It looks like one time on a boat wasn’t enough for what’s being referred to as the Metal Allegiance. After Megadeth dropped off of Motorhead’s Motorboat, an all-star band popped up to play what was presumably a one-time-only show. Not so fast. Now a landlocked version of the Metal Allegiance has been announced for January 21, 2015 at Anaheim, CA’s House of Blues. While it’s not the same lineup as the Motorboat (no Phil Anselmo, for one), it’s still a who’s who of classic and current heavy metal and hard rock that will include, alphabetically: Frank Bello (Anthrax), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Chuck Billy (Testament), Chris Broderick (Megadeth), David Ellefson (Megadeth), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Andreas Kisser (Sepultura), Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), Mike Portnoy (The Winery Dogs), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), Alex Skolnick (Testament) and John Tempesta (The Cult).
Taking the “Metal Masters” idea to have an all-star group of musicians play songs by their bands and others is an idea that appears to be working, and with them adding new musicians, like Sanders, keeps things fresh. “Holy shit! I’ve been invited to the all-star game,” Sanders commented. Scott Ian will actually open the ceremonies, doing a version of his “Speaking Words” spoken word performances. “Being a part of Metal Allegiance gave me the chance to hang one-handed from a palm tree to take a video of Alex Skolnick playing Eruption,” Ian says. “Can’t wait to do it again! (Metal Allegiance, not the one-handed hanging). See you all soon!”
Tickets go on sale for the Metal Allegiance show on Friday (10/31). You’ll be able to buy them here or at the House of Blues Anaheim box office.
