{"id":14267,"date":"2017-01-21T17:20:09","date_gmt":"2017-01-22T01:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/?p=14267"},"modified":"2017-01-21T17:38:48","modified_gmt":"2017-01-22T01:38:48","slug":"a-fitting-tribute-and-more-metal-allegiance-marty-friedman-gus-g-rock-grove-of-anaheim","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/metalassault.com\/gig_reviews\/2017\/01\/21\/a-fitting-tribute-and-more-metal-allegiance-marty-friedman-gus-g-rock-grove-of-anaheim\/","title":{"rendered":"A Fitting Tribute and more: Metal Allegiance, Marty Friedman, Gus G rock Grove of Anaheim"},"content":{"rendered":"

Review & photos by Andrew Bansal<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Billy Sheehan & Phil Demmel jamming together for Metal Allegiance<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

January 20th 2017, City National Grove of Anaheim, Anaheim CA: <\/strong>Formed in 2014 primarily as an all-star cover band, Metal Allegiance, led by bassist and songwriter Mark Menghi, went on to release their self-titled debut album of all original material in 2015, featuring the core lineup of Menghi, Alex Skolnick (guitar), David Ellefson (bass) and Mike Portnoy (drums), with guest appearances on vocals as well as additional guitars and bass by the who’s who of heavy metal. The live shows continued to be a mix of original and cover tunes. In 2016, the band released a three-song covers EP ‘Fallen Heroes’, as a tribute to some of their favorite musicians. Extending this very theme, Metal Allegiance performed at the Grove of Anaheim last night, treating attendees to quite the star-studded ensemble of splendid musicians.<\/p>\n

Doors opened at 7 PM, and ticket holders walked in to the strange, unusual sight of a band playing in the lobby. This band was Long Beach CA thrash quartet Railgun<\/a><\/strong>, and despite their massive backdrop with the band’s name spelled out in clear, decipherable letters, the popular question doing the rounds in the room was “who is this band” because let’s face it, reading is only for nerds. The band played on the floor, the sound quality in the lobby was terrible to say the least, as it’s not made for live music, so it’s best to reserve any judgement about this band until they perform in a proper setting. For their sake, one only hopes they didn’t pay to play this event.<\/p>\n

The rest of the live music for the evening was on the main stage, thankfully, and first up was New York based band Martyrd<\/a><\/strong>. Again, reading is not a popular activity, as apparently no one read this band’s name on the event flyer<\/a> which was posted everywhere online,\u00a0and those that did, could not make the distinction between “Marty” and “Martyrd”, as people were clearly upset that this band was on stage instead of Marty. “We want Marty!” were the chants. Musically, Martyrd certainly exhibited flashes of talent and had their moments, and in front of this very hostile crowd, did well to even finish their set.<\/p>\n

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Gus G featuring James Paul Luna on vocals<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Shortly after, guitarist Gus G<\/a><\/strong> of Firewind and Ozzy fame took the stage for a 30-minute set of Firewind and solo material. Gus showcased his skill and class on the six-stringed instrument effortlessly through the solo sections and instrumental tracks in the set. But he also brought an excellent band with him, comprising Marty O’Brien on bass, Alex Bent on drums, and Holy Grail singer James Paul Luna on vocals. Luna lends the traditional\/power metal element to the otherwise modern shred-heavy band that is Holy Grail, and he came across as the absolute perfect fit for Gus G’s music, a match made in heaven. The crowd was happier than during Martyrd’s set but still mostly passive, although that didn’t stop Gus, Luna and co. from giving it their all. A fine performance.<\/p>\n

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Marty Friedman<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Gus G’s set only turned out to be the calm before the storm that was Marty Friedman<\/a><\/strong> and his band, who hit the stage with unrelenting fury and instantly woke up a crowd that had clearly proven to be hard to entertain so far. Speed, skill, precision, energy, power and presence, this band had it all. Even though led by one of the most admired guitarists in metal, this was by no means a one-man show. This was no Yngwie Malmsteen band where the support cast was subjected to a corner one-sixth the size of the stage. Marty Friedman enthralled the audience not just with his playing, but that of his band mates, drummer “Chargeeeeee” and his ’80s glam metal moves, young rhythm guitarist Jordan Ziff, and\u00a0undoubtedly the most\u00a0incredible bass player you’ll ever see on a stage, Kiyosi Manii, so much so that the woman almost stole the show from the main man.<\/p>\n

That said, the band was very much a team and gelled together brilliantly, performing mostly\u00a0the Marty Friedman solo material, with ‘Tornado of Souls’ thrown in for good measure. Whoever thinks instrumental live music is not as engaging as music with vocals needs to rethink, because Marty Friedman and his band ruled the night, and put on the kind of performance that would make even the most diehard Megadeth fans\u00a0admit that Friedman’s parting ways with that band was, in fact, for the better.<\/p>\n

Marty Friedman photos:<\/strong><\/p>\n