (laughs).

KNAC.COM: Likewise, man. So you’re totally recovered. When I saw you play last summer at Irvine, for the Gigantour show there, you seemed to be playing as good as ever.

MUSTAINE: Yeah, I am. In fact, during the process of rehabilitating my arm I did a lot of rehabilitation with my playing, too. I had to learn to play again, so I corrected some of mistakes I was making.

KNAC.COM: Which songs are your favorites to perform live?

MUSTAINE: My favorite songs to play live—it kind of goes back and forth. Sometimes if I’m in Spanish-speaking countries it’ll be “Trust”, because I sing “Trust” in Spanish, and a lot of times if I’m in foreign countries it’ll be “A Tout Le Monde” because they all sing it in French. If I’m in countries that speak English it kind of goes back and forth between songs like “Hangar 18” and “Holy Wars” and some of the new stuff, like “Kick the Chair”, where people don’t know what to expect—they haven’t heard any new stuff and they’re listening to the new stuff and they’re kinda going “Okay, this is what it’s about, this new record.” The last record, it was on a record label that was going through some considerable growing pains, which ultimately led to its demise, and that’s why we left—we left before the bloodletting started. I think we were one of the first bands that made the decision to leave them. After that it was pretty much mass exodus. We had a good time while we were there, for a little while, and then it just became obvious we had outgrown the label. I’m really looking forward to seeing what’s going to happen with this new relationship with Roadrunner. I think it’s going to be fantastic. It’s been great, so far.

KNAC.com

gerrythedon

PREORDER "UNITED ABOMINATIONS" AT GIGANTOUR AND RECEIVE A LIMITED EDITION UNITED ABOMINATIONS LITHOGRAPH!

Beginning Wednesday, Sept 6, everyone attending the GIGANTOUR tour will be able to preorder a copy of the forthcoming Megadeth CD "United Abominations" (in stores early 2007) exclusively at the FYE booth at all of the venues. Along with your purchase of the new record, you will also receive a hand numbered, limited edition Megadeth lithograph which you get to have signed by the band at the show!

picture of litho http://www.megadeth.com/ualitho/UA-LITHO.jpg


That's sweet! looking, wonder if that's the album cover?

mndtrp

I didn't see the last cover, but Vic looks a bit odd in this one. I've never seen him with skin.

Snowmaker

I hope they didn't give Vic skin.

That'd be like giving Eddie eye balls and lips.

gerrythedon

Megadeth takes Gigantour on the road again

For those all about to rock, Gigantour will make you think. In its second year on the road, the traveling festival is once again providing fans with intelligent metal.

The brainchild of Megadeth front man Dave Mustaine, Gigantour is more than just a festival of metal bands. It's a demonstration in musicianship.

"Gigantour's not so much a festival as it is a spirit," explained Mustaine in an interview with the Tribune from Hollywood, where he's currently recording tracks for an upcoming Megadeth album. "It's a way of life and it's a way to capture what heavy metal stands for. I'm really proud to be in this genre."

Mustaine, who is in charge of every aspect of the festival, something he considers an honor more than a burden, said he can't wait to get out there and help eliminate the stigma attached to the genre.

"There's over 100 men and women that are out there every day that are under my wing," Mustaine said of the Gigantour staff.

"As a little guitar player at 13 years old, sitting in my bedroom, strumming along songs to a guitar tab book, I never thought that this would happen. Never thought in a million years."

Time is on the guitarist's side as he is in the best shape of his life, which also comes as a surprise to Mustaine.

"I was telling my manager just yesterday that the thought of me living to be 45 is insane. I'll be 45 this month," he said. "But, I look great. I still feel young. I'm talking about my physique, not my head."

Learning lessons from last year's inaugural stint with the tour, Mustaine made improvements this year.

"With a woman who becomes pregnant, if she exercises and takes care of herself and uses Vitamin E cream and massages her skin, she won't get stretch marks," he explained. "If she doesn't give a darn about what's going on and just lets it all hang out, doesn't exercise, she's gonna have stretch marks. Those stretch marks are forever. In business, stretch marks are bad for the infrastructure. So, you wanna grow at a slow pace and make sure everything's done properly."

Originally scheduled for release on Halloween, the new Megadeth album, "United Abominations," was delayed to early 2007 when it became clear the album couldn't be completed while the tour was being organized.

"We thought we'd get the record done in time for the tour, but we just didn't have the time," Mustaine said, adding that he was working from 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. in the studio in the week prior to the start of Gigantour. "I'm still working on the record right now. I'm in the studio right this second."

Having to record the album while putting the final touches on organizing the festival isn't as cumbersome as it seems, according to Mustaine.

"How difficult is it? This is my job and this is what I know and this is what I do," said Mustaine. "This is what I love. I'm the luckiest man in the world."

Known for his highly political lyrics and unbelievably fast guitar work, Mustaine says the new album is going to be special.

"For me, simply stated, it would be a return to form because I'm playing the stuff that I want to play," he said. "(I'm) kind of relaxing on the vocal performances and going back to my old style of curling my lip up and snarling a little bit."

This will be Megadeth's first album with Roadrunner Records, which has Mustaine excited.

"I'm really digging the writing process. I'm really digging the involvement of the record company," he explained.

With a reputation as being hard to manage, Mustaine showed Roadrunner that he isn't the bad guy people sometimes make him out to be.

"I'm really stoked because they didn't think that I was gonna be open to any suggestions about stuff," he explained. "I'm not the mean, bad guy everyone thinks I am (but) if you hurt me, I'm gonna hurt you back twice as bad. I'm not difficult. I'm demanding. I want the absolute best and that's why I want Gigantour to be so brilliant for the fans."

Mustaine's prerequisite for bands who participate in the festival always boils down to the ability to lay down intense guitar solos. Bringing in Lamb of God, Opeth, Arch Enemy and Overkill for the tour fills that.

"Obviously I think they're very talented or I wouldn't have allowed them to be a part of Gigantour," Mustaine said. "If the bands aren't talented and they're not good people and they're not ... doing it for the right reasons, they're not gonna be on Gigantour."

One of the big draws of the tour, which began in Boise, Idaho, on Sept. 6, are the fall dates. Most festivals run through the summer, but Gigantour hits the road when the air is cool and the leaves are changing.

"Everybody's getting ready to go back to school, they're all making new friendships and it's like 'hey, you know what, dude, you're a metal fan, I'm a metal fan, Gigantour's coming, let's go,' " Mustaine said.

"It's not a real dark, negative, dangerous festival. Full on metal. Full on good time. It's not like some of the festivals that are really scary and the girls come there looking like Morticia Addams. Who I thought was actually kind of sexy."

Mustaine plans on keeping the tour going long after he has decided to stop playing music.

"The bottom line is that I just wanted to do something before the interest in Dave Mustaine ends and my career is over," he said. "I wanted to pass the torch to the next generation and I also wanted to give something back to the fans who have supported me over the years. That's why the talent is incredible."

GREATFALLSTRIBUNE.com

gerrythedon

NOTE Salt Lake City venue has changed to E Center
Due to weather conditions, the show in Salt Lake City
has been moved from the USANA to the E Center

MEGADETH.com