Published: April 23, 2008 11:32 pm            

Megadeth headlines Gigantour 2008

The third installment of the annual traveling festival, Gigantour, is in full swing and will be making three stops in our region over the next couple of weeks. The tour will hit Baltimore, Md., on Saturday; Detroit, Mich., on Saturday, May 3; and Cleveland, Ohio, on Sunday, May 4.

All within a morning drive, the tour promises to be one of the year’s best hard music shows. Revolver magazine has even taken to referring to it as “the mother of all shred fests,” due to their consistent inclusion of bands with superb guitarists.

Gigantour has included many of hard music’s finest acts, including Lamb of God, Arch Enemy, Anthrax, Life of Agony, Symphony X, West Virginia’s own Bobaflex, Fear Factory and Dream Theater, among a host of others. This year’s Gigantour lineup consists of newcomers Job For a Cowboy and High On Fire, as well as Finland’s up-and-coming Children of Bodom and Sweden’s highly successful In Flames. Headlining the show, as always, are million-selling heavy metal legends Megadeth, with new guitarist Chris Broderick (formerly of Nevermore and Jag Panzer) in tow this time around.

While many festivals include bands based on popularity or current trends, Gigantour features bands hand-picked by Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine. The bands are selected based on their musicianship, focusing heavily on the band’s guitarists abilities.

“I think that in a small way, we are cleaning up the environment of crappy bands,” Mustaine offers, laughing. “All of the people that really love this kind of music know that they can count on these bands to deliver the goods this year.”

Job For a Cowboy and High On Fire are the newcomers to hard music fans. Both have been making quite a splash over the last two years and have been steadily building a name for themselves. High on Fire play a style akin to early heavy metal greats Black Sabbath, while Job For a Cowboy, promoting their latest album “Genesis,” play a technical mix of many different styles. Dark, doomy and fueled by testosterone, “Genesis” is hard music for today’s metal fan, and their live show promises to be as much of a Goliath as their album is.

Children of Bodom (a band not seen that often in the States of late) and In Flames bring a new sound to Gigantour’s stage. Both are high energy, anthemic bands whose live shows are critically hailed throughout the world. Both are supporting April album releases on this tour, with In Flames latest, “A Sense of Purpose,” currently being touted as brilliant by nearly every major media outlet. In Flames are world-renowned for their amazing stage presence and tight sound. Their live show is not to be missed.

Megadeth, as previously mentioned, recently unveiled new guitarist Chris Broderick to their audiences, causing quite a buzz. The band are said to be “playing at a new level” with Broderick trading licks with Mustaine’s signature lead guitar work. The band will likely be playing songs that run the gamut of their two-decade-long career including the politically charged material from their latest album, “United Abominations.” One thing is for sure, no matter what they are playing, Megadeth always deliver a topnotch, professional show that is worthy of the ticket price.

Priced at under $50, this promises to be the best show you can get for your hard-earned money this year. If you are a fan of hard music or any of the bands on the bill, then this is a must-see tour. After all, you’d pay just as much to see any of them by themselves in a club or small arena. See you at the show!

        

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