Music DVD Review: Gigantour 2
Published February 20, 2008
Into Eternity comes in third with "Severe Emotional Distress." This Australian metalcore act is making waves in the States, recently releasing their second full length album with Killswitch Engage's Adam D at the helm. This is an intense band that really put it all out there, and the performance here captures the musical intensity that they possess. It is fast, melodic, in your face, and just flat out rocks. There is no denying their ability as it is put on display here.
Now comes the second stage headliner, bringing some credibility to all of the youngsters that have come before. Thrash legends Overkill were on hand to show what it was like back in the early days. These guys are not kids anymore, but don't hold that against them, they still know how to throw down and not back down. I may not be their biggest fan, but they are as heavy and relevant as ever. They are represented by two songs here, "Necroshine" and "Rotten to the Core." You really can't pick two better songs than that, both are rocking songs that are sure to get the pit churning with metal-driven fury.
Moving to the main stage, we start with Arch Enemy. This is a band that I have only recently been introduced to, but am quite impressed by the little bit I have heard. This brief two song sample is also quite enticing. Their live presence is dynamic; their performance is strong; and they are impressive overall. Their sampling here begins with "We Will Rise" from Anthems of Rebellion and is one of many songs I have never heard before. I like it. We close out with "Nemesis" from the album I was introduced to them with, Doomsday Machine. It kicks off after an awkward transition from the prior cut, not the band's fault. I think I like this song better, if for nothing else than I was already familiar with it.
Next is Opeth, a band that is more impressive everytime I hear from them (which at this point is precious little). They have one song on the DVD but it is a good one. It comes from the classic Blackwater Park and is called "The Leper Affinity." Opeth is not a thrash band, but fit in with Mustaine's desire to bring a variety of metal to the masses. If there is one word to describe Opeth's music, it would have to be epic. They cover so much ground and never become repetitious. It is heavy, atmospheric, technical, and all in between. Their style sticks out like a sore thumb in between the more metal style of the other main stage acts, but that is not a bad thing, it just allows their uniqueness to stand out.
Christopher Beaumont spends much of his time writing about entertainment when he isn't sitting in a movie theater. He is known around the office as the "Movie Guy" and is always ready to talk about his favorite form of entertainment and offer up recommendations. Interests include science fiction, horror, and metal music. His writings can be found at Draven99's Musings and Draven99's Media Center. 
- Music DVD Review: Gigantour 2
- Published: February 20, 2008
- Type: Review
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Live Concerts, Music: Metal
- Writer: Chris Beaumont
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Oh yeah, I forgot to add that the Arch Enemy tracks are the same for both the CD and DVD compilations. And great decision by Overkill (or whoever decides these things) to include "Necroshine" for the DVD. It's great to see those boys (ahem, grown men) are still around.
Hey Charlie! I received both, and the CD review should be up soon. I was wondering what track 15 was, as I could not get it to play, it locked up whatever I used.
I think Washington is Next was a good way to close out, as I think it is a new classic.
BTW, did you know that Overkill has a concert DVD of their own that just came out? I have a review up of that as well. I also have reviews of the first Gigantour up here, (DVD and concert).
No, did not know that about Overkill, so I might have to check that out then since I'm going to my local Newbury Comics to pick up a couple of dvds tomorrow (including Iron Maiden's Live After Death and Godsmack's CD/DVD). Thanks!
Always looking out!
I picked the Maiden disk up, but have not yet watched. I should, though, if only to prepare for seeing them live next month!
The Overkill disk is pretty good, recording is better for the Gigantour disk, but it is still pretty good. It was originally a bonus disk for the German digipak of Immortalis.
Just a couple things about your review.
You should really know more about the bands if you are going to do a post like this and give your opinion on something.
Into Eternity is not metalcore what so ever and they are also not from Australia like you have mentioned. They are progressive death metal and they are from Saskatchewan, Canada.
hey, who ever did this review made some horrible mistakes when it came to Into Eternity. Australian Metalcore who released a cd with the help of Killswitch Engage?? Are you kidding me?? First of all. They are from Regina Saskatchewn, which is in CANADA! They are far from "Metalcore", they are Progressive Death Metal, and their latest cd "The Scattering of Ashes" has nothing to do with Killswitch. This guy was not talking about Into Eternity, at least he got the band name right and the song name right, but thats it
hey, who ever did this review made some horrible mistakes when it came to Into Eternity. Australian Metalcore who released a cd with the help of Killswitch Engage?? Are you kidding me?? First of all. They are from Regina Saskatchewn, which is in CANADA! They are far from "Metalcore", they are Progressive Death Metal, and their latest cd "The Scattering of Ashes" has nothing to do with Killswitch. This guy was not talking about Into Eternity, at least he got the band name right and the song name right, but thats it
into eternity also didnt release there second cd recently, it was their 4th the released not a while ago (and none of them had anything to do with Adam fron Killswitch)
My apologies for the mistake on Into Eternity. For some reason I got their details crossed with another band, I have sent in requests to have it corrected, but they have not taken effect yet. I still like the album, though!
As for the genre, I stand by the what it sounded like to me. Genre labels suck anyway, they can be twisted any number of ways, generally I hear them different than everyone else and make some up when I feel it necessary.
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Hey Chris, it's funny how you got the DVD and I got the audio of the Gigantour compilation more than two months before its release (April 22). I'm supposed to get the DVD from my contact as well sometime soon and will probably hold on to both and review them sometime in early-to-mid April.
But what's interesting is that on the audio/CD I have, there are 3 Lamb of God tracks (instead of 2), including their hit "Redneck," and 4 Megadeth tracks (instead of 3), including "Peace Sells," which closes out the CD as an unlisted 15th track.
The other tracks have the same bands in the exact order as the DVD, but except for Lamb of God, all the actual songs are different selections from the DVD. I think that's a good thing. However, I hope the final pressing of the DVD at least has as many songs as the CD version. I mean, how can you not end a Gigantour compilation of any kind without a classic Megadeth song! (And I say this not knowing the track list of the original Gigantour comp) Anyway, very good review.
I guess you'll have to wait some time before you see mine, as I've told my contact I'd wait 'til it's closer to the release date to write it up. All I have to say about the CD version is, so far, so good (pardon the unintentional Megadeth-related pun).