Robert Trujillo (METALLICA),Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth (OVERKILL),John Bush (ARMORED SAINT),Doc Coyle (BAD WOLVES, GOD FORBID),Marty Friedman (MEGADETH),Gary Holt (SLAYER, EXODUS),Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA),Jeff Loomis (ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE),Mark Tornillo (ACCEPT),Troy Sanders (MASTODON) and Alissa White-Gluz (ARCH ENEMY) are among the musicians who performed with METAL ALLEGIANCE last night (Thursday, January 23) at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California.
METAL ALLEGIANCE began as a celebration of heavy metal, powered by the almost tribal bond shared between the extreme music community’s most revered trailblazers, armed with a list of contributors onstage (and off) that read like a Wikipedia entry on the genre itself.
Since METAL ALLEGIANCE‘s inception in 2014, the band is comprised of the core four members of: Mark Menghi on bass, Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT) on guitar, David Ellefson (MEGADETH) on bass, and Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER) on drums.
The night was sponsored by Jackson Guitars, EVH Gear, Charvel Guitars and IK Multimedia and included direct support from OTTTO. Opening the night were WICKED and LOST LEGACY.
As with METAL ALLEGIANCE‘s previous shows, last night’s setlist balanced original material with classic covers of metal royalty.
In a recent interview with RadioBypass, Skolnick was asked if there has been any talk of METAL ALLEGIANCE writing and recording a third album as the follow-up to 2018’s “Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty”. He responded: “Yes. We’ve been talking about it for some time. It’s always easier said than done, given everybody’s schedules, but we’re continuing to talk about it and I’m pretty sure that [2025] is the year we will get started on it. So I don’t know what it’s gonna look like, I don’t know how it’s going to compare to the past albums. Maybe we’ll get our feet wet with an EP or a single — who knows? — but either way, we’re gonna get started and see how it goes, probably later this [coming] year.”
Collaborative tribute experiences like HAIL! and METAL MASTERS eventually led to the founding of METAL ALLEGIANCE a decade ago.
The collective’s raucous renditions of classic material from the likes of JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, OZZY OSBOURNE, THIN LIZZY, VAN HALEN and PANTERA in clubs, conventions and cruise ships inevitably led to the creation of an album of brand new material.
METAL ALLEGIANCE has issued two full-length albums so far, 2015’s self-titled debut and “Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty”, as well as an EP, 2016’s “Fallen Heroes”.
METAL ALLEGIANCE‘s Anaheim show from 2024 drew rave reviews from the metal press, including Metal Talk saying, “If you weren’t here, you definitely missed out on probably a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Also, the Vinyl District added, “Fans were treated to some of the very best metal has to offer from a supergroup that truly understands what a live musical performance should be. All hail METAL ALLEGIANCE!”