Gigantour

Gigantour is the name of a six-week traveling heavy metal music festival organized by Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, which will visit several cities throughout the United States and Canada starting late July 2005. The bands to appear at the festival - Megadeth, Dream Theater (the trek's co-headliners), Fear Factory, The Dillinger Escape Plan and Nevermore - were chosen by Mustaine because he wanted to "put together a festival that consisted of positive bands that play heavy music in a high energy environment." The tour comes after a break from Megadeth's last tour in support of their latest offering, The System Has Failed, and coincides with the release of Dream Theater's eighth studio album, Octavarium.

A second stage will cater to fans of slightly less prominent -- but no-less respected -- bands, with Dry Kill Logic, Life Of Agony, Bobaflex and Symphony X already confirmed to play. For the last five shows, Anthrax will replace Dream Theater on the first stage.

Among the stated goals of the tour are to cater to fans of many different styles of metal, as well as introduce fans to less familiar acts, such as The Dillinger Escape Plan, Symphony X, and Nevermore.

Announced tour dates and locations are as follows:

Date		City	Venue
July	21	Fresno, CA	Selland Arena
	22	Las Vegas, NV	Thomas and Mack
	23	Phoenix, AZ	Cricket Amphitheatre
	24	Los Angeles, CA	Verizon Wireless
	26	Sacramento, CA	The Cove
	28	San Diego, CA	Open Air Theater
	29	Tucson, AZ	Casino Anselmo
	30	Albuquerque, NM	Journal Amphitheatre
August	2	Dallas, TX	Nokia Live
	3	Corpus Christi, TX	Concrete Street Amp
	5	Atlanta, GA	Gwinnett
	6	Orlando, FL	Hard Rock Live
	7	West Palm Beach, FL	Sound Advice Amphitheatre
	8	Tampa, FL	St Pete's Times Forum
	10	Detroit, MI	DTE Energy Amphitheatre
	11	Ft. Wayne, IN	Coliseum Expo
	12	Chicago, IL	Tweeter Center
	13	Milwaukee, WI	Eagles Ballroom Complex
	14	Cleveland, OH	Tower City Amphitheatre
	17	Pittsburgh, PA	Chevrolet, Amphitheatre
	19	Portland, ME	Civic Center
	20	Manchester, NH	Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
	21	Poughkeepsie, NY	Mid-Hudson Civic
	23	Wantagh, NY	Jones Beach Theater
	24	Holmdel, NJ	PNC Bank Arts Center
	26	Boston, MA	Bank of American Pavillion
	27	Reading, PA	Sovereign Center
	28	Atlantic City, NJ	House Of Blues
	30	Buffalo, NY	Darien Lakes Amphitheatre
	31	Huntington, WV	Big Sandy Superstore Arena
September	2	Montreal, QC	Bell Centre
	3	Toronto, ON	Molson Amphitheatre
	10	Seattle, WA	White River Amphitheatre

The festival

In the 20 years since Megadeth first formed they have toured with some of the biggest names in music - from Iron Maiden to Anthrax - and are in fact one of the biggest names themselves. But as well as bands that are well-known in the mainstream, Megadeth have also performed with some highly respected bands that aren't quite as popular. Each of the bands that were picked for Gigantour were chosen because Mustaine believed they were the pick of the bands that he has played with or heard in his career with Megadeth, regardless of how many albums they have sold. Bands like Dream Theater, Nevermore and The Dillinger Escape Plan are all highly respected by members of many other big-name bands and have strong followings in the metal world, but when you compare them to the major names of heavy metal they are not nearly as successful. Gigantour is an event that will bring bands together for no other reason than the fact that they put on a great show.

But as well as that, the tour was also devised as a way to cater to fans of many different styles of metal in the one package. There is a lot of cross-over appeal in each of the bands on the bill, but they normally would not appear on a bill together unless it was another mainstream festival. Gigantour is a chance for fans of all styles of metal to see the best of many different styles in the one place, with the music solely focused on great heavy metal music and not on current trends and fashions.

External links

• Official Gigantour Site - launched Friday, May 13th, 2005