Hard Rock & Metal At THE GRAMMYs
An updated history lesson on the genre and the Academy.
Following the infamous Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrumental debacle of 1989, the category was quickly split in two: BEST METAL PERFORMANCE and BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE.
The categories were combined again in 2012 and 2013. Hard Rock went away entirely after that; Best Metal Performance remains.
There are also genre acts intermingled with pop-rock and otherwise in Best Rock Performance, Best Rock Song, Best Rock Album, Best Alternative Music Album, and Best Alternative Music Performance.
Some of those in recent years include Foo Fighters, Green Day, Muse, Highly Suspect, Slipknot, Blink-182, Gojira, Mastodon, Metallica, Great Van Fleet, Fall Out Boy, Ghost, Bring Me The Horizon, Deftones, Turnstile, and many more.
What follows is a complete list of nominees and winners in BEST METAL and BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE categories.
But first, here’s a handful of comedic tidbits from over the years:
Jethro Tull beat Metallica in 1989 (duh).
Metallica won for a 16-year-old Queen song.
Anthrax nominated in 1992 for a collection of B-sides.
Soundgarden nominated for a 22-year-old Black Sabbath song.
Suicidal Tendencies nominated for a re-recorded 11-year-old song.
Nine Inch Nails won for a live version of a four-year-old song.
Megadeth nominated for a 26-year-old Sabbath song.
Metallica nominated for a live version of a 12-year-old song.
Pantera nominated for a live version of an eight-year-old song.
Black Sabbath won for a live version of a 30-year-old song.
Motörhead nominated for a 9-year-old Metallica song.
Black Sabbath nominated for a live version of a 32-year-old song.
Motörhead won for a 22-year-old Metallica song.
Judas Priest won for a live version of a 33-year-old song.
Anthrax nominated for a 39-year-old AC/DC song.
Tenacious D won for a 31-year-old Dio song.
Anthrax nominated for a 36-year-old Sabbath song.
Metallica won for a 28-year-old Thin Lizzy song.
All of these bands are worthy. But every time the Academy nominates a legacy act for a cover song, live version, or otherwise re-recorded classic, that’s a missed opporunity to acknowlege a fresh achievement and/or a younger act.
It’s a disservice to newer generations and the current work of the older bands, in favor of cheap name recognition which will overshadow other contenders.
Perhaps they should add more specific rock-oriented categories. But isn’t the telecast too long already? I know firsthand that GRAMMY staffers have worked to right the ship and we’ve certainly seen improvements in recent years. And it’s a mostly thankless task, with all of us ready to pounce when they screw up.
Sure, I roll my eyes when Tenacious D wins the Metal GRAMMY, or Laverne Cox neglects to say the word “Metallica” while introducing them. But when Megadeth finally got their trophy, after so many nominations, I was thrilled. When bands like Bring Me The Horizon and Code Orange are nominated, that’s progress. Much respect to the folks at the organization fighting the good fight.
I bet somebody complains to them, every year, about whomever they neglected with the Grammy Award for Best Zydeco or Cajun Music Album.
BEST HARD ROCK/METAL PERFORMANCE VOCAL OR INSTRUMENTAL
JETHRO TULL CREST OF A KNAVE (1989)
AC/DC Blow Up Your Video
Iggy Pop "Cold Metal"
Jane’s Addiction Nothing’s Shocking
Metallica …And Justice for All
BEST METAL PERFORMANCE
METALLICA “ONE” (1990)
Dokken Beast from the East
Faith No More The Real Thing
Queensrÿche “I Don’t Believe in Love”
Soundgarden Ultramega OK
METALLICA “STONE COLD CRAZY” (1991)
Anthrax Persistence of Time
Judas Priest Painkiller
Megadeth Rust in Peace
Suicidal Tendencies Lights… Camera… Revolution!
