Concert Review: Gigantour 2008 w/Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job For A Cowboy, and High of Fire at the Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie, Texas
Published April 17, 2008
If there is one thing I learned from attending last night’s Gigantour stop at Nokia Theater, it is that we need to go back to basics of a great concert package. No big festivals, no big hoopla, just four or five great bands and the masses will come.
This idea is obviously not a new one, but it seems Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine is holding those ideals closely these days as the Gigantour is now its 3rd official year. He organized this tour back in 2005 as a way to expose heavier bands that aren’t necessarily your Metallicas or Slayers.
This year’s trek included Swedish melodic death metallers In Flames, Finnish metal exports Children of Bodom, Arizona death metal outfit Job For A Cowboy, and California stoner metal titans High On Fire and of course, metal legends Megadeth.
Due to a previous engagement-my day job-I missed sets by JFAC and High On Fire. Having seen these bands previously, I can tell you that their live shows are always a treat. Perhaps I’ll catch them again when they come back to Dallas.
I did get there just in time for Children of Bodom. Having missed the last time they came through Texas on the Unholy Alliance tour in 2006, I have been wanting to see what they had to offer in a live show for awhile. Promoting their latest release Blooddrunk (Spinefarm/Universal) that was released the same day, frontman/guitarist Alexi Lahlo wanted to make sure Texas got their dose of Finnish metal. Sounding like a well-oiled machine, I was impressed that their combination of melodic death/thrash metal was delivered so effortlessly. Lahlo is a great guitar player but you can’t forget about Roope Latvala who can hold his own as well. Plenty of solos, plenty of keyboards, it was a great set overall.
The last time I saw In Flames was on the main stage at Ozzfest in 2005 and that set was horrendous. Since its not too often they come to Texas, I wanted to see if they could redeem themselves-at least in my eyes-with a great performance. Playing a great mix of old and new material that goes back to 1994, it was a great relief to hear their songs played in a more intimate setting.
Also promoting a new record, A Sense of Purpose (Koch/Nuclear Blast) they gave fans an hour’s worth of material that included songs such as “Cloud Connected”, “Leeches”, “Take This Life” and “Clayman”. The few drawbacks I saw mainly involved singer Anders Friden. Either he was real tired or very drunk because he tended to rely on his vocal effects entirely too much and at one point, looked like he was about to pass out. While the music was in tact, the vocals would go in and out too much and sometimes, get lost in the mix altogether.
- Concert Review: Gigantour 2008 w/Megadeth, In Flames, Children of Bodom, Job For A Cowboy, and High of Fire at the Nokia Theater in Grand Prairie, Texas
- Published: April 17, 2008
- Type: Review
- Section: Music
- Filed Under: Music: Live Concerts, Music: Metal
- Writer: Jerry Rojas
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Comments on this articleComments
Good call on Maiden and Municipal Waste..need to check out the other bands you mentioned.
if I got to do a metalfest of my own, I'd go with the following bands:
Iron Maiden
Dio
Carcass
Mastodon
Bad Brains
Yea... I was trying to practice what I preach by using a well known band accompanied by some excellent bands that aren't well known in the US & deserve some attention.
Though, my ultimate MetalFest would be:
Psycroptic
King Diamond
Opeth
Death(Chuck...R.I.P.)
Ironchrist
Spiral Architect
Necrophagist
Yngwie Malmsteen
Ron Jarzombek(Watchtower,Blotted Science,etc)
Gorod
I'm sure the list could go on...
My ultimate MetalFest (believe it or not I do have one) would be:
Sunn O)))
Boris
The Melvins
Mastodon
Meshuggah
Sepultura
Necrophagist---awesome band
my band got to play a date with them on the Summer Slaughter tour last year..tremendous musicians..
good call on Sepultura..at least the original lineup. I saw the newer one and while Derrick Green is a great singer, its just not the same.
Jerry... What band do you play in? Website??
-Necrophagist now has Marco Minneman on the kit.
While I think he definitely can play their old stuff, I wonder what their new material will sound like.
-Carcass is just classic grind! Good stuff!!
-Dio's "Holy Diver" will always hold a place in my heart.
All in all, I think all of these bands should get together for a tour, kinda like Wacken but here in the US!
As for Sepultura, "Arise" was their best stuff(imo)& I haven't been a fan since.
I'm more of a fan of Buzz Osborne w/ Fantomas.
Jerry... What band do you play in? Website??
We're called CHIDIED ("she died")and you can check us out here Chidied MySpace Page.
Ironically, we just decided to call it a day as of yesterday. Life happens and we decided to all move on to different things. Either way, check it and let me know what you think. I did vocals for over 5 years with them.
Carcass is just classic grind! Good stuff!!
I just love this band. "Heartwork" is such a killer record. Makes me wish I could head to Germany this summer to see their reunion show.
Dio's "Holy Diver" will always hold a place in my heart.
I saw Dio w/Iron Maiden & Motorhead back in 2003..one of the best shows EVER. That song is definitely one of his best but I got a special place for "Rainbow in the Dark"
All in all, I think all of these bands should get together for a tour, kinda like Wacken but here in the US!
I think they should. I mean, indie and alt-rock got plenty of festivals like Cochella, Lollapalooza, Bonneroo, etc. Why can't it just be one big festival in one city?
As for Sepultura, "Arise" was their best stuff(imo)& I haven't been a fan since.
yeah, its hard to get into but then again, I wasn't much of a Soulfly fan either. Still haven't check out the Cavalera Conspiracy.
