This year's metal nominees for "Best Metal Performance" are August Burns Red, Code Orange, Meshuggah, Body Count, and Mastodon. The first two on this list have been doing some serious campaigning in New York City, though ultimately whoever wins won't get a second of televised airtime… and that kinda pisses off Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows.
In an interview with Meltdown, Shadows says the Grammys are ultimately doing metal no favors in moving the proverbial needle without televising the event. Or in his exact words, "literally no one's gonna see those bands or know that they're nominated, and that's an issue. I think it needs to be on TV."
"My whole thing was that metal… if you're getting the 'metal' award, they don't actually televise it, so no one sees it — it doesn't move the needle at all. And I think that's what the Grammys have to get that right. When you look at metal, it's probably one of the healthiest genres when you look at it in a worldwide perspective — every single country listens to metal. And whether it's mainstream or not, it's irrelevant. People will watch your program if you're giving awards to bands that deserve it and it's actually on TV, and it helps those bands push the needle forward."
He's exactly right though. For us and for you, it's cool that Meshuggah and Code Orange and everyone are up there, but most people watching the Grammys don't give one single shit who got nominated in any category that isn't televised. Plus, I'd really like to see Meshuggah blasted on a nationally televised event.
