Dave Mustaine's Gigantour

Mon 17th Sep, 2007 in Features

There was a point in 2002 when Dave Mustaine thought he would never play guitar again. A nerve injury to his left arm forcibly put his career on hold. Refusing to give in, he slowly recovered. Five years later, the Megadeth frontman is still recording with the band. He is the brainchild behind metal festival Gigantour, which Megadeth will headline in November. It is the second time that Gigantour will visit Australian shores. Mustaine reflects on the past and sheds some light on the upcoming tour.

Calling from Portland, Oregon, Mustaine admits he has a soft spot for Australia. His fondness for the country stems from a personal experience.

“I absolutely love Australia. I was facing a divorce last year and my wife and I reconciled in Australia. So I’ll always love your country.”

Lauded as a pioneer of speed and thrash metal, Mustaine is one of music’s stalwarts. From his early days as lead guitarist with Metallica, to the rise of his own band, Megadeth; Mustaine has experienced the highs and lows of a career spanning nearly three decades. Released earlier this year, United Abominations, the band’s latest album, peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 chart. Politically-charged, the CD’s cover art depicts the destruction of the United Nations building. Some inspiration came from the band’s experiences abroad.

“We go to a lot of places that don’t really have the same kind of liberties that we do in America, or in Australia, or England etcetera,” he says. “Places where democracy seems to be the choice of the people for government. We’ve gone to some places where it could be the framework of democracy but they really frown on people being able to express themselves…. We’ve been to places where we were told that they are not allowed to play our music on the radio or on TV!”

Mustaine is satisfied with the album, which is Megadeth’s 11th recording.

“I believe right now that this is the record we needed to make,” he continues. “For me, I’m absolutely thrilled to be where I’m at right now in my career with this record . . . with what the label is doing, with what my band mates are feeling and how the audience is responding.”

On the arm injury that nearly ended his playing career, Mustaine admits it forced him to put things into perspective.

“I thought, – œDave, think about all of the things that you’ve been through. The ups and the downs. The terrible things that people have said about you. Those nights when you’re sitting at home, thinking about how many people believe all of those terrible things’. It really aches,” he says. “You just sit there and suffer in silence. At some point, you find a place within yourself where you start to become more resilient.”

Since founding Gigantour in 2005, Mustaine has been busy taking to show on the road. Catering to fans of different styles of metal, the festival’s name was inspired by the 1960s Anime character, Gigantor. With the tour growing in popularity, Mustaine wants it to reach everyone.

“It’s taking its time and we’re doing it very organically,” Mustaine explains. “We didn’t want it to grow real fast so that, all of a sudden, we’d get somebody coming in, trying to put down a bunch of money, buy it and ruin the idea. We wanted to make sure that it was a really beautiful thing that everybody got to experience.”

This year, the lineup will feature Static-X, DevilDriver, Lacuna Coil and Bring Me the Horizon. When asked what fans can expect from the tour, Mustaine replies:

“I just want to bring a good, old-fashioned rock and roll show. People can rip their shirts and scream and shout if they want to… We want the ticket prices for the fans to be affordable. There’s nothing better than a fan who comes to a concert, with a decent ticket price, so they can have a couple of drinks, buy some merchandise and then hook up with their friends… We’re hoping that it’s one of those situations where everybody feels welcome – young and old, whether they’re metal fans or not. There’s going to be something for everybody there.

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