(CelebrityAccess MediaWire) —
Dave Mustaine's six week North American tour Gigantour will launch in late July with Mustaine's Megadeth and Dream Theater co-headlining, and Fear Factory, Dillinger Escape Plan and Nevermore confirmed for the main stage. Second stage acts will be named shortly.
Gigantour will criss-cross North America with stops in amphitheatres and arenas in Los Angeles, New York, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Washington, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver and Minneapolis, among others. The tour is implementing the "fan friendly" ticket price of approximately $35 each. "I think people may want an affordable alternative to the choices out there–along the lines of a pure music festival–like Monsters of Rock or Clash of the Titans," said Mustaine.
"There are few very successful tours out each summer and in order to be significant, I knew the first Gigantour had to make an impact with top bands like Dream Theater, Fear Factory, Dillinger Escape Plan and Nevermore," he said " I wanted put together a festival that consisted of positive bands that play heavy music in a high energy environment."
"I think that the variety of playing styles and the credibility of the different players is really exciting. I'm looking forward to spending time with Dream Theater–including my friend Mike Portnoy–while on the road. I think Dream Theater is unbelievably talented. I can't wait to see what their set list is going to be for this festival."
"I think we probably bring some diversity to the bill, because we're kind of like chameleons–we can fit into a lot of different situations," said Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy. "We've done shows in the past with Iron Maiden, Slayer and Pantera, and then we've also done shows with Elton John, Yes and Deep Purple. I think our fan base is very diverse like that too."
Portnoy sees Gigantour as a "kind of a meeting of musicians and metal-heads. I've been listening to Megadeth since day one and always admired them and Dave as an artist–he's constantly stuck to his guns and stuck by the music he believes in. Megadeth are one of the pioneers of the genre."
"I think Fear Factory and Dillinger Escape Plan are really going to add something different to the tour and bring some new people in," adds Mustaine. "The frontman of Nevermore [Warrell Dane] used to be in a band called Sanctuary, and I produced their first record."
"I look forward to watching this develop over the years," notes Mustaine on Gigantour, "and seeing how we can turn this into something that's going to stand the test of time. And if this works, and it really works, maybe we'll take it elsewhere."
Gigantour follows Megadeth's sold-out 2004 "Blackmail The Universe" tour. The Gigantour moniker was inspired by the classic 1960's cartoon, Gigantor. –Bob Grossweiner and Jane Cohen
