'Gigantour' heads to Chicago with Megadeth at the helm

Megadeth have sold in excess of 25 million records and in the 1980s were rivaled only by Metallica in the thrash metal world.

"The '80s were ours," said Megadeth bassist and co–founder Dave Ellefson, "but the '90s were NOT very kind to thrash metal."

"All of us — the bands, the fans, the metal scene as a whole — went through a lot of changes," he said. So by 2002, when the group's guitarist and co–founder Dave Mustaine suffered nerve damage to his arm and disbanded Megadeth, it seemed the final chapter had been written.

"I never thought Megadeth would end, and when it suddenly did, I was suddenly in a position where I needed to move on," Ellefson said. "At that point, I was still a young man in my 30s, so I wasn't going to sit around and do nothing. Life put a few forks in my road. I was doing some artist relations work with a music company called Peavey and had a couple of new band projects going."

Though they remained the best of friends, when Mustaine set out to reform Megadeth in 2004 after his ability to shred on his guitar returned, Ellefson was following one of those "forks" and initially declined the invitation to return. Mustaine carried on for a few years and a few albums without Ellefson.

Megadeth succeeded in regaining some of its past glory; creating some decent albums and taking part of the ambitious "BIG 4" tour with fellow thrash band legends Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. But something was missing. That something was Ellefson, who had been the cornerstone of the group for 19 years.

"It's hard to put the train back together again and get it back on the track," Ellefson said about rejoining the band in 2010. "When Dave brought Megadeth back there was a different spirit and a different feeling. I think Dave needed to have that period of time to realign Megadeth the way he wanted. And I did a few things that I never would have had the time to do if I had returned right away to Megadeth, so in hindsight, it took the time that it took, but I think the band is the best it's ever been at this point."

Apparently so, since last year Megadeth released its best–selling and most critically acclaimed album in years — "TH1RT3EN" — which debuted at ZNo. 11 on the Billboard Top 200 Albums chart and No. 1 on the Billboard Hard Rock chart.

"TH1RT3EN" has earned the band two Grammy nods in the "Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Performance" category. Last year, their song "Sudden Death" (unveiled in the 2010 video game "Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock") got the nomination. This year, that category includes their latest single, "Public Enemy #1."

Megadeth' has 10 career total Grammy nominations. With Grammy night just two days away, Ellefson said they haven't written any speeches, but are looking forward to the party.

Win or lose, Megadeth — which is rounded out by drummer Shawn Drover and guitarist Chris Broderick — have a tremendously busy year planned. They are the organizers and headliners of "Gigantour 2012," the latest installment of the multi–band tour Mustaine put together in 2005 and again in 2007 to carry on where OzzFest left off in regards to bringing heavy metal music to the masses.

"Gigantour 2012" features three support groups — Motorhead, Lacuna Coil and Volbeat — each "hand–picked" by Mustaine for this celebrated heavy metal romp across North America. FYI: WWW.GIGANTOUR.COM

"Everyone knows Lemmy and Motorhead and everyone knows Lacuna Coil, but everyone may not know Volbeat, but they are going to love them. This is a really good, young band that needs to be seen and heard," said Ellefson. So don't plan on being fashionably late or you may miss out on "the next big thing."

Ellefson seems optimistic that Mustaine's vision of "Gigantour" becoming an annual event has much promise with heavy metal again on the rise. This year's tour has certainly gotten off to a grand start, with the kick off at New York's Madison Square Garden two weeks ago selling out.

"Gigantour 2012" takes roost at Chicago's Aragon Ballroom tonight.

"Chicago has always been a strong market for metal," said Ellefson, explaining that Megadeth are doing about 75 minutes on stage each night with a set list that runs the gamut of their catalog. A handful of headknockers from "TH1RT3EN" are mixed among the classics. "There are a few surprises in the set that I think the fans will enjoy hearing."