Gigantour: our big, big love

For three years straight, Gigantour has been the best nationwide metalfest in the country. The lineup is more consistent than recent Ozzfests, Sounds of the Underground and especially this ridiculous new Rockstar Mayhem Tour, and the only tour that comes close to being as solid is the underground Summer Slaughter fest. Unlike the first three tours I mentioned, Gigantour won't throw Disturbed or Avenged Sevenfold on the bill to sell more tickets (save for that embarrassing addition of Static-X down under, but give 'em a break, it was Australia), so they can't fill out arenas like the aforementioned mall metal festivals. But the fans are all the better off for it, as proven last week at Hammerstein Ballroom.

The Hammerstein floor filled up quickly after doors as metalheads crowded to catch the first act. Kicking things off on a ridiculously high note were Oakland-area metal gods High on Fire. Undeniably one of the three or four best metal bands to emerge this century, High on Fire transcended their 30-minute alloted time slot by playing their very best songs with enough gusto to outshine the next few bands on the bill. Unabashedly excited frontman Matt Pike was the night's most energetic performer, taking all his solos as a chance to run up to the audience and pull off guitar tricks before running back to the mic in time to growl out some metal masterpieces from Death is this Communion. It was all he could do to stay on top of his restless rhythm section, who provided grimy-sounding low end which, if not ideally heard in a place like Hammerstein, gave a Stooges-esque rawness to their metal that lesser acts should take note of. Ending with the signature 'Devilution,' Pike and the gang soldiered off, having set a high standard for the evening and for metal as a whole.



Job for a Cowboy haven't gotten any better than the last time I saw them, and their performance was pretty identical to last time, with snotrocketing and synchronized headbanging that seemed increasingly forced and predictable. The hype must be working, since they were better received here than they were with Behemoth, but count me off the bandwagon until they get some better songs.



Finnish melodic death metal jokers Children of Bodom are best captured live, where the filler that bogs down their records is kept to a minimum and the band's sense of humor really shines. Over Alexi Laiho's songs about "you hating me" (yeah, me!) and "not giving a flying fuck" (no, seriously, REALLY not giving a flying fuck) the band gave synth-heavy power metal songs a death metal deliverance, drawing a smoother line between the Scorpions and Arch Enemy than one could reasonably expect. It was a memorable if not remarkable set, and Children of Bodom continue to be a welcome presence in the metal community.



Hugely influential Swedish death metalheads In Flames' new album, A Sense of Purpose is thus far the year's most divisive metal release--some applaud the band's bold experiments with a more accessible, radio-friendly sound while kids who kneel at the altar of Jester Race are crying sellout. Truthfully, Sense of Purpose tracks like 'The Mirror's Truth' were heavy enough to duke it out with anything in the rest of their set, not to mention anything the other bands played that evening. If their melodic experiments on the new album and Come Clarity aren't always up to par, they're definitely a bold new trek for the band and not an attempt to win over Trivium fans.

Of course, In Flames have a wealth of great music to bring out, and older tracks like 'Graveland' have been so influential to metalcore and Swedish death metal that it's hard to hear how mind-blowing they were upon release. Frontman Anders Fridén was revved up the happily-to-oblige moshers in the audience while the guitarists served Maiden-inspired death metal that proved that In Flames have always crafted their melodies with a lot of edge. By the end of the show, any fan who thought that In Flames have gone Hot Topic was kidding himself, and the band proved that their mostly first-rate music is one of the great treasures of modern metal.



But the night climaxed with the headliners, Gigantour mainstays Megadeth. The thrash titans took the stage as the lights dimmed, furiously running through staples like 'Wake Up Dead' and 'Take No Prisoners' without as much as a pause to acknowledge the crowd. One of the most polarizing figures in thrash metal, Dave Mustaine was in good spirits, trading blazing solos with new lead guitarist Chris Broderick (Nevermore) and barking out tales of political corruption and science fiction horrors. Classical guitarist and sweep-picking master Broderick let his technical skill steal the show from his bandmates at moments, demonstrating a Randy Rhoads-esque grasp on his instrument that most likely earned him the night's musicianship award. If anyone came close, it was Mustaine, whose solos leaked out of his hands with an ease that Zakk Wylde might envy.

The set was a laundry list of metal classics on par with the Iron Maiden and Pantera tracks played over the PA before Megadeth's entrance--had the band sat in chairs and played 'Symphony of Destruction,' 'Kick the Chair' and 'Ashes in Your Mouth,' the show still would have been pretty great. But the entire band, especially irrepressible bassist James LoMenzo, had enough energy and stage expertise to carry the show on their performance alone. Highlights were plentiful, from the show-stopping ballad 'A Tout Le Monde' to a raging 'Skin o' My Teeth,' but the best was saved for the encore.

Unsurprisingly, Megadeth ripped into 'Holy Wars...the Punishment Due,' the Israel-Palestine inspired scorcher that's become the band's signature closer and arguably their best-known song. However, between the song's two movements Mustaine unleashed the foreboding intro to 'Mechanix,' a punk metal thrasher he wrote 25 years ago during his brief stint in Metallica. The crowd gasped, applauded and roared their approval while he tore through the song's first verse, causing a mosh pit that threatened to raze the Hammerstein. At the song's end, the band wordlessly tore back into 'Holy Wars,' picking up right where they left off and racing through the frantic, solo-driven end. "Next thing you know, they'll take my thoughts away!" belted Mustaine as the song ended. The band congregated in the middle of the stage and bowed while the fervent applause did something few could ever claim to do--drown out words spoken by Dave Mustaine.



Maybe Megadeth worked extra hard to upstage the other great bands on the bill. Maybe Dave Mustaine was particularly vitriolic about playing only a few blocks away from where Metallica sent him home on a bus 25 years ago. Maybe the dissolution of Mustaine's marriage is affecting his playing. But most likely, as any Megadeth fan will tell you, these guys are incapable of delivering anything less than one of the most exciting rock shows you will ever witness. Even when four of the biggest metal bands in the world aren't leaping at a chance to steal the show.