Yo yo yo,

We are here in Arizona! It rains and it is like 60 degrees! Sweet.

Tomorrow flying home, and of course it sounds sleazy, but it is kind a sad, such a funny and good people on this tour. And the whole package has pulled many people each night, which is amazing.

The other night in San Diego was bad for us though. During In Your Face our light console went down. So we played in almost complete darkness. Haha, that was weird, and difficult of course. And the rest of the show we got lights, but just basic bright ones and nothing moving pretty much. It felt like plaiyng in Youth Club's christmas party. But luckily the crowd didnt seem to care. We were just laughing and had good times.

Last days some of us caught Bronchitis , again, so its rough now! But as said, tonight is the last night!

Henkka

We are now about four weeks into the tour and we're still very psyched about all the great feedback we have gotten throughout the tour. Right now we're all in the bus trying to determine today's setlist. As you might know, we try to flip-flop some songs every day to keep it more interesting for everybody, which is more fun than just sticking to the same one all the time. Tomorrow is an off show in Omaha and even then it's hard to decide a list to keep everyone happy, so I guess we'll have to play for three hours :) Hope to see all of you there.

Hey There,

Just wanted to check in and let you know Gigantour has been a lot of fun so far.

Next lot of thanks go to all the megacrew - for being welcoming and helpful and making our first big European tour go as smoothly as it did (smooth apart from us crashing into a roundabout and missing the Luxembourg gig, and a tyre blowing out and the shit recovery people taking TWO AND A HALF HOURS to get out to us, making us miss the Glasgow gig).

Great shows, and it has been nice to meet several of you coming out to the show.

Want to give special thanks again to Megadeth for the hospitality, especially last night in Louisville, KY.

The crowd was so insane that they broke the barricade during Children Of Bodom’s set. The show had to be stopped to fix it. Pushing our set time back. Instead of cutting our set, Megadeth let us play our full set. That was amazing and much appreciated.

See you all soon! NYC is going to be fun!

Anders

Hello all, this is Matt from UK thrash-heads Evile hoping that everyone who came to the Gigantour shows enjoyed them as much as we did.

First up i want to say a huge thanks to Mr. Dave Mustaine, Shawn Drover, James Lomenzo and Chris Broderick for having us on board with the tour throughout Europe, it's an opportunity that not many get and we're honoured and proud to have been a part of it. It gave us the chance to play to crowds of 1,500+ for an entire month, and thats about 1,498 more people than we're used to!

Next lot of thanks go to all the megacrew - for being welcoming and helpful and making our first big European tour go as smoothly as it did (smooth apart from us crashing into a roundabout and missing the Luxembourg gig, and a tyre blowing out and the shit recovery people taking TWO AND A HALF HOURS to get out to us, making us miss the Glasgow gig).

And the final thanks go to all the crazy metalheads who were there to see Megadeth and had no idea who we were, yet still rocked out for us and supported us! It's difficult being an opening band as you know that people are only there for the headliner, but i was surprised/shocked/blown away by the reactions nearly all of the crowds gave us, even though 99% of you had no idea who we were, i can't thank you all enough, supporting Megadeth is a dream come true but for you guys to get behind us the way you did made it incredibly special, an experience like no other.

My personal highlights were getting to hang out and chat to Dave about all kinds of crap while drinking megadeths beer, Shawn always hanging around the stage while we were soundchecking and watching our set nearly every night, James telling us all kinds of crazy rock n roll stories, our stage being invaded by a *special guest* during the last show - which is on youtube somewhere, hanging out on the streets of bilbao after the gig with the local metal warriors, seeing Megadeth 20 times for free, 5am drunken service station snowball fight in Italy, meeting the metal friar in Italy, meeting Christina Scabbia = HOT, hanging out with Marc from Destruction backstage at the Berlin gig and watching his Bruce Lee moves.....

hopefully we will get another chance to tour with megadeth again, everyone was top class, all the people we met at the shows were brilliant. So keep an eye out for Evile, check out our debut album Enter The Grave and....

most of all....

MOSH!!!!

