The Grammy Awards are viewed as the biggest music night of the year…for music fans who love mainstream music. For people who don’t like mainstream music – particularly those who are fans of Hard Rock and Metal – it is just another night. The Grammys reduce Hard Rock/Metal to one category even though hit is a huge genre with many sub-genres. As a result, artists nominated in this category usually do not belong together, but they are lumped together to compete for what amounts to an obligatory award that isn’t even presented on television during the three and a half hour broadcast. Instead of drudging through endless performances and awards that do not interest me at all, I decided to watch an old episode of That Metal Show instead.
Scrolling through my DVR looking for an episode of That Metal Show to watch, I decided on the one featuring Don Dokken and George Lynch, which originally aired on 6/26/10. The first discussion between Eddie Trunk, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson was about David Ellefson returning to Megadeth as the band planned to perform “Rust In Peace” in its entirety on tour. Ironically, Florentine casually mentioned that the album was once nominated for a Grammy, and then joked…“I think that it lost to the Moody Blues in the Metal category…it’s ridiculous.” To which Trunk sarcastically replied…“That means a lot…Grammys and Metal.
In the Hard Rock and Metal communities, the Grammy Awards are basically a joke, and have been since Jethro Tull beat out Metallica for the Grammy in 1988. Jethro Tull is a great band in its own right, and their misplaced Grammy categorization had more to do with an out of touch nominating committee than it did with the band, but they felt the wrath of metal fans just the same.
Tonight, the award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance was given to Halestorm, an up-and-coming hard rock band from Red Lion, PA that features a kick-ass female vocalist named Lzzy Hale. They are definitely a much better fit than Jethro Tull ever was in the category. However, their victory is likely to receive some criticism from metal fans because they beat out Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Anthrax and Lamb of God, all of whom are highly regarded in the metal community. The sad part is that no one would have questioned Halestorm winning a Grammy for Best Hard Rock Performance against other similar bands if they had their own category.
The Grammy Awards have continuously tripped over themselves when it comes to the Hard Rock/Metal category. Their limited knowledge of the genre ensures that they will continue to do more harm than good with their nominations. If they had any respect for the genre, they would have a minimum of two categories and the awards would be presented on the air, not off camera as they currently are each year.
If VH-1 was smart, they would create an awards show around Trunk, Florentine and Jamieson and go head-to-head against the Grammys with a live broadcast. Until that time, hard rock and metal fans are better off watching old episodes of That Metal Show than they are watching an awards show that makes no effort to cater to their musical taste.
Waldo's Life 