MEGADETH re-launch for the first time since 2008 their critically acclaimed package festival GIGANTOUR. The multi-artist bill–with metal heavyweights MOTORHEAD, VOLBEAT and LACUNA COIL all personally picked by MUSTAINE–will kick off in early 2012 with dates tentatively set for late January through early March. GIGANTOUR was founded by MEGADETH frontman DAVE MUSTAINE in 2005 and was last in the U.S. in May 2008.

MEGADETH’s thirteenth album–appropriately titled TH1RT3EN–will be released November 1 via Roadrunner Records. The album’s first single is “Public Enemy No. 1.”

The band–singer/guitarist DAVE MUSTAINE, bassist DAVE ELLEFSON, guitarist CHRIS BRODERICK and drummer SHAWN DROVER–recently performed at Yankee Stadium for one of only two U.S. BIG 4 shows, with Metallica, Anthrax and Slayer. Of their performance, the New York Times’ Ben Ratliff said, “…as always, he [Mustaine] was fascinating to watch: serious and flinty-voiced, a generous and hard-working guitar player, as he traded off solos with Chris Broderick…(9/15/11).” Jim Farber of the New York Daily News said, “Songs performed here, like ‘Peace Sells…But Who’s Buying’ ideally calibrated melody and mania. ‘Symphony Of Destruction’ remains a classic of crunch. Such songs also boast an individual point of view, combining Mustaine’s political rants with his psychological self-assaults.”

Dave Mustaine is proud of the music put forth on the new recording, saying, “This record is the culmination of my work over the 13 records I recorded. There are moments on TH1RT3EN that capture my every emotion, and other moments where I am releasing feelings I never knew existed! My proudest moments of my musical career are captured on TH1RT3EN.” TH1RT3EN also marks the recorded return of bassist Dave Ellefson who was part of the band’s classic lineup from 1983 to 2002. In a move that delighted the band’s legion of diehards, Ellefson returned to performing live with Megadeth in early 2010 and has remained a fixture on the stage ever since. This is the first time Ellefson has played on a Megadeth record since 2002’s Rude Awakening.

The new album’s title has several levels of meaning. Dave Mustaine, who first picked up an axe at the age of 13, told RollingStone.com (backstage at Yankee Stadium): “I was born on September 13th; this is my thirteenth record. It just seemed like it was the right thing to do to call it TH1RT3EN.”

GIGANTOUR is a chance to, as MUSTAINE says, tour with like-minded artists “that play heavy music in a high-energy environment,” with a fan-friendly ticket price. He founded the tour in 2005 and invited such artists as Anthrax, Dream Theater, Fear Factory, Lamb of God, Opeth, Static-X and In Flames to join MEGADETH. For LACUNA COIL, GIGANTOUR 2012 marks a return to the tour, as they performed on the 2007 Australian tour; the Italian heavy metal group’s singer CRISTINA SCABBIA also appeared on MEGADETH’s 2007 re-recording of their song “A Tout Le Monde”