People have been bitching about the Grammy awards since a metal category was first awarded in 1989 and Metallica lost out to Jethro Tull. They’ve continued to be relatively tone deaf since, such as two years ago when “best metal peformance” went to Tenacious D covering a Dio song over Motorhead, Anthrax, Mastodon and Slipknot. This morning, the organization announced the nominees, and there are some pleasant surprises, suggesting they’re actually paying attention, or have good people in the metal nominating committee. The big winner among the nominees is Gojira, who were not only picked up a nod for “Silvera” for Best Metal Performance, but also are among those that got nominated for Best Rock Album!
That’s a huge nomination for the band, especially since they’re the only remotely heavy band among a group of nominees that include Blink 182, Weezer, Panic! At the Disco and Cage the Elephant. If voters actually listen to all five albums, then they’ve got it locked up. Meanwhile, back at the “Best Metal Performance” category, alongside “Silvera,” Baroness were nominated for “Shock Me,” Korn and Megadeth got noms for “Rotting in Vain” and “Dystopia,” respectively, and Periphery round out the nominees with “The Price is Wrong.” We’re also unsurprised that Disturbed were recognized for their cover of “The Sound of Silence” for “Best Rock Performance” alongside the likes of David Bowie and Beyonce (!), who got a nomination because Jack White was on “Don’t Hurt Yourself.” Metallica also got nominated for “Best Rock Song” for “Hardwired,” but are curiously missing from the Best Metal Performance grammy. Here’s the list of rock and alternative nominees:
Best Rock Performance:
“Joe (Live From Austin City Limits)” — Alabama Shakes
“Don’t Hurt Yourself” — Beyoncé Featuring Jack White
“Blackstar” — David Bowie
“The Sound Of Silence” — Disturbed
“Heathens” — Twenty One Pilots
Best Metal Performance:
“Shock Me” — Baroness
“Slivera” — Gojira
“Rotting in Vain” — Korn
“Dystopia” — Megadeth
“The Price Is Wrong” — Periphery
Best Rock Song:
“Blackstar” — David Bowie, songwriter (David Bowie)
“Burn the Witch” —Radiohead, songwriters (Radiohead)
“Hardwired” — James Hetfield & Lars Ulrich, songwriters (Metallica
“Heathens” — Tyler Joseph, songwriter (Twenty One Pilots)
“My Name Is Human” — Rich Meyer, Ryan Meyer & Johnny Stevens, songwriters (Highly Suspect)
Best Rock Album:
California — Blink-182
Tell Me I’m Pretty — Cage The Elephant
Magma — Gojira
Death Of A Bachelor — Panic! At The Disco
Weezer — Weezer
Best Alternative Music Album:
22, A Million — Bon Iver
Blackstar — David Bowie
The Hope Six Demolition Project — PJ Harvey
Post Pop Depression — Iggy Pop
A Moon Shaped Pool — Radiohead
Oh yeah, and Winger – That Winger – was nominated for a Grammy too!
