grimreaper36 Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 It's called Gigantour, and it's the brainchild of MEGADETH frontman/guitarist Dave Mustaine. Set to launch in late July, Gigantour is a six-week festival trek co-headlined by MEGADETH and DREAM THEATER, who'll be accompanied by other main-stage acts FEAR FACTORY, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and NEVERMORE. Artists for the second stage will be announced in the coming weeks. Gigantour follows MEGADETH's sold-out 2004 "Blackmail The Universe" tour in support of 2004's "The System Has Failed" — MEGADETH's tenth studio album — which debuted on the charts at #18 and was critically hailed as a brilliant return to form. Bandmates Glen Drover (guitar), James MacDonough (bass) and Shawn Drover (drums) will once again join Mustaine on the road. Gigantour — whose moniker was inspired by the classic 1960s cartoon "Gigantor" — will criss-cross North America, with stops in amphitheatres and arenas in cities including Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver and Minneapolis, among others. The tour is implementing the "fan-friendly" ticket price of approximately $35 each. Mustaine notes: "I think people may want an affordable alternative to the choices out there — along the lines of a pure music festival — like Monsters of Rock or Clash of the Titans." Mustaine handpicked the bands for Gigantour, with a focus on musicianship. "There are few very successful tours out each summer and in order to be significant, I knew the first Gigantour had to make an impact with top bands like DREAM THEATER, FEAR FACTORY, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and NEVERMORE." Mustaine wanted to "put together a festival that consisted of positive bands that play heavy music in a high energy environment." Mustaine comments on the other bands he's chosen for the Gigantour main stage. "I think that the variety of playing styles and the credibility of the different players is really exciting. I'm looking forward to spending time with DREAM THEATER — including my friend Mike Portnoy — while on the road. I think DREAM THEATER is unbelievably talented. I can't wait to see what their set list is going to be for this festival." Mike Portnoy from DREAM THEATER comments on the band's perspective on the tour: "I think we probably bring some diversity to the bill, because we're kind of like chameleons — we can fit into a lot of different situations. We've done shows in the past with IRON MAIDEN, SLAYER and PANTERA, and then we've also done shows with ELTON JOHN, YES and DEEP PURPLE. I think our fan base is very diverse like that too." Portnoy sees Gigantour as a "kind of a meeting of musicians and metal-heads." He adds: "I've been listening to MEGADETH since day one and always admired them and Dave as an artist — he constantly stuck to his guns and stuck by the music he believes in. MEGADETH are one of the pioneers of the genre." Gigantour marks the first U.S. leg of DREAM THEATER dates in support of their forthcoming release "Octavarium", due out June 7 on Atlantic Records. Mustaine first toured with FEAR FACTORY in 1994. "I think FEAR FACTORY and THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN are really going to add something different to the tour and bring some new people in." He continues, "The frontman of NEVERMORE [Warrel Dane] used to be in a band called SANCTUARY and I produced their first record." Mustaine is excited to hit the road and has a positive outlook for Gigantour. "I look forward to watching this develop over the years and seeing how we can turn this into something that's going to stand the test of time. And if this works, and it really works, maybe we'll take it elsewhere." Stay tuned for tour dates, venues and information about the second-stage bands to be announced soon. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TXREDSKINS44 Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 That would be sweet to see! I love Megadeth!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
codeorama Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Not the biggest Megadeth fan, but I'd love to see Dream Theater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimreaper36 Posted April 6, 2005 Author Share Posted April 6, 2005 I've seen Dream Theater twice, but only as a supporting act. They are listing them as co-headlining so hopefully they'll play longer than the usual 60 minutes. Their headline shows run 3 hours. They have some long songs and an hour doesnt get that many in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soliloquy Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Originally posted by grimreaper36 They have some long songs and an hour doesnt get that many in. No kidding. They could play what, 3 songs? :laugh: Big fan of Dream Theater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimreaper36 Posted April 6, 2005 Author Share Posted April 6, 2005 No kidding. They could play what, 3 songs? You're right. In fact I was reading that the title track from their new disk is going to be 23 minutes long. When I saw them in Sept they played 6 songs I think. It's great to have their dvds to see all the stuff I missed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimreaper36 Posted April 6, 2005 Author Share Posted April 6, 2005 A little bit more about Dream Theater's new disk. Rock band Dream Theater will release its new album "Octavarium", described by members as a "diverse" recording, June 7. "We wrote it and recorded it at (New York's) the Hit Factory, which is now closed -- we were the last session in that studio," guitarist John Petrucci told billboard.com. Asked how "Octavarium" differed from its predecessor "Train of Thought," Petrucci said: "The album before this we wrote in the rehearsal period, constructed all the songs and then went into the studio and recorded them. "The style from song to song was pretty consistent, that album was pretty dark and heavy and very riffy, sort of metal (or) progressive metal-sounding. This one we wrote in the studio, and I think that stylistically from song to song it's more diverse." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest SPACESKINS Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 SWEET!!!!! I LOVE MEGADETH & DREAM THEATER!!!!!!! ------------------ In history,Caesar was a Salad Dude. ------------------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickalino Posted April 6, 2005 Share Posted April 6, 2005 Wow....this concert is going to be like, a.....a Mega-Dream ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
In Flames Posted April 7, 2005 Share Posted April 7, 2005 oh man, the only thing better is if they had in flames on tour, for obvious reasons. Anyway, i love fear factory (soul of a new machine, imho, the best) and nevermore, have all cd's from both bands. I saw nevermore a few years ago, and they kick absolute a** live. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grimreaper36 Posted April 12, 2005 Author Share Posted April 12, 2005 Little bit of an update... "First off the set times on the main stage will be approximately 90 minutes for MEGADETH and DREAM THEATER each, 45 minutes for FEAR FACTORY, and 30 minutes each for DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN and NEVERMORE. "We are hoping to have a second stage of talent and as of now there is a list of fourty bands that want to be part of this wonderful summer excursion. Each one of those bands would play approximately 20 minutes, excluding the headlining band for the second stage, which would be around 30 minutes. Link Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GoCommiesGo Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 I can't wait to see this. I am a huge Megadeth fan. Can't wait to see Mustaine rip it up live and play the extended solo's in the songs. Swwwweeeeetttt. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. S Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 i dont listen to Megadeth much, but DREAM THEATER!!! Obviously a huge fan of them. I saw the co-headline tour of Queensryche and Dream Theater, each only played under an hour and a half, I hope that they will play longer, but Fear Factory and Nevermore are both bands that could do small headlining gigs, so we'll have to see. This certainly has to be Dream Theater's most random touring group, normally they stick to prog rock/metal groups, unless doing metalfests. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHUBAKAH Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 So you guys won't be upset if I throw a bit of Dream Theater into a few game intros this year huh? Sweet, big fan myself, and have everything they have done in my hard drive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. S Posted April 12, 2005 Share Posted April 12, 2005 Originally posted by CHUBAKAH So you guys won't be upset if I throw a bit of Dream Theater into a few game intros this year huh? Sweet, big fan myself, and have everything they have done in my hard drive. SWEET!!! I have been waiting for someone to use more underground and different music in their montages and videos. Im getting tired of the traditional aerosmith or rap. I also have all their officially released media, and a buncha their bootleg songs and videos, wish I could find it all though. I liked how they used "A Change of Seasons" for a 2002 winter olympic games montage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.