Let's start at an obvious point, the award for the Best Metal Performance. And the nominees are:
- "The Last in Line" - Tenacious D. Really? Nothing against Tenacious D, they brought Dio to a whole fanbase and generation that would've never have even heard of him. They have a special place in the heart of all rock and metal fans, but the fact of the matter is they are a comedy act. Forgetting all that, the song is a cover song.
- "Neon Knights" - Anthrax. Anthrax is most definitely deserving of a Grammy nom, but not for a 35 year old Black Sabbath song. Why didn't the Grammys care when they released one of the most critically acclaimed metal albums of 2011 or any of the other tremendous and pioneering metal work they have produced over the years?
- "High Road" - Mastodon. I agree with this one. It's not the best song off the album, but hey beggers can't be choosers. At least they gave Mastodon (one of the most important heavy metal bands of the 2000s) some credit.
- "Heartbreaker" - Motorhead. I don't have a problem at all with the song or the band getting the nomination. My problem here lies with the fact that this song was released in 2013, therefore making it a song that should have been nominated at LAST YEARS Grammys. Clearly the committee that picks these was grasping at straws here and couldn't find any other act to give a nomination to this year (see below).
- "The Negative One" - Slipknot. They're back and on a tear. They're killing it live and the album kicks ass. The Knot deserves the nomination. I fear though that the people that pick these simply picked the first song released from this album just because it's Slipknot and didn't actually care to listen to it and judge it for themselves.
And the Grammy goes to......Tenacious D. Congrats to them. There are just more deserving metal acts. You guys are great though.
Here are some tremendous albums that were all released in 2014 that should've gotten some credit from "the biggest names in music":
"Clearing the Path to Ascend" Yob
"Bloodstone & Diamonds" Machine Head
"Blood In, Blood Out" Exodus
"Foundations of Burden" Pallbearer
"Redeemer of Souls" Judas Priest
"Pale Communion" Opeth
Just to name a few.........
Moving on now to the Rock category. I actually completely agree with the nominations and winners for Best Rock Performance (Congrats Jack White). Somehow though "Lazaretto" didn't win Best Rock Song as he was beaten out by a Paramore song. I don't understand the logic. Best Rock Album is a touchy subject for me this year. Beck's "Morning Phase" won. I'm starting to think that he only won because they were giving him Album of the Year so therefore it had to win every other category it was nominated for. The problem is that it's not a Rock album. If that's rock, then we need to redefine what Rock music actually is. Unfortunately the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and MTV (combining rock and pop into the same category) have already done that for us and it isn't pretty. Side note, how does Jack White get nominated for Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance, but Lazaretto (the album) not get the Best Rock Album nom? Did they even listen to it? It was incredible and a whole hell of a lot better than that U2 album that they gave away for free.
On the positive side, huge congrats to Beck for winning Album of the Year for "Morning Phase". He's a real artist who writes every single lyric and plays most every instrument on his records. This credit and validation is long overdue for an artist with the incredible history of Beck.
That's enough ranting for one night. I'm sure if I was able to dive into the other categories, I could find plenty more glaring mistakes by the almighty Grammy committee.
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