MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has posted the following message in the "Forums" section of the band's official web site:
"Well, now that Gigantour NA [North America] and OZ [Australia] is over, looking back this year was just as much fun for me as last year, and the bands were hot this year, even if they had been out before on other tours recently. Remember this tour is about a sense of community between the bands and that spills over to all of the fans. Of course there will always be someone who doesn’t quite grasp the mindset of Gigantour and I will just have to pay special attention to them, to remind them what it is that the 'bands and fans' are doing here.
"I had a solid touring staff this year, and excluding a few bumps and one enormous pot hole, we had another successful trip around the continent. I look forward to hearing some stories about what Gigantour meant for you this year, as opposed to last year.
"Now, into faraway lands; like Japan! What an amazing performance the Japanese promoter did with Loud Park and the Gigantour Day. I could see us having one day of Loud Park being Gigantour Day every year. And the bands they picked for the weekend were really cool too! Sadly, I couldn’t see any of them on the second day, except in the hotels or nearby shops, restaurants, or the one guy that is always asking for the underwear vending machines.
"And last, but certainly not least, is our Australian Droogies! Representing!!!
"I saw a lot of the fans and Droogies from last year and thankfully got away without seeing another that creeps me out a little bit, and overall the audience has grown to almost double the size of last year! Y'all must reproduce faster down there than we do up here.
"I have already started talking to Gigantour's Australian representation about next years Gigantour.2007.OZ, and was, as it were, able to meet up with someone that G.2007.OZ were interested in for Gigantour next year in Australia as the headliner, since he was passing through and we all met up for dinner and seafood.
"After tomorrow night, I will be returning home to prepare the few last touches on the new record and to finish writing two new songs. I wrote them with the help of my boys out on the road, and all of the ups and very few downs of this last tour, there is going to be a bunch of little spicing ups of parts.
"This is going to be the year of the Droogie! I can feel it."
As previously reported, MEGADETH has tapped British producer Andy Sneap (NEVERMORE, MACHINE HEAD, ARCH ENEMY, CRADLE OF FILTH) to mix its long-awaited new album, "United Abominations", tentatively due in March 2007 via Roadrunner Records.
"United Abominations" will include a cover of LED ZEPPELIN's "Out on the Tiles", which Mustaine has previously described as one of the CD's highlights. "It could be the best song," he said. "I think it rocks!"
"United Abominations" was recorded under the watchful eye of Mustaine and co-producer Jeff Balding. The initial studio sessions were filmed by director Michael Sarna (ANTHRAX, OBITUARY) and are available at Megadeth.com to fan-club members. Other songtitles set to appear on the CD include "United Abominations" and "Washington Is Next" (video).
MEGADETH's last CD, "The System Has Failed", has sold more than 180,000 copies since its September 2004 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The group, who were most recently signed to Sanctuary Records, were joined by bassist James Lomenzo (ex-BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, WHITE LION) in February following the departure of James MacDonough (ex-ICED EARTH).
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