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
Ah yes, we come now to the mighty Megadeth. A friend of mind once told that if you call yourself a metal enthusiast, you have to make the attempt to see the thrash metal legends. Tonight was my opportunity and I was not let down one bit. One thing for sure, Dave Mustaine and Co. came to play and give the fans their money’s worth. With no frills or unneeded political banter, they just let the music speak for itself.
Opening their set with “Sleepwalker” off their latest album, United Abominations (Roadrunner), the crowd of 3000 immediately welcomed them with plenty of cheers and horns raised high. The set itself included songs from their vast catalog such as “Gears of War”, “Hanger 18”, “Tornado of Souls”, “Symphony of Destruction” and of course, they ended with the metal classic, “Peace Sells… But Who’s Buying” off the 1986 classic of the same name.
Overall: I completely agree with my friend in that if you call yourself a fan of heavy metal, you should mark this show as a must-see. This is a great lineup that is stripped of the unnecessary side shows and brings plenty of metal goodness.
If you want more info, head over to to the Gigantour website or their MySpace page. This was only the third date of the tour so the destruction isn’t over by any means. The rest of the dates are listed below.
- Tue Apr 15 Dallas, TX - Nokia Theatre
- Wed Apr 16Corpus Christi, TX - Concrete Street Pavilion
- Thu Apr 17 Houston, TX - Verizon Wireless Theatre
- Sat Apr 19 Louisville, KY - Louisville Gardens
- Sun Apr 20 Atlanta, GA - Masquerade Music Park
- Tue Apr 22 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
- Wed Apr 23 New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom
- Fri Apr 25 Worcester, MA - Palladium
- Sat Apr 26 Baltimore, MD - Merriweather Post Pavilion
- Mon Apr 28 Quebec City, QC - Pavilion De La Jeunesse
- Tue Apr 29 Montreal, QC - Bell Centre
- Wed Apr 30 Toronto, ON - Arrow Hall
- Thu May 1 London, ON - John Labatt Centre
- Sat May 3 Detroit, MI - DTE Music Center
- Sun May 4 Cleveland, OH - Time Warner Cable Amp
- Tue May 6 Chicago, IL - Aragon
- Wed May 7 Milwaukee, WI - Eagles Ballroom
- Fri May 9 Minneapolis, MN - Myth
- Sat May 10 Winnipeg, MB - Convention Center
- Sun May 11 Saskatoon, SK - Prairieland Exhibition Hall
- Mon May 12 Edmonton, AB - Shaw Conference Center
- Wed May 14 Calgary, AB - The Corral
- Fri May 16 Vancouver, BC - Pacific Coliseum
- Sat May 17 Salem, OR - Salem Armory
- Mon May 19 San Jose, CA - Event Center @ San Jose State
- Tue May 20 San Diego, CA - Cox Arena
- Wed May 21 Los Angeles, CA - Long Beach Arena
- Thu May 22 Phoenix, AZ - Mesa Amphitheatre
- 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
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.









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