Megadeth And Friends Survive Gigantour In The 'Burbs

Judging by the look of this summer's concert schedule, it's getting tougher for organizers to put together a decent list of bands to fill all the North American travelling metal festival.

Two summers ago, Ozzfest, The Unholy Alliance, Sounds Of The Underground and Gigantour all assembled a different and diverse group of acts and hit most major cities. But, this summer, Ozzfest has been downsized to a two-day show in Dallas and Sounds Of The Underground has folded. Although the Rockstar Energy Drink-sponsored Mayhem Tour will be makes it's inaugural run, it's slim pickins beyond that.

This meant Megadeth mastermind Dave Mustaine was well-positioned for the launch of Gigantour's third installment. That was until it was decided to put the Toronto stop of the tour at Mississauga's Arrow Hall.

The Hall's a fair distance away from Toronto's core, what with it being in the 'burbs. With a 5:30 p.m. start time, unless you were unemployed or skipping last period, there was no way you made it in time to see arguably the best band on the bill.

As I made my way toward the seemingly endless lineup, I could hear the rumblings of "Rumors Of War" coming from the cavernous venue. The song is one of the newest from Oakland, Calif.'s High On Fire, who are fronted by former Sleep guitarist Matt Pike. High On Fire are a perfect pick for this tour, considering Mustaine's knack for hand-picking metal bands that put a strong emphasis on superior guitar work. It's too bad few people got to the venue in time to see them. I saw High On Fire last year during a headlining tour and I'm willing to wager that Pike and company put on an excellent 30 minute set.

This meant most of the audience began the evening with young death metal heroes Job For A Cowboy. All the hype surrounding last year's Genesis debut, coupled with a relentless touring schedule that saw the band return to these parts on three separate occasions in less than a year, have certainly paid off. Not only did these guys play some very solid technical death metal, but judging by their large following, they're guiding many in the next generation of metal fans down a more extreme path. Genesis provided a solid foundation, and hopefully they can build on it as they get older and more experienced. On this night, they did a great job keeping up with the veteran bands and were a huge hit with the junior 'bangers.

Even more popular with the young'uns were Finland's Children Of Bodom, the first band to really get the crowd going. I've enjoyed Bodom's unique combination of neo-classical guitars, excessive keyboards and campy hair metal swagger for a few years now and it's cool to finally see the band enjoying some success. Wasting little time between songs, frontman Alexi Laiho shredded his way through favourites "Chokehold (Cocked 'N' Loaded)," "Living Dead Beat" and "Are You Dead Yet?" If you're one of those people who think keyboards don't belong in metal, the sight of Janne Wirman diddling on the keys whilst chugging a beer will definitely make you think twice.

From Finland it was on to Sweden with melodic metal band In Flames. They're normally described as "melodic death metal," a style they pioneered with At The Gates, The Haunted and Dark Tranquility, who all hail from the Swedish city of Gothenburg. I refuse to call them a melodic death metal band anymore, however, since the new In Flames are entirely devoid of anything resembling death metal and sound more poppy and streamlined — particularly their latest effort A Sense Of Purpose. That record's songs are a bit bland and I don't understand their huge appeal. But on stage, combined with the band's presence and a spectacular light show, the grooves of songs like "The Mirror's Truth" increase tenfold. "Leeches" achieves arena-sized grandeur, even with its cheese-angst chorus. Introduced as a "song you can dance to" by singer Anders Friden, "Take This Life" certainly had the floor moving. Even if you're not a fan of the new records, In Flames are still a tremendous live band worth checking out.

Surprisingly, Arrow Hall's shitty sound at really didn't hinder any of the bands much other than Megadeth. Musically, they were as good as I've seen them, seamlessly mixing newer material like "Sleepwalker" and "Washington Is Next" with old faves "Kick The Chair" and "Take No Prisoners." Unfortunately, Mustaine's vocals sounded muffled and were completely indistinguishable except for the singing during "A Tout Le Monde." But most people came to hear Dave play, not sing, and all was fine on that front. The newest member, ex-Nevermore guitarist Chris Broderick fit like a glove, especially during the end of "Hangar 18" where he and Mustaine took turns on the alternating solos. They ended the evening with a couple of bona fide classics in "Peace Sells" and "Holy Wars... The Punishment Due," capping off yet another great tour by Mega Dave and friends and setting the bar pretty high for this summer's metal tours.