NASHVILLE |DATE: SEPTEMBER 22, 2006
FROM: TODD BRODGINSKI/KRISTINE ASHTON-MAGNUSON/MITCH SCHNEIDER
“GIGANTOUR 2” IN FULL SWING:
MEGADETH, LAMB OF GOD,
OPETH, ARCH ENEMY, OVERKILL, INTO ETERNITY
SANCTITY AND THE SMASHUP TOUR NORTH AMERICA DURING
SECOND ANNUAL FULL-ON METAL EXPERIENCE
Metal fans across the country are rejoicing…GIGANTOUR is back. The fast and furious multi-act festival created by MEGADETH frontman DAVE MUSTAINE and hailed by Revolver magazine as “the mother of all shred fests” is in full swing for its second year and garnering critical acclaim for its head-banging virtuosity. Headlined by MEGADETH and also featuring LAMB OF GOD, OPETH, ARCH ENEMY, OVERKILL, INTO ETERNITY, SANCTITY and THE SMASH-UP, the multi-act, two-stages festival kicked off September 6 and is currently hammering the mid-west, before wrapping October 8 in Orlando, FL.
MUSTAINE hand-picks all the bands on GIGANTOUR as a showcase for like-minded bands. “The gig is about a spirit, a talent,” MUSTAINE told the Albuquerque Journal (9/15/06), “and bands that are centered around the guitar and the lead guitar.”
Guitars indeed reigned supreme when GIGANTOUR roared into the Hyundai Pavilion in Devore, CA, of which the Los Angeles Daily News said: "Mustaine and crew played with a passion and intensity that fed directly from the adoring crowd, and throughout their 90-minute set, no one sat, as this was a day–and night–that demanded movement, whether in the pit or throwing up those devil's horns…Classic, new, thrash, speed, prog or black, there was metal for all at Gigantour" (9/12/06). Elsewhere, Salt Lake City’s Deseret News said, “Arch Enemy cranked it up…Opeth’s moody, symphonic thrash was the perfect antidote for Lamb Of God’s brutal assault…the technical crew did a great job with setup and strike. The transitions were smooth and swift” (9/19/06).
In introducing the pointed anti-war “Washington’s Next,” a new MEGADETH song from their upcoming 2007 Roadrunner Records debut album United Abominations, MUSTAINE told the Salt Lake City audience, “I’m going to get in trouble for this one–it takes the government to task, but someone’s got to do it.”
Fans who want to experience the 2005 festival on DVD and CD can pick up a copy of GIGANTOUR from Image Entertainment featuring unforgettable performances by Megadeth, Dream Theater and Fear Factory as well as Anthrax (CD only), Nevermore, Life of Agony, Symphony X, Dry Kill Logic and Bobaflex. The GIGANTOUR DVD set encompasses a special bonus disc with all the no-holds-barred offstage action: tour bus visits, backstage drama, practical jokes plus interviews with the people who make a national package tour happen, like tour managers, pyrotechnics experts and band members. The GIGANTOUR CD contains three songs not included on the DVD.
The rest of the GIGANTOUR dates are below. For more details, check out www.gigantour.com.
| Date: | City: | Venue: | |
| Fri | 9/22 | Chicago, IL | Congress Theatre |
| Sat | 9/23 | Columbus, OH | Nationwide Arena |
| Sun | 9/24 | Clarkston, MI | DTE Energy Music Theatre |
| Mon | 9/25 | Barrie, ON | Park Place |
| Wed | 9/27 | Montreal, QC | Bell Centre |
| Thu | 9/28 | Uniondale, NY | Nassau Coliseum |
| Fri | 9/29 | Boston, MA | Bank of America Pavilion |
| Sat | 9/30 | Holmdel, NJ | PNC Bank Arts Center |
| Sun | 10/1 | Atlantic City, NJ | House of Blues |
| Tue | 10/3 | Portsmouth, VA | NTELOS Pavilion Harbor |
| **Wed | 10/4 | Charleston, SC | Center Stage @ The Plex (w/Into Eternity & Smashup only) |
| Fri | 10/6 | Tampa, FL | St. Pete Times Forum |
| Sat | 10/7 | Sunrise, FL | Bank Atlantic Center |
| Sun | 10/8 | Orlando, FL | Hard Rock Live |
GIGANTOUR/MEGADETH Press Contacts:
MSO 818-380-0400
Todd Brodginski toddb@msopr.com
Kristine Ashton-Magnuson kashton@msopr.com
Brandis DeZon (tour press) bdezon@msopr.com
###
http://
GIGANTOUR TOUR: “GIGANTOUR 2” IN FULL SWING: MEGADETH, LAMB OF GOD, OPETH, ARCH ENEMY, OVERKILL, INTO ETERNITY SANCTITY AND THE SMASHUP TOUR NORTH AMERICA DURING SECOND ANNUAL FULL-ON METAL EXPERIENCE
