DAVID ELLEFSON On METAL ALLEGIANCE: ‘We’ve Got Some New Material That We’re Working On Now’

In a new interview with Musicfrenzy, former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson spoke about the possibility of METAL ALLEGIANCE writing and recording a third album as the follow-up to 2018’s “Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty”. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “METAL ALLEGIANCE, look, we’re not only these all-star concerts that we give, but just as much, we’ve got two full-length records out. The guys also did a little ‘Fallen Heroes’ EP [without me] that I was on tour at the time [it was recorded]. But we’ve got some new material that we’re working on now. We’ve already got our sights set on January 2026 for the next events and some new material coming along now. So that’s exciting. So that band, it’s not just an all-star band, it’s also a recording group. We call it the ‘core four’ — me, [guitarist Alex] Skolnick [TESTAMENT], [bassist Mark] Menghi and [drummer Mike] Portnoy [DREAM THEATER] — we’re the driving force of the creative, recording side of that.”Last month, Skolnick told RadioBypass about new METAL ALLEGIANCE music: “Yes. We’ve been talking about it for some time. It’s always easier said than done, given everybody’s schedules, but we’re continuing to talk about it and I’m pretty sure that [2025] is the year we will get started on it. So I don’t know what it’s gonna look like, I don’t know how it’s going to compare to the past albums. Maybe we’ll get our feet wet with an EP or a single — who knows? — but either way, we’re gonna get started and see how it goes, probably later this [coming] year.”METAL ALLEGIANCE began as a celebration of heavy metal, powered by the almost tribal bond shared between the extreme music community’s most revered trailblazers, armed with a list of contributors onstage (and off) that read like a Wikipedia entry on the genre itself.Since METAL ALLEGIANCE’s inception in 2014, the band is comprised of the core four members of: Mark Menghi on bass, Skolnick on guitar, David Ellefson (MEGADETH) on bass, and Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER) on drums.Collaborative tribute experiences like HAIL! and METAL MASTERS eventually led to the founding of METAL ALLEGIANCE a decade ago.The collective’s raucous renditions of classic material from the likes of JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN, OZZY OSBOURNE, THIN LIZZY, VAN HALEN and PANTERA in clubs, conventions and cruise ships inevitably led to the creation of an album of brand new material.METAL ALLEGIANCE has issued two full-length albums so far, 2015’s self-titled debut and “Volume II: Power Drunk Majesty”, as well as an EP, 2016’s “Fallen Heroes”.On January 23, 2025, METAL ALLEGIANCE performed at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. Joining the core four at the Anaheim gig were Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT),Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth (OVERKILL),John Bush (ARMORED SAINT),Doc Coyle (BAD WOLVES, GOD FORBID),Brandon Ellis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER),Marty Friedman (MEGADETH),Gary Holt (SLAYER, EXODUS),Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA),Jeff Loomis (ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE),Mark Tornillo (ACCEPT),Angel Vivaldi and more.[embedded content]