The Music Tank

Not just for cock-rockers

I’ve been a dedicated fan of the Gigantour since it began in 2005. The first edition offered an impressive lineup of guitar heroes you can find in Symphony X, DreamTheater and, of course, Megadeth. The following editions kept offering a large variety of metal acts from the likes of Opeth to In Flames. Every time the new roster is published, I am to expect at least two or three bands I would have wanted to see anyway if they had come by themselves.

Though I always did build a surprising amount of hype around that tour, I never really was disappointed by it. Bands always gave solid performances and Megadeth closed the whole deal with fireworks and other old school tricks they have come to do so well.

This year however was a bit… meh. To elaborate, I thought the 2008 edition of the Gigantour could have offered a bit more to us. Unlike the previous years, nothing was really special to make this event memorable. It seemed as the tour was following a recipe in which nothing goes bad, but where nothing stands out.

Good openers

High On Fire gave a solid intro to the show though Job for a Cowboy may have been too deathcore for the tour, especially this early in the night. I think a better known death metal band would have benefited the show more.

Ladies and gents, here are the Childr… oh wait they are already done

Even if it was said Megadeth frontman and tour planner Dave Mustain wanted a shorter lineup this year to allow featured band to play longer, Children Of Bodom had only about a 30 minutes long set. Being a very accessible metal band, they had their fair share of fans in the crowd and things really started to pick up from there. Children of Bodom have a lot of material to offer but ended up playing songs from their last two albums mainly.

I found it unfortunate the only older song was “Red Light in My Eyes” as I found this choice to leave room for a promising full fledged setlist. Nonetheless, Children of Bodom gave a very solid professional performance that left no doubt the real show had begun. It’s never bad when you leave the stage while people want more.

You can count on the Swedes

On the other hand, In Flames had a good running time for their set and also mostly played new songs (the two latest albums too). As second headliner of the tour, In Flames had a more elaborate stage set up. The band played through their set smoothly and probably were the most satisfying band of the evening.

No fireworks?

This is where I thought things could have been more entertaining. Megadeth always gave memorable closing sets. Their song choice is always impeccable and ranges all eras, but they also usually add some sort of visual support to their performance. Sure, you don’t have to hurl fire balls at every one year after year but I had come to expect something out of the ordinary because Megadeth are out of the ordinary. I believe arena bands have to act like arena bands and not present shows like they were playing in a small venue in which hanging a cloth with your logo on it behind you is enough.

Visual stuff aside, Megadeth did have a nice set list composed mostly of singles from present and past releases. The newcomer, guitarist Chris Broderick, played like a perfectly calibrated beefcake robot, but he did a good job overall.

While it may not have been the best of the 3 editions I’ve seen of the Gigantour, I still recommend this edition of the Gigantour if only to see Children of Bodom and In Flames together. Especially for the price, not many gigs offer that much music back to you.

This is based on the April 29th show at the Bell Center in Montreal, Canada. The show was held entirely on one stage to fit the arena format.