What started as the Metal Masters show at the NAMM convention in Anaheim, California morphed into what is now Metal Allegiance which is an ever revolving all star group of the greatest metal musicians on the planet! The “core four” of Metal Allegiance include Mike Portnoy, David Ellefson, Mark Menghi and Alex Skolnick. Now with two albums of original material and a cover EP, we can only hope that after ten years of being together they find another great album any future writing sessions!
I started photographing Metal Allegiance back when they started ten years ago at the old House of Blues near Disneyland in Anaheim. Then the next year I was asked to be the official photographer and to cover the show as well as the sound check and rehearsal. Then it just grew from there. In January of 2020 they played the current House of Blues in Anaheim to an incredible crowd. That show was the talk of the town that week and then… the pandemic hit. The NAMM show stopped along with everything else and it wasn’t until just this year did they manage to pull off another epic concert in that very same venue! As I was talking with the band and crew we discussed how much has changed for everyone in those four years, yet it almost seemed like it never stopped. We all came together and simply picked up where we left off. And, at the end of the evening it was agreed that this was one of the tightest performances and smoothest productions ever.
Here is a video I put together of the 2015 show that was done completely from still images… it was a lot of work!
Here’s a 360 degree video from that same show.
What an honor is is to be a photographer for this show with full access and to be able to photograph the entire show. The day started at about 1:00 pm when the band arrived at the venue. Then it was to finish up the sound check and continue with a full show rehearsal. The amount of effort to coordinate all of the songs and which musicians play on each song is a logistical triumph. This show has to be so well planned out ahead of time there is no room for change once the evening begins. Hats off to the backline crew for keeping it all smoothly running. I tried to get as many different perspectives for images as possible. Sometimes in the photo pit, sometimes backstage and sometimes from the back of the venue. Lot’s of moving around and trying to capture as many great moments as possible. It’s my favorite show to shoot as it gives me so many great challenges.
The whole band just cranked through this two-hour set with pure perfection. Singers, guitarists, bassists and drummers came in and out of the set with ease and every song sounded incredibly heavy. This show is every metalhead’s dream! To be at a single show and witness all of this amazing talent is almost overwhelming! There were mosh pits, crowd surfers and rabid fans all lined up next to the barricade in front of the stage. There were 25 photographers there that all had to rotated in and out of the photo pit and it was just an insane evening! I can’t wait for next year!!!
Besides the “core four” Metal Allegiance consisted of the following heavy metal performers.
Left to Right:
Scott Diussa is a photographer, guitarist, bassist, videographer and audio engineer based in the Nashville, Tennessee area. Scott has been photographing concerts since 1994 and has a degree in commercial photography. You can follow Scott on Instagram at @sdiussa. www.scottdiussa.com
