Gigantour indeed
Ouch! Ouch! Oh the pain, it hurts too much. I have gaping musical wound caused by Dave Mustaine's Gigantour failure to reach these shores. Megadeth, Anthrax (ahem*), Dream Theater, Fear Factory and Nevermore are some of my favourite bands of all time, so to receive an album of highlights of their sets on the last Gigatour across America is tantamount to rubbing salt, vinegar and anything acid based into the wound. This two CD set contains either two or three live tracks of the above bands coupled with songs from Life of Agony, Dry Kill Logic, Bobaflex and Symphony X. The fact that they're just select cuts and not actual set lists is a tease to those who couldn't go to such a great festival of metal. It's as if the record company are saying, "Hey everyone it was great, this is how great it was, whoops you've listened to too much." SPV I curse you.
I'm not sure who's chosen the songs to go on this compilation, but they should be given a shake of the hand. It's very easy to pick the wrong songs for such a release, but when I list such cuts as 'The Glass Prison', 'Caught in a Mosh', 'Paper Tiger', 'A Tout Le Monde', 'Archetype' and 'Enemies of Reality', I'm sure any fans of the above bands will agree these songs are some of the cream of their discography (A Tout Le Monde especially had me singing along, what a song!). The quality is excellent for live material, which can sound messy and a wall of incomprehensible noise. Megadeth's three tunes and Dream Theater's contribution sound fantastic, very clean, extremely tidy. Fear Factory's sound is the biggest let down. Burton's vocal's are poor and the guitar is very scratchy. The fact that the band only contains one guitar doesn't help the cause as it over balances the recording on one side.
There's not a great deal more to add except that this release serves as a great advert for all of the bands that appear on it. It helps them stay in the public eye a little longer, and if it manages to get even a handful of metal fans to check out the aforementioned bands, perhaps buy their back catalogues, go see them live, or even return to their discography when they've been cast to the back of the collection for several years, then this compilation has done it's job. I suspect this is the real reason why this disc has been put out into the shops. It certainly works, because my Megadeth and Dream Theater collection have been doing over time this past couple of weeks. So is this release worth buying if there are only a few songs by each band? If you're a fan of most of the bands listed then yes, it's a great listen. If not then approach with caution, it may be a better idea to start with one of their studio albums.
*Anthrax's performance is with the reunion line-up. A move that I refuse to acknowledge and entertain.