Megadeth and Dream Theater to co-headline GIGANTOUR 2005


For Immediate Release:

DAVE MUSTAINE'S 'GIGANTOUR'
SET TO LAUNCH IN LATE JULY;
DREAM THEATER, FEAR FACTORY,
DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN AND NEVERMORE
CONFIRMED TO JOIN MEGADETH ON THE MAINSTAGE
FOR SIX-WEEK NORTH AMERICAN TREK

It's called GIGANTOUR, and it's the brainchild of MEGADETH
frontman/guitarist DAVE MUSTAINE.

Set to launch in late July, GIGANTOUR is a six-week festival
trek co-headlined by MEGADETH and DREAM THEATER, who'll be
accompanied by other mainstage acts Fear Factory, Dillinger
Escape Plan and Nevermore. Artists for the second stage will
be announced in the coming weeks.

GIGANTOUR follows MEGADETH's sold-out 2004 "Blackmail The
Universe" Tour in support of 2004's THE SYSTEM HAS FAILED--
MEGADETH's tenth studio album--which debuted on the charts
at #18 and was critically hailed as a brilliant return to form.
Bandmates Glen Drover (guitar), James MacDonough (bass) and
Shawn Drover (drums) will once again join MUSTAINE on the road.

GIGANTOUR--whose moniker was inspired by the classic 1960's
cartoon "Gigantor"--will criss-cross North America, with stops
in amphitheatres and arenas in cities including Los Angeles,
New York, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Montreal, Washington,
Philadelphia, Boston, Denver and Minneapolis, among others.
The tour is implementing the "fan friendly" ticket price of
approximately $35 each. MUSTAINE notes: "I think people may
want an affordable alternative to the choices out there--along
the lines of a pure music festival--like Monsters of Rock or
Clash of the Titans."

MUSTAINE handpicked the bands for GIGANTOUR, with a focus on
musicianship. "There are few very successful tours out each
summer and in order to be significant, I knew the first
Gigantour had to make an impact with top bands like DREAM THEATER,
Fear Factory, Dillinger Escape Plan and Nevermore." MUSTAINE
wanted to "put together a festival that consisted of positive
bands that play heavy music in a high energy environment."

(...)

MUSTAINE is excited to hit the road and has a positive outlook
for GIGANTOUR. "I look forward to watching this develop over
the years and seeing how we can turn this into something that's
going to stand the test of time. And if this works, and it really
works, maybe we'll take it elsewhere."

Source:	Dream Theater's newsletter
Band profile:	Megadeth