I will definitely check out your myspace page...Thanks!
I think they should. I mean, indie and alt-rock got plenty of festivals like Cochella, Lollapalooza, Bonneroo, etc. Why can't it just be one big festival in one city?
I Hear Ya!! I certainly can appreciate what Dave Mustaine is doing for the Metal community but I think someone with not only the old school cred but also the networking capability should put together one these big MetalFests...Call it:
METALFEAST!
http://www.heavymtl.com/
http://www.heavymtl.com/
Nice try... Too much crap on that bill for my taste!
I would take Maiden,Anthrax & Overkill then I would add:
Iced Earth
Opeth
Municipal Waste
Bloodbath
Kreator
Psycroptic
Carcass
I saw that Maiden/Dio/Motorhead show in Long Beach, and I thought Dio wasn't able to hold his own between the two. Came off as slightly cartoonish.
Saw Mastadon at Vegoose last year. Good show even if it was odd seeing them in the sunshine on an open field.
Doesn't Ozzfest count as a metal tour regardless of what Sharon has done to it?
Yea Jordan, I've tried to listen to them & something just kind of bores me. They are one of the few bands that I can say aren't bad just not for me...
Ozzfest?? More like snOozzeFest... Nu-Metal & Festival don't mix. Plus, there were never any real interesting bands on the bill.
I guess I would just love a real MetalFest with some real obscure bands:
Arsis
Neuraxis
Gorod
Coprofago
Gory Blister
Quo Vadis
Psycroptic - again..Because I f*cking love 'em - They are absolutely f*cking crazy & would love to see them live!
hey brian, do you just ignore the vocals on some of that stuff? i mean, i can totally dig the athleticism of the Psycroptic, but those vocals...i'd like it better if they were just not there at all.
Mark, I hear ya...But, considering they are from Tasmania... I think they are rather appropriate, Taz-Like. Seriously? Sometimes I don't pay attention to them. I haven't read the lyrics to their songs yet but when I do, that's when I'll really appreciate the growling more. For me, it becomes an art form sometimes when I don't like the style because I can understand that it takes alot to pull those types of vocals off. I guess, I feel, in order to appreciate the voice as a full range instrument you really can't dismiss this style of singing.
i suppose that's true (the part about the voice being a full range instrument), as i've heard metal where the vocalist uses more textures than just the growl.
on the other hand, there are records where the voice stays right there from start to finish. that's where i have no patience for it.
Jerry, Great Vox on that '07 demo. Drummer was pretty damn good too.
If you don't mind the critic? Maybe you two should start another project, have a tighter/sicker metal guitarist especially if there is going to be only one(no offense) and find a bassist like Tony Choy or Sean Malone. This type of bass would really fill the sound & give you "fusion" feel as well as being fast.
For real..You shouldn't put down the mic. (More Criticism)Just my opinion,because I think you have a great voice & range.. You should abandon some of those hardcore traits & work on your growling range(highs). The hardcore sound doesn't really get the cred anymore in the metal scene like it used to. Unfortunately, alot of sh!tty emo/wannabe metal bands used that sound that God Forbid made popular. My point? You don't wanna end up on Victory Records.
Jerry, Great Vox on that '07 demo. Drummer was pretty damn good too. If you don't mind the critic? Maybe you two should start another project, have a tighter/sicker metal guitarist especially if there is going to be only one(no offense) and find a bassist like Tony Choy or Sean Malone. This type of bass would really fill the sound & give you "fusion" feel as well as being fast.
Brian, thanks for the kind words homie. He is indeed a great drummer. He actually played with A Dozen Furies before and toured on Ozzfest in 2005. He is at the point in life where he is more concetrated on work. I wouldn't doubt one bit if he hooks up with another band down the road. He is a freakin' machine live.
For real..You shouldn't put down the mic. (More Criticism)Just my opinion,because I think you have a great voice & range.. You should abandon some of those hardcore traits & work on your growling range(highs). The hardcore sound doesn't really get the cred anymore in the metal scene like it used to. Unfortunately, alot of sh!tty emo/wannabe metal bands used that sound that God Forbid made popular. My point? You don't wanna end up on Victory Records.
Honestly, I appreciate the criticism and opinions openly. I guess because I grew up loving so much punk and hardcore, it tends to come out often in the type of music we were doing. I can see where it can become cookie-cutter to a degree and sound like a few bands on the Victory roster.
Since I don't play guitar myself, I mainly went by what our guitarist was writing and alot it did sound like Unearth, Lamb of God, etc. Honestly, I got a bit bored and wanted to challenge myself vocally but alas, it wasn't meant to be with this band.
I still plan on doing some stuff down the road but not right now. I'm taking a break from being in a band. If I do get something going again, I will keep all the heavy metal enthusiasts up to date for sure.
I just wanted to say that it's Alexi LAIHO :) not Lahlo ...which is the first time I've seen it spelt that way haha
-- Jax
I just wanted to say that it's Alexi LAIHO :) not Lahlo ...which is the first time I've seen it spelt that way haha -- Jax
oh wow..didn't catch that. oh well, CoB brought it live..definitely a fan of that band now for sure.
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I guess my only complaint is that Dave Mustaine could've used this opportunity to showcase some really awesome unknown bands. I give him credit for putting a decent package together but I still think this country is not ready for a real ballsy metalfest!(my opinion)
The Guppusmaximus MetalFest:
Bloodbath
Psycroptic
Iron Maiden
Municipal Waste
Blotted Science