METAL ALLEGIANCE, the all-star metal band consisting of a rotating cast of musicians, including members of MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, will pay tribute to iconic MOTÖRHEAD frontman Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister during METAL ALLEGIANCE’s January 9 concert at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.
With the recent release of their critically acclaimed self-titled album, the musicians of METAL ALLEGIANCE are bringing their legendary live experience back to where it began. The West Coast run starts in San Diego on January 7, hits Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and wraps up in San Francisco on January 10. Don’t miss your chance to watch David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Mark Osegueda (DEATH ANGEL), Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD), Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, THE WINERY DOGS), Troy Sanders (MASTODON), Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT) and Mark Menghi do what they do best — play some heavy metal music!
“The entire ALLEGIANCE concept started on the West Coast back in 2011 and I’m stoked to bring it back there,” comments Mark Menghi. “The last time we played out there, no one knew we were secretly writing and recording an album. Well, a year later, we’re back! Can’t wait to see all of our West Coast friends.”
Says Skolnick: “Beyond excited to kick off 2016 playing METAL ALLEGIANCE originals and specially chosen covers — the first time with this unique lineup. Since unleashing the album a short while back, we’ve brought our live festivities to the East Coast, Mexico and Japan. West Coast: You’re next!”
States Ellefson: “This has been an incredible ride with some amazingly talented friends. Glad to see the ALLEGIANCE now thrashing back on the West Coast in the New Year.”
Confirmed METAL ALLEGIANCE West Coast shows:
Jan. 07 – Ramona Mainstage – Ramona, CA
Jan. 08 – Count’s Vamp’d – Las Vegas, NV
Jan. 09 – Whisky A Go Go – West Hollywood, CA
Jan. 10 – The Regency – San Francisco, CA
METAL ALLEGIANCE’s self-titled debut album was released on September 18, 2015 via Nuclear Blast Entertainment.
Brought together by METAL ALLEGIANCE principal partner Mark Menghi, the project’s original material came together from the creative minds of David Ellefson, Mike Portnoy, and Alex Skolnick, alongside Menghi. The four writers then reached out through their metal rolodexes to a diverse lineup of performers, each adding their own personal musical stamp to the collection of nine original songs.
In a recent interview with I Probably Hate Your Band, Menghi stated about the songwriting process for “Metal Allegiance”: “We wrote the majority of the lyrics for the record. In particular, Dave Ellefson and I co-wrote a lot of the lyrics to the record. We based it off our personal experiences in life, some of the fucking crap we went through. For example, with ‘Can’t Kill The Devil’, he had two lines for that song: ‘Can’t kill the Devil, the Devil never dies.’ And when he said that to me, I was, like, ‘Just stop right there,’ and an hour later, I came back with all the lyrics for the song. And I basically told a tale, I told a story about the Devil. We all have a Devil in our life. I told a story about my Devil and combined it with his.”
The standard edition CD of “Metal Allegiance” features nine original songs. A digipak edition was made available that features an all-star tribute to Ronnie James Dio with a cover of his classic song “We Rock” as well as a 45-minute behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the album. A double vinyl version was also made available that features all 10 songs as well.
Source: Blabbermouth
