A few days ago, metal fans from across the world came together in Hammersmith, England to celebrate the accomplishments of the metal community from the past twelve months with the 2016 Metal Hammer Golden God Awards.
Hosted by Hatebreed’s Jamey Jasta, this night was not just a celebration for the bands, but also for the attending fans. No tables, no sit-down dinners, or industry backslapping – just a room of genuine, hardcore metal fans hoping to see their favorite bands become recognized for their accomplishments. All tickets purchased for event attendance went to Heavy Metal Truants, an annual charity cycle ride.
Some of the highlights from the night include Iron Maiden’s Book of Souls being awarded the best album, Triple H being given the Spirit of the Hammer Award by Dave Mustaine of Megadeth, Enslaved being recognized as the best “underground” act, and an emotional speech from former Slipknot drummer Joey Jordison, who was named 2016’s Golden God.
Once the awards were bestowed, the evening closed with a Salute to Lemmy, a monumental celebration of the life of one of music’s biggest icons, Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead. The icon of rebellion, an innovator that inspired countless of bands, and the godfather of heavy metal, there is no doubt that without Lemmy the music scene would be very different. Saxon, another one of Britain’s greatest, performed Lemmy’s three favorite Saxon songs, and were joined onstage by Motörhead’s guitarist Phil Campbell and drummer Mikkey Dee to perform the Motörhead classics ‘Ace of Spades’, ‘Born to Raise Hell’, and ‘Overkill’.
Below is a list of the nominees and winners of the various awards. Did your favorite band make the cut? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
‘The Golden God’:
Joey Jordison (Sinaenum, ex-Vimic, ex-Scar the Martyr, ex-Slipknot)
‘Best Album’:
Iron Maiden – “The Book of Souls”
‘Spirit of the Hammer’:
Triple H
‘Inspiration’:
Anthrax
‘Global Metal Award’:
Chthonic
‘Icon’:
Nikki Sixx (Sixx:A.M., ex-Mötley Crüe)
‘Riff Lord’:
Phil Campbell (Motörhead)
Fan-voted Categories
‘Best New Band’:
Creeper (winner)
Black Peaks
Heck
The Black Queen
‘Best Underground Band’:
Enslaved (winner)
Myrkur
Rotting Christ
Sunn O)))
Tribulation
‘Best UK Band’:
Asking Alexandria (winner)
Architects
Cradle of Filth
TesseracT
The Prodigy
‘Best International Band’:
Ghost (winner)
Amon Amarth
Babymetal
Killswitch Engage
Slayer
‘Breakthrough’:
Beartooth (winner)
Avatar
Deafheaven
Northlane
We Came As Romans
‘Best Live Band’:
Lamb of God (winner)
Anthrax
Bring Me the Horizon
Nightwish
Parkway Drive
‘Dimebag Darrell Shredder Award’:
Lzzy Hale (Halestorm) (winner)
Alpha (Ghost)
Graham “Pin” Pinney (Sik’th)
Joe Duplantier (Gojira)
Kristan Dawson (Bury Tomorrow)
‘Best Independent Label’:
Prosthetic Records (winner)
Basick Records
Holy Roar
Season of Mist
UNFD
‘Best Video’:
Parkway Drive – “Vice Grip” (winner)
Anthrax – “Blood Eagle Wings”
Iron Maiden – “Speed of Light”
New Years Day – “I’m About To Break You”
Slayer – “Repentless”
