The Grammy Awards aren't an institution that metal fans are particularly fond of, but we can't help ourselves when it comes to eyeing who the block of voters considers the premier acts in heavy music. Today (November 23rd), the nominations for the 64th annual Grammys have been announced, and the crop of bands competing for Best Metal Performance actually includes a good range of acts.
Deftones, Dream Theater, Rob Zombie, Gojira and Mastodon are the bands competing for the trophy in the one category specifically dedicated to metal artists. For those who are new to this, "performance" refers to a single song rather than a full album, and you can see which tracks from those band's recent LP's made the cut after the jump.
Sometimes, the other categories like Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance also include nods to acts from the metal world — Tool, Bring Me the Horizon and I Prevail were spread throughout those sections in 2020, for instance — but this year, the pickings are slim.
Deftones' "Ohms," the title-track from their 2020 album, earned a Best Rock Performance nod, but otherwise the heaviest acts in those categories are AC/DC, the Foo Fighters and Mammoth WVH — and their competition is the likes of Paul McCartney, Weezer, Kings of Leon and Black Pumas.
Additionally, late Soundgarden crooner Chris Cornell is up for Best Rock Album and Best Rock Performance on the strength of his posthumous covers album, No One Sings Like You Anymore, Vol. 1, so there's that.
See all the nominations for each of those four categories below. If you're interested in watching it live, the 64th Grammys ceremony will go down Monday January 31st at Los Angeles' Crypto.com Arena (formerly known as the Staples Center).
Best Metal Performance:
Deftones - "Genesis"
Dream Theater - "The Alien"
Gojira - "Amazonia"
Mastodon - "Pushing the Tides"
Rob Zombie - "The Triumph Of King Freak (A Crypt Of Preservation and Superstition)"
Best Rock Album:
AC/DC - Power Up
Black Pumas - Capitol Cuts - Live From Studio A
Chris Cornell - No One Sings Like You Anymore Vol. 1
Foo Fighters - Medicine At Midnight
Paul McCartney - McCartney III
Best Rock Performance:
AC/DC - "Shot In The Dark"
Black Pumas - "Know You Better (Live From Capitol Studio A)"
Chris Cornell - "Nothing Compares 2 U"
Deftones - "Ohms"
Foo Fighters - "Making a Fire"
Best Rock Song:
Weezer - "All My Favorite Songs"
Kings of Leon - "The Bandit"
Mammoth WVH - "Distance"
Paul McCartney - "Find My Way"
Foo Fighters - "Waiting on a War"
