Supergroups come and go but allegiances can be forever. Founded by mastermind Mark Menghi, Metal Allegiance has quickly become the torch-bearer for the metal community world-wide. More than just a band, it’s a movement bringing together the best of the best to keep the legacy of classic metal alive and well.
The core of Metal Allegiance features Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), Phil Demmel (Machine Head), Dave Ellefson (Megadeth), Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater), Alex Skolnick (Testament), and Mark Menghi. The show on this night consisted of mostly covers but also a few select tracks from their debut album which features even more metal alums which are way too many to list here—but it’s a seriously impressive list that reads like a who’s who of metal past and present.
While I would have loved to hear a few more originals from the record in the set, the few that they played were everything that metal should be; loud, aggressive, and worthy of an entire crowd pumping their devil horns in the air. Alex Skolnick was absolutely on fire and melted every single face in the crowd with blistering guitar solos that he made look easy.
Portnoy put on a hell of a performance as well. It’s interesting to see him take on a role that’s intensely straightforward and metal based rather than with Dream Theater and most recently The Winery Dogs. It’s a testament to his raw, unbridled talent as a drummer who can pretty much do it all.
Ellefson locked in the groove perfectly as one would expect and Phil Demmel brought his signature brutal riffs to round out everything perfectly
I also have to call out that Mark Osegueda is a terribly underrated master of ceremonies. The Death Angel frontman and Bay Area native led this band of metal all-stars flawlessly with incredibly inspiring moments of comradery in between.
Not only were his vocals perfect the entire evening, but he did one hell of a job bringing the crowd of metal heads together so that they truly felt as part of the allegiance. As a fan watching the show, it felt like I had known these guys forever, and maybe a lot of us in the crowd have.
On a personal note, watching the live show brought me back to my early metal days when I was sort of lost and angry at the world looking for a place to fit in. I fell into the metal community by accident but it absolutely made me who I am today.
The choice of cover songs could not have been more perfect this evening and I kept thinking to myself, if I had to choose a band to play these songs live, this is exactly who I would have picked.
Bottom Line: Outstanding show, and quite possibly a once in a lifetime performance. Check out hi res shots from the show in the gallery here.
SETLIST:
Electric Eye
The Ides of March
Creeping Death
Can’t Kill The Devil
Let Darkness Fall
Fast As A Shark
Balls to The Wall
Heaven & Hell
Territory
Dying Song
Pledge of Allegiance
Lord of This World
Into The Void
Runnin’ With The Devil
Eruption
Whole Lotta Rosie
ENCORE:
Killed By Death
Iron Fist
Overkill
Ace of Spades
Seek & Destroy
