Metal fans often fantasize about their dream lineup… plucking a singer from one band, guitarist from another, and so on, to form the ultimate all-star group. Well, on January 21st at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California, dreams will become reality. Members of Megadeth, Anthrax, Testament, Pantera, Exodus, Sepultura, Death Angel, and Mastodon will come together in various configurations to perform a set of classic tunes in a not to be missed event. Tickets, priced at a very reasonable $30 each, can be purchased via TicketMaster or the House Of Blues Anaheim box office.  

The very first Metal Allegiance show was aboard Motörhead’s Motörboat Cruise, which sailed back in September 2014. It was really a last minute performance, as bassist David Ellefson and guitarist Chris Broderick’s main band (at that time) Megadeth was forced to cancel their show due to frontman Dave Mustaine suffering complications from cervical spine surgery. How did such an all-star jam band come together with such short notice?

Ellefson: “The promoter on the boat came to me real quick, and I said, I think I have an idea. We had just been discussing Metal Allegiance kicking off, probably in January. It was like, guess what dude? You’re up to bat. Of course, me and Chris being involved in it, we were already going to be on the boat anyway; as were most of the cast of characters. It was this perfect moment in time; it just opened up and allowed us to push the debut date about three months earlier. We rocked it and pulled it off.”

Broderick: “It’s one of those events that you can never re-create; once in a lifetime.”

Who came up with the name Metal Allegiance? It seems simple enough, but naming a band is one of the hardest things.

Ellefson: “It is. The thing had been growing. A lot of this stuff started when we did The Big 4 shows (Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax) back in 2010. It opened this whole idea that all of us in the thrash genre were combining our efforts, and doing things that are fun and for the fans. Our bands had all achieved this status; rather than being competitive, we were able to pull together and create these big events. So the Metal Allegiance concept was just a natural progression from that. Bringing in Phil (Anselmo) and Rex (Brown) from Pantera, and Alex (Skolnick) and Chuck (Billy) from Testament – it’s really a cool thing! These guys have the right spirit; they’ve certainly got the musicality for it. These songs – some of them are our own, some are from our record collection as kids. It’s funny how all of us in this genre, we all have the same record collection.”

Although vocalists Joey Belladonna (Anthrax) and Phil Anselmo (Pantera) were both part of the initial Metal Allegiance show, they will not be participating in the upcoming Anaheim gig.

Broderick: “Not at this time.”

Ellefson: “But that’s what’s cool about it; we’re able to expand it. It can ebb and flow, we can bring in different people and continue to expand.”

Broderick: “At the House Of Blues show, we’re going to have Troy from Mastodon, and Mark from Death Angel. Of course we’ll be seeing Chuck Billy (from Testament) again; we’ve got a lot of cool surprises as well.”

Ellefson: “It allows the set list to expand as well. It’s not the same eight guys playing the same 15 songs. We all have our bands, but to come together collectively – you should see our email threads. One guy will suggest four songs… 25 emails later and the set list has turned into 50 songs. It’s a bunch of professional musicians all being kids again, like we’re sitting in someone’s basement trading records back and forth.”

Given how quickly the set list can balloon, and looking at some of the songs Metal Allegiance has already done live, including hits from Black Sabbath, Van Halen, KISS, Led Zeppelin, and Rush; “Tom Sawyer” is not a three chord AC/DC song. How much rehearsal happens prior to taking the stage?

Broderick: “Let’s just put it this way, we worked on it about an hour and a half before we played it on stage. But it was fun! Playing that with Alex (Skolnick) and Joey (Belladonna), it was a good time. I think we might have to pull that song out again.”

Given the prior commitments of everyone involved, it seems nearly impossible for Metal Allegiance to do a full-blown 30-date tour; but so many fans would love to see a high-quality version of this, as opposed to the cell-phone videos which litter YouTube. Will this show be filmed for a DVD / Blu-Ray release?

Broderick: “We don’t have any plans right now to film a DVD, but we’d never rule it out.”

Ellefson: “And I wouldn’t be so sure about that tour idea either man. When you get the guys together and get this thing up and running, it’d be pretty easy to roll out a few more dates.”

Writing for the new Megadeth album is underway, what can you share about the new material?

Ellefson: “The writing thing has been pretty extensive. I think this is the first time ever that we’ve got considerably more ideas than will ever make it to the record. Part of the reason behind that is because we’re taking some time off the road. We’re not trying to cram an eight-week recording session between tours, which is kind of what we’ve been doing on the last couple of records. This is the first time, in probably a decade, where we’re really taking the time to develop the tunes; there’s a lot of material there.”

In 2014, Ellefson teamed up with Metal Allegiance and Anthrax bassist Frank Bello under the moniker Altitudes & Attitude, to release a three-song EP. Work on the follow-up is currently underway.

Ellefson: “Frank and I went in with (producer) Jay Ruston and (drummer) Jeff Friedl. Jay being a bass player, he gets it. Right now he’s working on the new Anthrax record, so we wanted to get a little bit ahead of that and lay down these ideas. We’ve got about nine ideas sitting on tape. We’re actually just working on a schedule; probably sometime before that Metal Allegiance show in January, we’re going to get back in and hopefully finish those tunes up.”

Is Altitudes & Attitude a more laid back environment compared to working with Megadeth?

Ellefson: “It is because Frank writes a certain type of song, and I write a certain type of song. Somehow or another, when we get in a room, our two polar opposites work really well together; it’s a really cool creative collaboration.”

Will it be a full album this time from A&A;?

Ellefson: “That’s what we’re looking for. The last one, we wanted to just put out three – what we felt were really great songs, in an EP. Let’s make it about quality, rather than quantity. Now that we’ve established it, and there’s a sound and an identity to it; we’re going to work hard at developing a full-length.”

Up next after the Anaheim show, Metal Allegiance will play the ShipRocked Cruise, sailing from Miami, Florida to Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas, aboard the Norwegian Pearl, from February 2nd to 6th.

Broderick: “We’ll have Gary Holt (Slayer) with us; it’ll be a killer time.”

Do either of you have trouble getting your sea legs, or are you well-adjusted to the floating metropolis that is a cruise ship?

Broderick: “I love the water!”

Ellefson: “The only other cruise I did was with my family a year ago in the mid-Atlantic, and man, it was rough! I was kind of kicking myself for volunteering to go on a cruise. Fortunately the Motorboat was really mellow; in fact I remember this clear moment, taking the stage with Metal Allegiance, looking up and seeing palm trees on the boat and the big tail fin up there – can you believe we’re in the middle of the ocean right now? It was really a pleasant surprise. And I think ShipRocked should be pretty cool. February is a good time to be out sailing the seas.

 

(Top live photo of David Ellefson by Melanie LiCausi)