METAL ALLEGIANCE - Jan 20, 2017.

Heavy metal is more than a genre, more than an attitude and certainly more than whatever cheap epithets are dismissively thrown at it by clueless critics. At its best, metal is a lifestyle, a community, a tribe uniting people across cultural, economic and philosophical divides with the primal pulse of bombastic and majestic expression.

On Friday January 20th, METAL ALLEGIANCE are gathering at the City National Grove of Anaheim for a monumental tribute to our fallen heroes. Hosted by Jackson, Charvel EVH and the night will be a who's who of the metal community playing some heavy music!

This night marks the first time in a year that the core four, David Ellefson, Alex Skolnick, Mark Menghi, and Mike Portnoy, have played together. Joining them on stage are Chris Jericho (FOZZY) , Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL), Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD), Gary Holt (SLAYER/EXODUS), Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX) , Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT), and Billy Sheehan (THE WINERY DOGS) plus surprise guests! The night will start at 7pm with sets by Marty Friedman, and Gus G. .

General admission tickets for the night will go on sale on Friday, October 20th at 1pm EDT / 10am PDT and can be purchased here!

VIP packages that include a ticket, a meet & greet with members of the band, a t-shirt, a show poster, and VIP laminate will be available on Friday, October 20th at 1pm EDT / 10am PDT at ticketspin.com/metal-allegiance
 
"So excited to be joining my friends in METAL ALLEGIANCE for their Fallen Heroes tribute in Anaheim this year! I'll get up for a few songs and we'll have a fabulous night of incredible music! Don't miss it!"
- Billy Sheehan

"A Metal Allegiance show is always a great time for us and the audience, but nothing quite compares to when it happens in Anaheim during the month of January. It becomes a very big event and with so many friends in town, we're able to have a unique combination of musicians that would be very difficult to pull together otherwise. This will be the first time we play our originals in Anaheim and the first time we do specific dedications to our Fallen Heroes. It will be a very special night. See you there!"  
- Alex Skolnick       
 
I’m stoked to return to Southern California where this crazy METAL ALLEGIANCE concept and once pipe-dream of an idea all spawned from way back when! SoCal and the entire Anaheim area are so damn near and dear to me as we started this thing there… and now we get to return to our second home in SoCal and unleash our brand of thrash. Get ready for the biggest and craziest MA show to date.
- Mark Menghi
 
"Of all the bands playing in Anaheim that week, this is the one show you don't wanna miss! Thrash metal played at its finest by a band that has sold over 50 million records collectively with an audience made up completely of bikini models! Well, all of those things might not exactly be true, but you get the idea. The point is, come see the coolest fuckin’ band in Anaheim that week - METAL ALLEGIANCE!"
- Chris Jericho
 
“Can't wait to eat lightening and crap thunder with my bros in MA again at our Fallen Heroes tribute show in January!
- Phil Demmel
 
“Every year, Anaheim becomes the largest gathering and annual musician summit anywhere in the world. I'm proud that this year METAL ALLEGIANCE is taking center stage to make sure it gets very loud with a special tribute to the many great "Fallen Heroes" of our genre." 
- David Ellefson

METAL ALLEGIANCE released their newest EP, entitled Fallen Heroes, which pays homage to the 3 legends - Lemmy Kilmister, David Bowie, and Glenn Frey - who impacted not just their lives but the world as we know it.

Below is the track list for Fallen Heroes:
1. Iron Fist featuring Troy Sanders
2. Suffragette City featuring Mark Osegueda
3. Life In The Fast Lane featuring Alissa White-Gluz
Guitar: Alex Skolnick
Bass: Mark Menghi
Drums: Mike Portnoy
Recorded at Conclave Studios in New York City, Fallen Heroes was produced by Mark Menghi, Mike Portnoy, and Alex Skolnick. The album was mixed by Jay Ruston in Los Angeles, CA and mastered at Sterling Sound in New York City by Ted Jensen. The initial sketch of the artwork was created by Mark Menghi and Stephen Thompson (Anthrax) and was later finalized by Marcelo Vasco (Slayer).

METAL ALLEGIANCE took the news of Lemmy's passing very hard as the bands very first gig was on Motörhead’s first Motörboat cruise. It was on that boat where the idea to write a record together and carry the MA flag as a brand/band rather than a sporadic, special event show… all of us in MA are humbly grateful for the opportunity that team Motörhead gave us.

In late 2015, the band scheduled a West Coast string of intimate club dates with a stop as the world-famous Whisky A Go-Go. The year concluded with the band heartbroken saying goodbye to their beloved friend. They later found out that his funeral and memorial services would be held the day of their performance. The band was asked by their tour agent who is also Motörhead's agent, Lemmy's management, close friends of his, and the owner of the Rainbow & Whisky to incorporate a tribute which of course, they obliged. The day of their performance, Sunset Blvd. was shut down and their bus was parked on a street filled with tears, madness, partiers and a sea of mourning metal heads. They said goodbye to their friend that evening with help from Motörhead drummer Mikkey Dee amongst a ton of other special guests.

The next day they played their final show at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. Mid-set they were informed that David Bowie had passed. Mark Menghi comments, "I remember coming off stage to trade bass duties with David Ellefson (we would rotate songs) and he stopped me, looked me and Osegueda in the eyes and said 'Dude, Bowie just passed away.' Literally in mid-set we got that news. I looked at Mark and he was in tears. Not even a minute later, he was on stage telling the Bay area crowd of the news he just learned. I turned to the side and looked over at Mike Portnoy and he just had his head down with his hands over his head trying to comprehend what Mark was saying. The next few songs was our Lemmy tribute and tears rolled off all of our eyes while paying tribute to one while learning of the passing of another."


Read More News

Tags:  Metal Allegiance, Phel demmel, Chris Jericho, Mark Meghi, Alex Skolnick

Red Barron    October 17, 2016