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March 16, 2012 - Greetings from home! - by Kevin Stowell [Assistant to Dave Mustaine]

We just wrapped up Gigantour a week ago in Austin, Texas. After a few days of sorting gear and resupplying, the band and crew are home for a well deserved break.

The last 6 weeks have been full of long drives and great shows from a solid Gigantour lineup. Lacuna Coil provided an energetic opening to the show, Volbeat continued on with their distinct blues rock/metal fusion sound, and Motörhead hit the crowd with a wall of sound before Megadeth would take the stage. Megadeth played a huge selection of music from their catalogue, giving the crowd a unique set list in each city. During this tour Megadeth invited the talented Cristina Scabbia of Lacuna Coil to share the stage during the performance of their song "A Toute Le Monde" each night.

My highlight show of the tour was at The Theater at Madison Square Garden in New York City where Vic made his first return to stage, since his extended vacation in Peru this past November. Other tour highlights include playing at the Bell Centre in Montreal where Shawn and I were able to take a look inside the Montreal Canadiens’ locker room, in Chicago where David Ellefson tested fate by trying the Megadeth burger from a local restaurant, and in Denver where Dave and I scored great seats to the Colorado Avalanche game.

On this tour, Megadeth attained their 10th Grammy nomination, for the song "Public Enemy No. 1". In addition to the nomination, Guitar World magazine awarded the band and its members a handful of achievements, including Dave and Chris as the Best Guitar Duo, "TH1RT3EN" as the Best Metal Album, Dave Mustaine ranked #3 on the MVP list, as well as the "Big Four" issue from November 2011 as the best cover of the year.

This break is the calm before the storm that is this summer. We have a lot coming up with the Metal Open Air Festival in San Luis, Brazil this April, followed by 3 weeks in the U.S. with Rob Zombie in May, and a very full European schedule in June.

A big thanks to all the bands and crews of Gigantour 2012! See you in Brazil!

Kevin Stowell