Metal Allegiance – ‘Metal Allegiance’ [Review]
As a celebration of modern metal’s sense of brotherhood and community spirit, this album hits the sweet (or, more accurately, sour) spot. A collection of none-more-black tracks featuring “house band” Mike Portnoy (drums), Dave Ellefson (bass), and Alex Skolnick (guitars) alongside a host of metal’s biggest and brightest stars, it goes without saying that musicianship-wise, the level of talent on display here goes way beyond world-class. It’s the kind of album that metalheads dream about when they go to sleep at night, trudge to work during the day, and wax poetic about their passions over trays of Jägerbombs in the evening.
Whatever your taste in metal, you’re likely to find something to satisfy you in here. There’s a definite focus on hard-gurning grooves on Metal Allegiance, with that peerless rhythm section leading listeners toward Neckbraceland at every opportunity – but when they quit holding back and just go for it, they’re equally unstoppable. The first three tracks on any album are all-important, and Metal Allegiance hooks the curious with Gift Of Pain (featuring Lamb Of God frontman Randy Blythe’s bowels-of-hell vocals), Let Darkness Fall (fronted by Mastodon main man Troy Sanders), and Dying Song (led by Phil Anselmo and pinned down in the bassment by Metal Allegiance’s conceptual mastermind Mark Menghi).
The sheer level of expectation surrounding Metal Allegiance is, on paper, tough to live up to no matter who you are. Beyond that opening trio of top-class tracks, does it disappoint?
Rarely. There are a few riffs and sections in there that could be labelled “stock”, but they’re few and far between – and when they do make an appearance, it’s clearly in the context of “Fuck it – let’s have a laugh with this”. So even at those points, opinions can be easily divided.
Personally, highlight-wise I have to point not only to Gift Of Pain (man alive – what an opening statement), but also Scars. Gunshot snares, bottled-lightning solos, and wicked vocal showings from Death Angel’s Mark Osgueda and Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia add up to an Everest-peak performance right there, while third favourite Triangulum sees Periphery’s Misha Mansoor; The Dillinger Escape Plan’s Ben Weinman; Anthrax’s Charlie Benante; Machine Head’s Phil Demmel; Trivium’s Matt Heafy, and ex-Guns N’ Roses guitar wizard Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal shred their six-strings into oblivion over the course of an epic duel to the death guaranteed to see instrumental guitar aficionados through a full box of Kleenex.
This album was custom-built to blow the minds of metalheads – and it succeeds. It’s a glorious victory in the face of super-complex logistical demands, and an album to be treasured, revered, and remembered for a long time to come.
TMMP RATING: 94%
Links / Listen
Metal Allegiance official website.
Follow TMMP via Twitter and my brand new Facebook page for more from the world of world-class music! If you’re a regular reader, thanks for the support! Don’t stop, and keep going!