Yesterday the nominations were announced for the 59th annual Grammy Awards, and we were surprised to see a few legitimate metal artists make the cut.  It didn’t take long for many of the artists in question including Metallica, Gojira, Baroness, Disturbed, and Periphery, to make statements about their nominations.

Gojira received not only their first Grammy nomination (Best Metal Performance for “Silvera”), but also their second, surprisingly for Best Rock Album with Magma. While some are debating the mixed genre categories, Gojira themselves expressed their gratitude: 

“We are honored and excited to receive our first Grammy nominations for ‘Best Metal Performance’ and ‘Best Rock Album’ of 2016. We want to thank the Gojira fans around the world who have continued to help us achieve many firsts with Magma. We couldn’t be more proud and grateful.”

Baroness vocalist/guitarist John Baizley reacted after receiving the nomination of Best Metal Performance for the song “Shock Me.”   

“What a surreal morning it has been. I was wakened at 5 a.m. by a massive influx of messages and emails, after 2 days without sleep, on tour in New Zealand and Australia to find out ‘Shock Me’ has been nominated for a GRAMMY. I’m astounded that this happened, and psyched to see that our friends in Gojira are present on the list as well. It’s been an overwhelming year, touring this record, and I’m extremely proud of my friends/bandmates and the whole Baroness family for the dedication and sacrifice that it took to write, record, and release Purple. Thank you, whoever you are that considered us for the nomination.”

Periphery responded directly on their Facebook page after being nominated for Best Metal Performance for the song “The Price Is Wrong”

Disturbed gave a huge shout out for their gratitude on their nomination for Best Rock Performance of their cover from Simon & Garfunkel’s classic “The Sound Of Silence.”

Lastly, after the long awaited return of Metallica’s Hardwired….To Self-Destruct they shouted their endless thanks as well for the nomination for the Best Rock Song of “Hardwired.”