METALLICA METALLICA (1992)
Anthrax Attack of the Killer B’s
Megadeth “Hanger 18”
Mötorhead 1916
Soundgarden Badmotorfinger
NINE INCH NAILS “WISH” (1993)
Helmet “In the Meantime”
Megadeth Countdown to Extinction
Ministry “N.W.O.”
Soundgarden “Into the Void (Stealth)”
OZZY OSBOURNE “I DON’T WANT TO CHANGE THE WORLD (LIVE)” (1994)
Iron Maiden “Fear of the Dark (Live)”
Megadeth “Angry Again”
Suicidal Tendencies “Institutionalized”
White Zombie “Thunder Kiss ’65”
SOUNDGAREN “SPOONMAN” (1995)
Anthrax and Public Enemy “Bring the Noise (Live)”
Megadeth “99 Ways to Die”
Pantera “I’m Broken”
Rollins Band “Liar”
NINE INCH NAILS “HAPPINESS IN SLAVERY (LIVE)” (1996)
Gwar “S.F.W.”
Megadeth “Paranoid”
Metallica “For Whom the Bell Tolls (Live)”
White Zombie “More Human Than Human”
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE “TIRE ME” (1997)
Alice Cooper and Rob Zombie “Hands of Death (Burn Baby Burn)”
Korn “Shoots and Ladders”
Pantera “Suicide Note, Pt. II”
White Zombie “I’m Your Boogieman”
TOOL “ÆNEMA” (1998)
Corrosion Of Conformity “Drowning in a Daydream”
Korn “No Place to Hide”
Megadeth “Trust”
Pantera “Cemetery Gates (Live)”
METALLICA “BETTER THAN YOU” (1999)
Judas Priest “Bullet Train”
Nashville Pussy “Fried Chicken and Coffee”
Rage Against The Machine “No Shelter”
Rammstein “Du Hast”
BLACK SABBATH “IRON MAN (LIVE)” (2000)
Ministry “Bad Blood”
Motörhead “Enter Sandman”
Nine Inch Nails “Starfuckers, Inc.”
Rob Zombie “Superbeast”
DEFTONES “ELITE” (2001)
Iron Maiden “The Wicker Man”
Marilyn Manson “Astonishing Panorama of the Endtimes”
Pantera “Revolution is My Name”
Slipknot “Wait and Bleed”
TOOL “SCHISM” (2002)
Black Sabbath “The Wizard (Live)”
Slayer “Disciple”
Slipknot “Left Behind”
System Of A Down “Chop Suey!”
KORN “HERE TO STAY” (2003)
P.O.D. “Portrait”
Slipknot “My Plague”
Stone Sour “Get Inside”
Rob Zombie “Never Gonna Stop (The Red Red Kroovy)”
METALLICA “ST. ANGER” (2004)
Korn “Did My Time”
Marilyn Manson “Mobscene”
Spineshank “Smothered”
Stone Sour “Inhale”
MOTÖRHEAD “WHIPLASH” (2005)
Cradle Of Filth “Nymphetamine (Overdose)”
Hatebreed “Live for This”
Killswitch Engage “The End of Heartache”
Slipknot “Vermilion”
SLIPKNOT “BEFORE I FORGET” (2006)
Ministry “The Great Satan (Remix)”
Mudvayne “Determined”
Rammstein “Mein Teil”
Shadows Fall “What Drives the Weak”
SLAYER “EYES OF THE INSANE” (2007)
Lamb Of God “Redneck”
Mastodon “Colony of Birchmen”
Ministry “LiesLiesLies”
Stone Sour “30/30-150”
SLAYER “THE FINAL SIX” (2008)
As I Lay Dying “Nothing Left”
King Diamond “Never Ending Hill”
Machine Head “Aesthetics of Hate”
Shadows Fall “Redemption”
METALLICA “MY APOCALYPSE” (2009)
DragonForce “Heroes of Our Time”
Judas Priest “Nostradamus”
Ministry “Under My Thumb”
Slipknot “Psychosocial”
JUDAS PRIEST “DISSIDENT AGGRESSOR (LIVE)” (2010)
Lamb Of God “Set to Fail”
Megadeth “Head Crusher”
Ministry “Señor Peligro (Live)”
Slayer “Hate Worldwide”
IRON MAIDEN “EL DORADO” (2011)
Korn “Let the Guilt Go”
Lamb Of God “In Your Words”
Megadeth “Sudden Death”
Slayer “World Painted Blood”
BLACK SABBATH “GOD IS DEAD?” (2014)
Anthrax “T.N.T.”
