Metal and the Grammys

I can see it now, hundreds of black clad, leather booted, and spike studded metalheads huddled around various television sets barely able to hold on to the edge of their seats. Cans of Budweiser and shots of Jack sit at the bar because no one can bear to hold on to anything except one another’s hand, gripping tightly with anticipation. One long haired hesher screams out, “Turn down the music! We can’t hear Alan Jackson announce the winner!” Mr. Jackson calmly reads, “And the Grammy for best Metal Performance goes to Alcest!”

This is a scene that no one will ever, and I mean EVER, become a witness to, it is a vision of complete absurdity. Ever since that first metal Grammy went to Jethro Tull over Metallica back in 1988 no self respecting metalhead has ever paid any more than a passing glance of interest in the Grammys.  It is simply an exercise in futility as the nominees in no way act as symbols of what metal is today. Every year we see the same names as nominees, Metallica, Ozzy, Slayer, Lamb of God, Motorhead. While these bands do put out solid releases, they are rarely the cream of the crop when it comes to metal. This year’s recipient of the award was Iron Maiden, who to their credit did put out a good album last year. It was not, however, in most people’s opinions, the best album of the year. Such underground luminaries as Nevermore, Immolation, Agalloch, Witchery, and Hail of Bullets released outstanding albums that by far surpassed Iron Maiden’s record. This shows that the Grammy committee has no ties to the metal scene and simply chooses from those names that everyone and their grandma has heard of. It is a cop out for those that decide who put out the “best” albums of the year because this way they do not have to actually research the genre and truly find bands that are deserving of such an award. And if they were to go to that length, they might start airing the award on the actual show instead of in front of a couple people at a different site for no one to see.

But we realize that this will never happen and that metalheads will simply never truly care about this ridiculous awards show. It is a microcosm of how America sees heavy music and how it treats metalheads. They don’t take the time to understand the music and simply categorize it all under one large umbrella. But what is great about us metalheads, we could not care less about what they all think. We love the music and the lifestyle and that is all that matters. So keep supporting underground bands because as we all know, none of the bands that we love will ever get the same recognition in America as the pop junk that is spread around the radio.