4 dates into Gigantour and we have a day off! so far the Mega tour + Gigantour has been absolutely amazing. Megadeth and their crew have been treating us brilliantly and we couldn't feel more wanted on this tour.

The gigantour shows (and the mega tour) have been such an honour to be a part of. The crowds have been so welcoming to us. There's been a few occasions where we haven't felt overly welcome. In Belgium for instance, Matt received a flying coin past his face and a beer or two thrown on stage, but you can't please everyone. Just wish they'd have thrown it so we can catch it/drink it. (not the coin)

We had quite a crappy time the other day. After the Nottingham show we set off early in the morning to get to Glasgow. A while down the road there was thick fog so we had to pull over for a while. It soon cleared and we were back on the road. All was fine until our back right tyre decided to not function like a tyre should. It was deaded. We weren't panicking as we should be ok with the recovery service. Although they took 2+ hours to arrive. Then they took 8 thousand years fixing the thing, so by that time it was too late for us to travel to the Glasgow show. We were over whelmingly pissed, but it couldn't be helped. (Apologies to Glasgow fans! although we'll be back with Exodus soon!)

I can say that we've signed our oddest item so far. A guy asked me to sign his leg, I thought "ok, why not?", so he pulls out this prosthetic leg. I saw quite a few signatures on there, he must collect signed...prosthetic legs. Awesome!

I'd also like to add how much of a mind blowing experience supporting Megadeth is. I've been a huge fan of Deth for years and it just blows my mind every night. What makes it all the more special is Dave is a really nice guy and all of Megadeth are just awesome.

Looking forward to many more dates of Metal with Megadeth!!!! see you all on the road! To Birmingham!!

When I got asked if I wanted to sing a song with Megadeth on the album "United Abominations" I couldn't believe it, it was such a big honor for me, and a great new experience for sure...

But now that we've been invited to be a part of Gigantour, I'm even more excited because we will finally be able to show Australia how Lacuna Coil can kick some serious ass!

Not only that, but I'll get to see old friends like Devildriver (and we can't wait to meet the other bands as well...it's gonna be FUN!).

And of course, there's also a chance that I just might be performing "A Tout Le Monde (Set me free)" with Dave... and if that happens YOU know you CAN'T fucking miss it!!!!! (Will it happen??? Who knows? You'll have to come to the shows see if it'll happens or not...)

I'm sure I'll see you all there... Australia...we are coming!!!!!!!!!"

Cristina

After all these years we're finally coming to Oz! Obviously we're super excited about it and we couldn't ask for a better chance than to join such a great tour as this!!!

The Gigantour is gonna be the best thing you're gonna see this year so make sure you get your ass there! :) Who knows when the next time you'll be able to see such a great line-up will be???

Chris.

‘Britain’s Most Explosive New Band’ – Kerrang!
‘Super heavy, super talented, super charismatic, BMTH are destined for noisy greatness’ - Metal Hammer
‘A brutally good debut’ – Rock Sound
‘A force to be reckoned with’ Terrorizer

For BMTH, it all started in March 2004, when these 5 kids got together from the ashes of a collection of defunct bands and started to write some music. Taking their influences from bands such as Norma Jean, The Red Chord and many of the heavier American metal-core acts, the newly formed band soon started turning heads. Much more attention followed, building rapidly after playing shows across the UK with the likes of Zao, The Nothing, Shaped by Fate and Johnny Truant. A rabid, hungry, loyal and HUGE fan-base started to grow and their shows became busier and busier. They didn’t have any boundaries or rules, they just wrote what they wanted to hear and play.