Dream Theater “The Enemy Inside”
Killswitch Engage “In Due Time”
Volbeat “Room 24” ft. King Diamond
TENACIOUS D “THE LAST IN LINE” (2015)
Anthrax “Neon Knights”
Mastodon “High Road”
Motörhead “Heartbreaker”
Slipknot “The Negative One”
GHOST “CIRICE” (2016)
August Burns Red “Identity”
Lamb Of God “512”
Sevendust “Thank You”
Slipknot “Custer”
MEGADETH “DYSTOPIA” (2017)
Baroness “Shock Me”
Gojira “Silvera”
Korn “Rotting in Vain”
Periphery “The Price is Wrong”
MASTODON “SULTAN’S CURSE” (2018)
August Burns Red “Invisible Enemy”
Body Count “Black Hoodie”
Code Orange “Forever”
Meshuggah “Clockworks”
HIGH ON FIRE “ELECTRIC MESSIAH” (2019)
Between The Buried And Me “Condemned to the Gallows”
Deafheaven “Honeycomb”
Trivium “Betrayer”
Underoath “On My Teeth”
TOOL “7EMPEST” (2020)
Candlemass “Astorolus - The Great Octopus” ft. Tony Iommi
Death Angel “Humanicide”
I Prevail “Bow Down”
Killswitch Engage “Unleashed”
BODY COUNT “BUM-RUSH” (2021)
Code Orange “Underneath”
In This Moment “The In-Between”
Poppy “Bloodmoney”
Power Trip “Executioner’s Tax (Swing of the Axe) (Live)”
DREAM THEATER “THE ALIEN” (2022)
Deftones “Genesis”
Gojira “Amazonia”
Mastodon “Pushing the Tides”
Rob Zombie “The Triumph of King Freak”
OZZY OSBOURNE “DEGRADATION RULES” FT. TONY IOMMI (2022)
Ghost “Call Me Little Sunshine”
Megadeth “We’ll Be Back”
Muse “Kill Or Be Killed”
Turnstile “Blackout”
BEST HARD ROCK PERFORMANCE
LIVING COLOUR “CULT OF PERSONALITY” (1990)
Aerosmith “Love in an Elevator”
Great White “Once Bitten, Twice Shy”
Guns N’ Roses GN’R Lies
Motley Crue “Dr. Feelgood”
LIVING COLOUR TIME’S UP (1991)
AC/DC The Razor’s Edge
Faith No More “Epic”
Jane’s Addiction Ritual de lo Habitual
Motley Crue “Kickstart My Heart”
VAN HALEN FOR UNLAWFUL CARNAL KNOWLEDGE (1992)
AC/DC “Moneytalks”
Alice In Chains “Man in the Box”
Guns N’ Roses Use Your Illusion I
RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS “GIVE IT AWAY” (1993)
Alice In Chains Dirt
Faith No More Angel Dust
Guns N’ Roses “Live and Let Die”
Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit”
Pearl Jam “Jeremy”
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS “PLUSH” (1994)
AC/DC “Highway to Hell (Live)”
Living Colour “Leave It Alone”
Robert Plant “Calling to You”
The Smashing Pumpkins “Cherub Rock”
SOUNDGARDEN “BLACK HOLE SUN” (1995)
Alice In Chains “I Stay Away”
Beastie Boys “Sabotage”
Green Day “Longview”
Pearl Jam “Go”
PEARL JAM “SPIN THE BLACK CIRCLE” (1996)
Alice In Chains “Grind”
Primus “Winona’s Big Brown Beaver”
Red Hot Chili Peppers “Blood Sugar Sex Magik (Live)”
