Back in 2005, Dave Mustaine set out to put together a package tour for the true metalhead. A tour that catered to fans of guitar driven heavy music, much like what Megadeth has been delivering since the early 1980s. The end result was a tour that included bands like Dream Theater, Fear Factory, Nevermore, Symphony X, and The Dillinger Escape Plan. It was a phenomenal tour that I was able to witness live and in person.
In 2006, Mustaine put together a second edition, however, the line-up did not seem quite as potent and I did not get the chance to witness the live show. All is not lost as a DVD highlighting all of the included bands is coming to store shelves everywhere, and will surely be the ideal way to catch up with what you missed or relive what you saw live nearly two years ago.
Now, when I said the line-up did not seem as potent, please do not interpret that as meaning I did not think it was a good one. There just happened to be a lot of bands on that initial go around that I love, whereas the 2006 version was not as enticing. This DVD features all of the bands on the US version of the tour (2006 also featured an Australian version of the package).
The DVD kicks off with The Smashup. I have to say that they seemed like an unlikely inclusion for a metal tour. Their sound would seem to be more at home on Warped Tour or Taste of Chaos. Be that as it may, they were here, and are represented by one of their better cuts, "Effigy." I remember listening to their debut album (Being & Becoming) and quite liking it. The energy on the disk translates well to the live show; however, while their musical performance here is quite strong, their stage presence seemed a little lacking. I am sure that had I been there my reaction would be different with a full set. They are definitely an odd fit, but the music is good, and the exposure to a different crowd cannot hurt.
Next up is Sanctity with "Beneath the Machine." I cannot say that I have ever heard of them before, but after their one song here, I am interested in hearing more. This is first rate American metal. It is heavy, driving, catchy, and just makes you want to bang your head (one of the goals of Gigantour). These guys don't have a lot of movement on the stage, but there is an undeniable intensity to their presence. Hopefully the exposure gained on this tour will get them some momentum. I am just sad that two years following the tour I am just now hearing of them.
Article comments
1 - Charlie D
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).
2 - Charlie D
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.
3 - Chris Beaumont
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).
4 - Charlie D
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!
5 - Chris Beaumont
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.
6 - Jeremy S
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.
7 - wes
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
8 - wes
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
9 - wes
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)
10 - Chris Beaumont
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.