Bring Me the Horizon are five young British lads with a penchant for the heavy. Their astonishingly good debut mini album, ‘This is What the Edge of Your Seat Was Made For’, is essentially an 18 minute, mid nineties breakdown; four tracks of intense raging chugging and squealing, stop/starting and severe ‘core riffing. Nary a second hand euro thrash riff to be found, nary a melodic sung chorus, all things about this genre that irritate are devoid (well save for ball splittingly tight pants and backwards hair-cuts). Then they played shows……and kids moshed……and they kept playing shows……and kids kept moshing……

And then 2006 became the year of the Horizon. First they became one of the top 100 played acts on MySpace (them and Coldplay were the only UK acts in the top 100!!!), followed by a blistering Radio One Rock Show Session. They won BEST BRITISH NEWCOMERS at the Kerrang! awards (beating off the likes of Enter Shikari and The Automatic…), toured with Lostprophets, Killswitch Engage, Aiden and Bleeding Though, performed a brutal and much talked about set at Download (biggest pit of the weekend) and have been bombarded with tours for Europe and the USA too….. Need we go on? And all this from a band that have only recently released their debut album!

The debut, ‘Count Your Blessings’, released through Visible Noise in October 2006, is full of what people have already come to expect from Bring me the Horizon: breakdowns, massive riffs, time signatures, tempo changes, immense vocals, shredding solos, blistering percussion, etc. BUT the experience of working with top producer Dan Sprigg (lostprophets, Cradle of Filth) has brought a new found maturity out of the guys, a more solid direction and focus in song writing and structure. All the ingredients are there to see ‘Count Your Blessings’ set Bring me the Horizon as a real bench mark band for 2007 and beyond!!! Miss this band at your peril…

Bring me the Horizon are:
Oli Sykes – Vocals
Lee Malia – Guitar
Curtis Ward – Guitar
Matt Nicholls – Drums
Matt Kean – Bass

Here we sit on a flight from Sydney, Australia to Melbourne...our last show! We have completed 25 shows in the US, 4 shows in Japan and off to our 3rd show in Australia.

Our Webmaster kindly asked me to complete a new journal entry for G2 a few weeks into the US tour but things had been so hectic, it's only now I have a moment to sit down and put words into writing.

However, I think my delinquency in completing this request gives me an interesting new perspective on the subject matter. Last year I wrote about our life on the road...our bus, our crew, my daily duties, etc.

This year as I reflect on the tour wondering what to write and not be boring, the one thing that continues to come to mind is the one and only Mr. Dave Mustaine. The reason is because as a fan, what most of you see is what is presented to you on stage, in videos, interviews, etc. What you don't see is the man behind the scenes who never stops working to continue to create and execute his vision for Gigantour.

This year as the Assistant Tour Manager, I rode on the band bus and what was glaringly apparent and amazing to me is that Dave Mustaine rarely stops and hardly ever sleeps. In your eyes you may see a very talented musician. In my eyes what I also saw was a very smart businessman. I saw a man who was continually on his blackberry whisking through numerous e-mails, conducting important phone calls all the while maintaining the essence of the reason we are on the road...the show itself!

This doesn't even take into account all the time being spent working on the new album "United Abominations" scheduled to be released approximately March 2007.

To top it all off, Dave is also a true leader. The first sign of a leader is taking the time to care. This is the core of Dave Mustaine. For instance, being a musician on the road, it's so easy to get wrapped up in yourself and your own needs and forget about everyone else. On the road as a musician, you have staff to take care of all your travel requirements, all of your transportation needs, your daily schedule, your laundry, your food, etc. etc. Most of the time all you have to do is show up at the designated time in a designated place and everything is taken care of for you. In most cases, it's easy to forget there are people around you with their own needs not being met.

However, Dave will actually take the time to ask you how you are doing or ask you what’s wrong. The cool thing about this is that he actually cares and is genuinely interested or concerned. A very rare trait in not only a large percentage of musicians, but for most people in general.

I also must add that Dave is also quite the gentleman. He is one of the first to lend a hand to help me out of a vehicle, opens doors and always makes sure I walk through the doorway first. Actually, I am a lucky gal because chivalry is not dead with most of our band and crew!

So in summary:

Question: What do you get when you cross a talented metal musician & writer, a smart businessman and a true leader?

Answer: Dave Mustaine

Until our next adventure...keep the music alive!