Van Halen “The Seventh Seal”
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS “BULLET WITH BUTTERFLY WINGS” (1997)
Alice In Chains “Again”
Rage Against The Machine “Bulls On Parade”
Soundgarden “Pretty Noose”
Stone Temple Pilots “Trippin’ On a Hole in a Paper Heart”
THE SMASHING PUMPKINS “THE END IS THE BEGINNING IS THE END” (1998)
Bush “Swallowed”
Foo Fighters “Monkey Wrench”
Nine Inch Nails “The Perfect Drug”
Rage Against The Machine “People of the Sun”
PAGE AND PLANT “MOST HIGH” (1999)
KISS “Psycho Circus”
Marilyn Manson “The Dope Show”
Metallica “Fuel”
Pearl Jam “Do the Evolution”
METALLICA “WHISKEY IN THE JAR” (2000)
Alice In Chains “Get Born Again”
Buckcherry “Lit Up”
Kid Rock “Bawitdaba”
Korn “Freak On a Leash”
Limp Bizkit “Nookie”
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE “GUERRILLA RADIO” (2001)
Kid Rock “American Bad Ass”
Limp Bizkit “Take a Look Around”
Pearl Jam “Grievance”
Stone Temple Pilots “Down”
LINKIN PARK “CRAWLING” (2002)
Alien Ant Farm “Smooth Criminal”
P.O.D. “Alive”
Rage Against The Machine “Renegades of Funk”
Saliva “Your Disease”
FOO FIGHTERS “ALL MY LIFE” (2003)
Godsmack “I Stand Alone”
P.O.D. “Youth of the Nation”
Queens Of The Stone Age “No One Knows”
System Of A Down “Aerials”
EVANESCENCE “BRING ME TO LIFE” FT. PAUL MCCOY (2004)
Audioslave “Like a Stone”
Godsmack “Straight Out of Line”
Jane’s Addiction “Just Because”
Queens Of The Stone Age “Go with the Flow”
VELVET REVOLVER “SLITHER” (2005)
Incubus “Megalomaniac”
Metallica “Some Kind of Monster”
Nickelback “Feelin’ Way Too Damn Good”
Slipknot “Duality”
SYSTEM OF A DOWN “B.Y.O.B.” (2006)
Audioslave “Doesn’t Remind Me”
Nine Inch Nails “The Hand That Feeds”
Robert Plant “Tin Pan Alley”
Queens Of The Stone Age “Little Sister”
WOLFMOTHER “WOMAN” (2007)
Buckcherry “Crazy Bitch”
Nine Inch Nails “Every Day is Exactly the Same”
System Of A Down “Lonely Day”
Tool “Vicarious”
FOO FIGHTERS “THE PRETENDER” (2008)
Evanescence “Sweet Sacrifice”
Ozzy Osbourne “I Don’t Wanna Stop”
Queens Of The Stone Age “Sick, Sick, Sick”
Tool “The Pot”
THE MARS VOLTA “WAX SIMULACRA” (2009)
Disturbed “Inside the Fire”
Judas Priest “Visions”
Motley Crue “Saints of Los Angeles”
Rob Zombie “The Lords of Salem”
AC/DC “WAR MACHINE” (2010)
Alice In Chains “Check My Brain”
Linkin Park “What I’ve Done (Live)”
Metallica “The Unforgiven III”
Nickelback “Burn It to the Ground”
THEM CROOKED VULTURES “NEW FANG” (2011)
Alice In Chains “A Looking in View”
Ozzy Osbourne “Let Me Hear You Scream”
Soundgarden “Black Rain”
Stone Temple Pilots “Between The Lines”