Best Vocalist
Zach: How awesome would it be to see Papa Emeritus II win the “Best Vocalist” Golden God? However, I gotta believe that this will be yet another A7X steal, and M. Shadows will likely win the award again. And I’m perfectly fine with that, because no matter how you feel about Hail To The King, Shadows is still one of the strongest singers in the hard rock scene today.
Matt: I actually think Papa Emeritus II might have this one. Ghost have built such a huge fan base over the past few years and have a large presence in the media with Papa at the forefront, so it stands to reason he could take the award. Otherwise, probably, M. Shadows.
Kodi: I could see Ivan Moody taking this one, but M. Shadows has to be the favorite. Papa is on this list as more of a concession to cred, the way I see it. I’d love for him to win, but he won’t.
Bram: I’d be psyched if Papa Emeritus II won, but I doubt that’ll happen. I know how vocal FFDP’s fans are, so I can see it as a toss-up between M. Shadows and Ivan Moody, with Shadows probably winning.
Dimebag Darrell Best Guitarist(s)
Zach: No disrespect to the other nominees, but I feel like it would be a travesty if anyone but Tony Iommi won this award. Most (if not all) of the other nominees would admit that Iommi’s playing are a major reason for their existence. And on top of that, 13 proves that Iommi is still a master at creating the strongest riffs in metal.
Matt: John Petrucci is the only other candidate I could see winning this award, which he would be well deserving of, to be fair. But otherwise, it has to go to Iommi.
Kodi: It should be Tony Iommi, but I highly doubt it will be. That said, I shudder at the thought of anyone other than Iommi or John Petrucci winning this award, to the point that I don’t even want to speculate about who will actually win because it’ll just make me angry.
Bram: Iommi. Next?
Paul Gray Best Bassist
Zach: I really want to say that Geezer Butler is a sure thing to win this. There’s no question how influential of a bass player he is, and 13 further proved how important of a role he plays in Black Sabbath. But… I wouldn’t be surprised to see A7X, Korn or even Five Finger Death Punch’s fans come out of the wood work and push to get those bands’ bassists the Golden Gods. Here’s hoping common sense reigns supreme and Butler gets the Golden God.
Matt: Once again, the award has to go to the man from the band that started it all. Geezer Butler is one of two bassists in the category who is best recognized by name alone without having a band name attached. It doesn’t hurt that he is so renowned either. I could see a possible win for Rex Brown as the second most recognizable name on the list.
Kodi: I’m not sure exactly who Sick Puppies even is, and I’m alright with that. Johnny Christ is kind of the forgotten member of Avenged Sevenfold, so I doubt he wins this, nor should he. My money’s on Rex Brown, but Geezer Butler winning anything individual in 2014 is a badass idea.
Bram: No offense against Paul Gray, but I’m not sure I can remember any Slipknot bass lines. Sure, he’s got a legacy, and I don’t mean any disrespect, but how about a Cliff Burton best bassist award? Anyway, Geezer is the most tuneful, best known, and best overall of any of these guys. That means he’ll probably lose to, oh, let’s say Rex Brown.