Trixie

So the guy who won the contest came backstage and we ran through the song a little together and we gave him a pep talk (no beer though - the dude was 17 years old!). When Angela announced on stage that we had a guest in "Ravenous", the audience was excited and so were we! Anyway....the guy actually nailed the solo and I think he a had a good time, we sure did!

Crazy energy on stage tonight - we should do this again sometime!

Michael Amott

As you all probably know already ESP, Line 6, and Arch Enemy Sponsored a competition who's winner would get a chance to play Ravenous on stage with Arch Enemy at their Tampa show. My friend had been talking about the show and contest for the past couple weeks and asked me to give him a ride to Tampa (we live in Orlando) so he could compete. I had decided not to compete myself because I didn't have a 24 fret guitar and figured there would be tons of shredders at the contest tearing it up. Since my girlfriend lived in Tampa I figured spending an evening with her would be nice (plus he offered to pay for food & gas, yummy!). We arrived to the St Petersburg Times Forum a couple hours before the show and found the ESP/Line 6 tent set up where some competitors were already warming up. I've played guitar for about 6 years and took the opportunity to snag one of the guitars when everyone had finished up. One of the camera op's and I started talking and he talked me into to trying out for the contest. My friend taught me the solo and I pent about a half hour practicing it at the tent. All of the competitors had warmed up and were now working the last minute kinks out of our solos while waiting for Arch Enemy to come down and judge the contest. They arrived and suddenly I forgot the whole solo. Here was a band I had listened to since I was 13 sitting there waiting for me to play the solo from one of my favorite songs! I started to question what I had gotten myself into and wish that I had just dropped my friend off and left.

Since I was the one who had the least shot of winning I figured I'd go first to make my friend and the other guys look better in comparison. And I did. I hit a plethora of bad notes and finished the solo expecting laughter. I handed the guitar off after their critiques (which were far too kind) and sat down to watch the rest of the guys play. After everyone had finished they asked me to play it again for them. By this point I had stopped worrying about (why worry when you know you've already lost?) and got up and played the solo. Afterwards they nodded and conferred for a little while before announcing myself as the winner. I couldn't (and still can't!) believe it! Here I had learned the solo that night, didn't even have a ticket for the show and I was going to be playing on stage with Arch Enemy!

The events that followed happened in a rush. I got a tour of the backstage area and was delivered to Arch Enemy's dressing room where I met Michael and Fredrik then for the first time and as I began to practice the solo with Fredrik it all started to sink in. I got to spend some time with the band just hanging out and getting to know them, while all the time practicing to make sure I didn't forget what I was supposed to be doing.

Show time rolled around and I walked with the band to the stage and found my spot backstage where I watched their set from. Standing backstage and looking at the crowd singing along with every song I started to get really excited. I was going to be able to play rockstar for an evening! Ravenous came up in the setlist and I walked on stage after my introduction from Angela and we started playing. Everything became a blur as the band powered through the song. Before I knew it we were at the solo and it all came out in a rush. Playing in front of thousands of screaming Arch Enemy fans was a rush like no other! The song ended and I left the stage in a trance. Even today as I think back on it the whole thing seems like an incredible dream. After the show I spent some more time with Arch Enemy who are some of the most down to earth musicians I've met. I watched some more of the bands and got to meet members of Lamb of God who were equally awesome. The entire evening is one I'll never forget and I'm grateful that I had the opportunity to experience it. Thanks Arch Enemy and Gigantour, keep it PURE FUCKING METAL!

-Ryan Kelly

Hey there! This is Anabella Poland, webmaster for Megadeth & Gigantour Official Myspace(s), system lord on official forums, etc... etc. These three dates in New York/ New Jersey were such a blast! There is a great sense of comradeship among all bands. There is great organization behind it all. While you guys are enjoying the tunes of a band, a thousand other things are happening backstage, such as interviews, photographs sessions, platinum passes meets & greets, FYE signings and preparations for the next band up. It is almost like a perfectly coordinated waltz, except that the music is WAY heavier, and these ain't your typical ballet dancers! (LOL) I got to hang out with Dave and Shawn's wives in Holmdel and Atlantic City. What a perfect example to the phrase "Behind every great man, there's a great woman." Seriously, they are such amazing, understanding and beautiful people! Part of my evening was dedicated to locate the "Girls of Gigantour" in the crowd...for our beloved photographer Gene Kirkland which you'll learn more about in the next few days. My favorite moments were the photographs sessions with Megadeth backstage. Fans lined up and Gene would take 2 pictures of each fan with the band: one is naturally posed, the second one they'll do horns, Japanese bows and basically just anything from any culture that is kewl and requested by the fan. This normally leads to tons of Mustainism and just great fun. South Carolina and Florida get ready to get your bums kicked!

