Metal Injection

Is it that time of year already? The time when we complain about how incredibly out of touch the Grammy voting committee is with their nominations? I guess it is!

The nominees for the 55th annual Grammy Awards were announced and overall, I have to say that this year's list in the Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Performance does not seem that out of touch. Here are the nominees:

Anthrax, ‘I’m Alive’
Halestorm, ‘Love Bites (So Do I)’
Iron Maiden, ‘Blood Brothers’
Lamb of God, ‘Ghost Walking’
Marilyn Manson, ‘No Reflection’
Megadeth, ‘Whose Life (Is It Anyways?)’

Overall, not too bad. At least Sum 41 wasn't nominated again. There was only one live track nominated this year, and if previous years are any indication, it is the most likely track to win (also because Maiden is the most recognizable band on the ballot).

You'll also notice that two of the tracks, Megadeth's and Anthrax's are from albums that actually came out in 2011. In fact, Megadeth were nominated last year as well for a track off that same album. So, it's good to see that the Grammy voters have a broad range. Will Dave Mustaine continue to be the Susan Lucci of heavy metal Grammys? The band always gets nominated but never wins. Dave even bothered to show up in 2011 to have his dreams crushed.

Lamb of God are the band I'm rooting for to win this meaningless prize, if for nothing else but the fact that this is their fourth nomination, and they deserve it. They are a proper representation of modern heavy metal.

I will say this though, while the nominees are one thing. The Grammy Museum absolutely got it right when it unveiled the "Golden Gods of Heavy Metal" wing of their museum, with a ton of great metal artifacts. Check some of that out here.

You can see all the Grammy nominations here.

Who do you think should win?