The night of Friday January 20th, The Grove of Anaheim was a venue ready to erupt, as metal heads celebrated the legacy left behind by multiple musicians who passed away in 2016 among other years. The mega-band Metal Allegiance composed of multiple artist like David Ellefson, Mike Portnoy and WWE wrestler Chris Jericho rocked the stage. With each blast, and each melody Dimebag, and Prince were honored.
Metal Allegiance served their tribute to those fallen heroes, and their amazing talent was showcased on stage, as artists like Chuck Billy, and Mark Osegueda sang songs from previous amazing bands, tracks like “Lets Go Crazy” by late Prince, and “Iron Fist” by heavy rocker Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister of Motorhead were top notch. The fans were not expecting a night like this; however they raged and headbanged to a variety of tracks. Each word sang, and beat played had a lot of meaning to the artists performing up on stage. The track that was perfectly showcased was “War Ensemble” written by our comrade Jeff Hanneman, the crowd unleashed their love for Slayer guitarist’s and thrash metal creator on the pit, while raising their horns.
The night was filled with love and respect for those previous legends, as they will never die; one of them being Cliff Burton, original Metallica’s bassist. Cliff Burton’s dad Ray Burton, celebrated his birthday and allowed Mark Menghi to use Cliff’s bass to rock out to track “Disposable Heroes” one of many songs Cliff Burton had input on. Guest artists included, Gary Holt, Marty Friedman, Gus G., Carla Harvey (Butcher Babies), Eddie Hermida from Sucide Silence, among many.
This night will go on the books as Metal Allegiance honorable display of Talent. The band also played their original track “Can’t Kill The Devil” a furious track which sure amped up the crowd. Chris Jericho executed vocals like a true rock star, pairing up with Mark Osegueda, both hitting high notes to honor Jon Lord’s Deep Purple track “Space Trucking”, Chris sported a fancy scarf, and glittery jacket as he also channeled his love for Queen’s one and only Freddie Mercury. It was a fancy night indeed, as David Ellefson and Marty Friedman reunited on stage playing together and boy what a performance.
The opening acts were amazing as well, the Greek guitarist Gus G. from Ozzy Osbourne and Firewind completely shredded on stage. His style is similar to Zakk Wylde, however this dude adds his own touch and plays amazing scales with melody and creative patterns. His set was a fast, and heavy one as the band played songs like “The Quest” among others. You can definitely hear his powerful hammering and pick sweeping in the entire performance. Gus G. will conquer America with his talent and virtuosity. The Other multi-talented guitar god who completely destroyed the stage was Marty Friedman, the Ex- Megadeth guitarists played tracks from his new solo album Inferno. This guy plays guitar with such ease, and the melody projected at the fans is very Japanese oriented, however it is a masterpiece. Marty Friedman showcased the track “Tornado of Souls” and his skills surpassed those recorded in the album Rust In Peace. 
The night was filled with guitar shredding, amazing drum work by Mikkey Dee and Vinny Apicce, bass work by Mark Menghi, and David Ellefson vocals by Mark Osegueda and Chuck Billy while each track had a special touch, I will never be able to listen to the covers tracks the same not thinking of this night. Metal Allegiance have contorted my mind and if you get the chance to see them live do so.
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