Cheers,
Annie

Friends,

The first week ended and there were a lot of ups and downs, but we are firing on all cylinders right now, and we are so excited to be playing for you all this year again. I can't wait to check out all of the bands and we are all becoming fast friends and thick as thieves backstage.

We had a huge "Gigantourture Chamber Party" last night thrown by my Manager Kevin Gasser, and he said, "if we run out of drinks, someone is going to get it!" and believe it or not we had the best time getting to know each other over drinks after the clock was punched out.

Dave Mustaine

Welcome and thanks so much for coming here to check out, what is going to be the most badass, badger beating, metal tour of the year! We are beyond stoked to be a part of this years Gigantour 2006. We are huge fans of all the acts included in this years lineup, its truly a dream come true!!
We are grinding our teeth with anticipation, so expect to see us in a few weeks with bloody mouths and no teeth!!
We would also like to extend a million thanks to Dave Mustaine for letting us be a part of the festivities!
Christmas definitely came early for us this year!!
Can't wait to see y'all there!!

The SmashUp

We are psyched and just about ready to head out on Gigantour. Have not played with Megadeth since Gar and Chris were in the band. A big Hell Yeah to Dave for putting an Old School band on the bill!...hopefully that will happen in future years as well. 20 years of doing this shit and don't know that we have ever been to Boise, thats a great place to get rollin...so break out the beers and get ready to bust some heads.

We're really looking forward to hitting North American shores again, and certainly excited about being part of Gigantour 2006! I've got an idea, drop whatever you're doing and come see us! We'll provide some ice cold metal that will give the other bands on the bill some healthy competition! Special thanks to Mr. Mustaine for inviting us!

Opeth

Welcome to Gigantour! I know that all you guys and gals are just as excited as we are to be a part of this years Gigantour. We were honored when Dave asked us to join him on tour. We can't wait to see all of you on the road, and we can't wait to share the stage with so many amazing bands. We're looking forward to having a great time and meeting a lot of new friends along the way! So raise your metal horns and get ready for GIGANTOUR!!!

Sanctity

Welcome and thanks for taking the time. We, as LAMB OF GOD, are thrilled to be a part of the 2006 GIGANTOUR. We are looking forward to a vicious set that will allow us to really open this monster up a bit. With our new album SACRAMENT set for release on August 22, this tour is the perfect opportunity for us to hit the road with a brand new extended live set full of some blistering new material. This album and tour represent quite a lot for us. We have created something very relentless and dark - we cant wait to feel it come alive and have you help us breathe new life into it on stage.

This will be the first - and last - North American tour LAMB OF GOD will do in support of SACRAMENT for the remainder of 2006. We hope you are able to make it out to celebrate the release with us see you in the pit!!!

Chris Adler
LAMB OF GOD

Friends,

On September 12 th of 2005 I started writing down notes and ideas for the next year's Gigantour 2006, if there was one, and picturing bands that would be cool to tour with. I also had starting listening to bands that I thought would be right, while keeping in mind what I started Gigantour for in the first place and that was: talent, musicianship, lead guitars, and really cool people.

You see Gigantour was initially created as a way to stay in the music game with you all after my arm was hurt and Megadeth broke up, but as I talked to more and more people about doing something different for the music fans of heavy metal and having a festival of diversity, there were literally thousands of friends and fans that showed their support and became one with us all, but still staying ultra-heavy!

So here's to a great experience with you!

Dave Mustaine