As a solid core of the band, it is pretty hard to go past the quality of the three main recording members here. Mike Portnoy plays in his fifteenth different group since his departure from Dream Theater, helming the drums. Dave Ellefson of Megadeth fame takes on the bass guitar duties, while the other guitars are left in the capable hands of Alex Skolnick from Testament. What they have produced sounds fantastic here, with each individual stamping their mark on the music. Portnoy's drumming is at times electrifying though without the time changes his previous band was renown for. Ellefson's bass guitaring rumbles underneath the surface like a stalking shark. Skolnick's guitar work is precise and clean, and technically as brilliant as always. Woven throughout this base are the assorted guest vocalists on each track, and in places some accompanying extra instrumentalisation from other guests. No doubt they were able to apply some of their own style to each track, and in general this comes across in the final product.
Does it all work? As always that is in the ear of the beholder, because many people will consider this to be a triumph for the spirit of heavy metal, with so many great artists coming together and producing an album that combines so many talents, while others will listen and wonder just how this collection of songs is anything more than just a compilation. If you aren't huge fans of the artists involved, or certainly of the vocalists at the very least, then you will likely not get much out of this at all. Of course, those that have an abiding love affair with said artists may consider they have reached nirvana.
Lamb of God's Randy Blythe growls his way through the crunching opener "Gift of Pain", bringing his unique power to the song, which has the added highlight of a lead solo from Exodus' and now Slayer's Gary Holt. "Let Darkness Fall" is helmed by Mastadon's Troy Sanders, with the song started off with a bang before the slow and quietened middle section showcasing Skolnick's acoustic classical training, and then building to return to the heavy conclusion you would expect of the song. "Dying Song" is classic Phil Anselmo, formerly of Pantera and now of Down. The clean guitar opening that morphs into Anselmo's deep vocals acts as a lull, drawing you in with its unexpected slow mellow feel. As the song progresses Phil slowly adds more intensity to his vocals, and the guitars slowly grow more prominent and powerful, faster and heavier. It's a real creeper. Multiple listens allows you to become used to its structure and appreciate it even more. Impressive.
"Can't Kill the Devil" may as well be a Testament song, because I'm sure this is the way Skolnick wanted to write it, and with his vocalist mate Chuck Billy on board it tops off the cast. Portnoy's drumming here is spot on and superb, galloping along in perfect synchronicity of a Testament song. In contrast, "Scars" combines the vocal talents of Death Angel's Mark Osegueda and Lacuna Coil's Cristina Scabbia in a duet of sorts.
My favourite song on the album is "Destination: Nowhere", with Trivium's Matt Heafy on vocals and also providing a lead guitar break as well. It is not in any way a Trivium song, and I think the change in style is what impresses me most, as the combatants fly along on their instruments while Heafy contributes vocals that are not out of character, but would be somewhat out of the comfort zone of the songs he writes for his band. This is followed by "Wait Until Tomorrow" which combines the interesting combination of Hatebreed's Jamey Jasta and Kings X's Doug Pinnick. This didn't grab me early on, and I felt that it was perhaps the only song here that didn't work. Over time however this too has grown on me, and I find it now not as boring or uninteresting as I did initially.
"Triangulum" is an instrumental, in a very Dream Theater-ish three movements entitled "I. Creation", "II. Evolution" and "III. Destruction". There is plenty of scope for additional lead guitar pieces, with six guests given their chance to perform some free reign, including Matt Heafy, Bumblefoot and even Anthrax's Charlie Benante, one of the instigators and driving forces of the Metal Allegiance project from the beginning. "Pledge of Allegiance" sees the return of Mark Osegueda, and more guitar work from Benante, Holt and Sepultura's Andreas Kisser.
The closing track on the album is the bonus cover of Dio's classic "We Rock", with a plethora of artists joining in to pay tribute to one of metal's greatest voices. Lending their own vocals are artists such as Chris Jericho, Mark Osegueda, Tim "Ripper" Owens, Alissa White-Gluz, Chuck Billy & Steve “Zetro” Souza. There is also a bonus drawn out solo section to give extra guitar solo sections for Andreas Kisser, Phil Demmel & Gary Holt.
Despite the solid base of the band of Skolnick, Eleffson and Portnoy, the variety in music here is larger than you would think. It's not just the vocalists, but the style of each song that differs accordingly, which means that this isn't what you would call a completely cohesive album. But that doesn't really matter, as with an album of this nature it isn't about finding a flow within the songwriting and performing, it is about being indulgent, and enjoying the performance rather than trying to balance it out through having a solid flow on in the music. There is little doubt that if you aren't so much into the artists that perform here you will struggle to enjoy what has been put forward. But for anyone who has any notion of whom these artists are, and what they stand for in the world and history of heavy metal, then you will enjoy this for what it is - a bunch of mates coming together to jam, and releasing it for all of us to hear.
Rating: You see the traces of the things they want to be, but only we can see. 4/5
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