Customer Reviews

Gigantour, Vol. 2

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The inaugural Gigantour was unique due to it's lineup: Dry Kill Logic, Life Of Agony, Nevermore, Fear Factory, Dream Theater, etc. While the cd and dvd releases were long-awaited, the final results suffered. The tracklisting for both versions were nothing to cry out about (both versions were on two discs!), the worst thing was the audio. Audio mixing was handled by longtime Megadeth collaborator Jeff Balding. Don't get me wrong, the sound was good for what it was. At times, you wished it was better. Not even the best moments could really make a difference, and there were only a few. Fast-forward to today: the long-awaited compilation cd and dvd for 2006's Gigantour 2 are finally available. By now, you're probably asking yourself if it's worth it after the first Gigantour. Let's look at the line-up: it's way better. The Smashup (I had never listened to them before watching this dvd, so I can't really comment much except their performance was good), Sanctity (who were invited on the tour by Dave Mustaine before they even released an album), Into Eternity, Overkill, Arch Enemy, Opeth, and Lamb Of God. The tracklistings for the dvd and cd are also an improvement:

DVD:

01. THE SMASHUP - Effigy

02. SANCTITY - Beneath the Machine

03. INTO ETERNITY - Severe Emotional Distress

04. OVERKILL - Necroshine

05. OVERKILL - Rotten to the Core

06. ARCH ENEMY - We Will Rise

07. ARCH ENEMY - Nemesis

08. OPETH - The Leper Affinity

09. LAMB OF GOD - Vigil

10. LAMB OF GOD - Now You've Got Something to Die For

11. MEGADETH - Take No Prisoners

12. MEGADETH - The Scorpion

13. MEGADETH - Washington is Next!

CD:

01. THE SMASH UP - Rachel's Day

02. SANCTITY - Zeppo

03. INTO ETERNITY - Timeless Winter

04. OVERKILL - Thanks for Nothing

05. OVERKILL - Long Time Dying

06. ARCH ENEMY - Nemesis

07. ARCH ENEMY - We Will Rise/Bridge Of Destiny

08. OPETH - Window Pane

09. LAMB OF GOD - Vigil

10. LAMB OF GOD - Redneck

11. LAMB OF GOD - Now You've Got Something To Die For

12. MEGADETH - Take No Prisoners

13. MEGADETH - The Scorpion

14. MEGADETH - Washington Is Next!

Peace Sells is a bonus track on both versions.

You get a little variety, so you're not listening to the exact same songs on the cd or dvd. The audio: excellent. Andy Sneap (who also collaborated with Megadeth on United Abominations and the Warchest boxset), serves up the best sound quality you could ever ask for, making it seem like much, much more than a sampler from the 2006 tour. The behind the scenes footage is also an honorable mention, from pulling pranks on other bands, to dealing with beer being thrown onto the soundboard during the show. Also, one of my favorite moments is when they held a contest for a lucky fan to have the chance to be on stage with Arch Enemy and shred during one of their songs. How many contests like that are there? I noticed that a lot of stores didn't have the dvd or cd, the only place here in town that carried the dvd was Circuit City, you're lucky if you can find the cd version. I couldn't, and ordering it was my last resort. Do not pass either one up.

The line-up for this year's Gigantour is not huge considering that there's only five bands, but it doesn't mean that it'll lack the energy. Mind you, I'm not a fan of Job For A Cowboy or High On Fire, but Children Of Bodom and In Flames with Megadeth sounds like a dream.

Gigantour 2 isn't as long as Gigantour 1,but the entertainment value & the quality of the acts is just as good-where else can you witness a good old-fashioned guitar smash done as only Dave Mustaine can do?The ONLY R&R Guitarist who does as well or better,is the originator himself-Pete Townshend(unfortunately,it's cost prohibitive).You also get a taste of tongue-in-cheek humour(the scene where somebody-Dave?-tells the bimbo to stop being a'video princess'and bring the hand sanitizer to the meet&greet-outrageous!Can't wait to get my hands on G3&G4-YOU MUST BUY1

If you've picked up the first Gigantour DVD, you know what to expect with this second edition. Much like the first, this DVD provides a great selection of A and B-list metal bands. Opeth is the most surprising addition to the line up, offering a decidedly different texture to the Gigantour mix. If you are a fan of any of these bands, you are guaranteed to enjoy the rest of the lineup, a group hand-picked by Mustaine himself. Be it the newborn energy of Sanctity or the seasoned polish of Overkill, this DVD gives fans a chance to expand their horizons, and discover metal bands they may not have even had on their radar.

The biggest disappointment of this DVD is the scale. Each band is only given one or two songs on the DVD, leaving the viewer desperate for more. More than anything, the DVD makes you wish you could actually experience the whole concert, rather than a small snippet of its entirety. Unlike the first Gigantour DVD, however, this one provides much more in the way of behind the scenes footage and bonus features (including Megadeth's "Peace Sells" sung by the entire tour lineup). Unfortunately, the bonus features only make one wish the DVD makers had included more live footage instead.

In short, if you are a fan of any one of these bands (especially Megadeth), this DVD is a worthwhile endeavor to expand your metal vocabulary, and discover some bands you may not have even heard of. All of the acts give great performances on this disc, but if you are looking for a satisfying concert experience, you may want to pick up a different live dvd.

This 2nd Volume of "Gigantour" is much better than the frist time around.This time the Dvd has all the bands inculding my favorite Arch Enemy(Which the 1oth Anniversary of Ozzfest Cd/Dvd failed to do).All the bands are great plus all the extra stuff is fun to watch.Metal is alive and well with Dave Mustaine and company.

The pro's : 1 ) The band lineup rocks.Hardly any weak tracks here.The SMashup song wasn't to my liking,but that apart,the other songs slay.Arch Enemy,Opeth and LOG are the highlights.Even the mighty Megadeth look slightly jaded after such strong acts. 2 ) The sound rocks - As the other reviewer put it,its sooo much better than the 1st DVD.You feel like the Marshall stacks are all around you.

The Con's : 1 ) Why is there no Subwoofer bitstream signal.This makes this a 5.0 DVD instead of a 5.1.Though the sound quality is awesome,they could have utilised the provison to add some more bass or double bass rumble.There's no such thing as too much double bass esp when you have Daniel Erlandson and Chris Adler on the DVD.

2 )Majority of the extra's are pretty much on the lines of what was on the 1st DVD ( with a few nice exceptions )...pranks,pyro,charity baseball game etc.With so many accomplished musicians here,it would have been fun to have everybody talk about their gear,influences etc.Its also silly to see everybody praise Megadeth for the heck of it,sucking upto Dave when one of those bozo's thought SFSGSW was the debut album..haha. 3)Megadeth seriously looks tired and washed up after 3 killer bands.And Im a die hard deth fan,so Im not being unduly fussy here.Also,strangely,there seems to be a huge latency between the visuals and the audio only in the Megadeth set ? WTF ?

All in all - its a killer metal compilation which will be hard to beat.The con's listed,if fixed would have taken this DVD from good to godly,but in no ways does it make this DVD a bad deal - BUY IT !

WOW, what a disappointment.Gigantic let down. I can't help but ask how did these bands even get there. Megadeth, was the only little ray of hope at the very end(familiarity only), but not enough to make up for all the other acts. The pure lack of skill and ability combined with lound obnoxious noises, yep, there you have it. I was fool enough to pay full price. I am a metal fan, these all need to be recycled in the metal pile!