Mastodon are set to headline this years' Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards. Following an uncertain future when previous owners TeamRock collapsed at the end of last year, the event which will also see live performances from Clutch, Avatar and Orange Goblin, will take place on Monday 12th June at London's IndigO2.
Following the release of one of the year’s biggest and most critically acclaimed albums in ‘Emperor Of Sand’, Atlantan metal behemoths Mastodon will be headlining this year’s Metal Hammer Golden God Awards in association with Orange Amplification, at one of only two confirmed live shows they have in the UK this year, the other being the main stage at Download Festival.
Taking place at the IndigO2, with a capacity of just 2,000, the Golden God Awards show will be one of Mastodon’s most intimate performances in years, as one of metal’s most celebrated bands make their Golden Gods live debut. A very limited number of tickets are available for just £10, on a first come, first served basis. Click here for ticket details.
“We told you we had something special planned, and trust us when we say this is going to be very special indeed,” says Metal Hammer editor Merlin Alderslade. “We wanted to bring something truly one-off to the IndigO2 as a way to say thank you to our amazing readers for the support they’ve shown us this year, and Mastodon are not just one of the biggest bands we’ve ever had play our awards, but one of the greatest metal bands of this or any era. Expect minds to be blown, heads to be banged and beers to be raised. See you down the front.”
Opening the show will be Orange Goblin, one of the UK’s most vital and important metal bands. Following them are one of the most unique bands in modern metal, Sweden’s Avatar, whose catchy industrial metal stomp is backed by one of the most enthralling, theatrical live shows in the scene today. Also joining this year’s bill are the mighty Clutch, stoner rock legends and one of the greatest live bands heavy music has ever seen.
For more than 30 years, Metal Hammer has been the biggest heavy metal magazine on the planet, and this would not have been possible without our incredible, passionate community. The Golden God Awards is our chance to raise a glass with those very fans while celebrating the great and the good of our world. Forget your sit-down dinner, this event is voted for and attended by the fans.
Fozzy frontman and WWE megastar Chris Jericho – who also appeared at this year's Wrestlemania event in front of 70,000 people – will be coming straight from playing this year's Download Festival to host.
Voting for the awards is open now. The full list of nominations is as follows:
Best New Band
Zeal & Ardor
Venom Prison
Brutai
Puppy
Ocean Grove
Best Underground Band
Perturbator
Neurosis
Royal Thunder
Pallbearer
Anaal Nathrakh
Best UK Band presented by BMG Catalogue
Bury Tomorrow
Architects
While She Sleeps
Tesseract
Orange Goblin
Best International Band presented by Nuclear Blast
Metallica
Opeth
Alter Bridge
Avenged Sevenfold
Korn
Breakthrough
Code Orange
Creeper
Oathbreaker
Ho99o9
Avatar
Best Live Band presented by Monster Energy
Steel Panther
Letlive
Killswitch Engage
Mastodon
Ghost
Dimebag Darrell ‘Shredder’
Joel O’ Keeffe (Airbourne)
Kiko Loureiro (Megadeth)
Phil Manansala (Of Mice & Men)
Ben Bruce (Asking Alexandria)
Ben Weinman (The Dillinger Escape Plan)
Best Independent Label
Nuclear Blast
Cooking Vinyl
Deathwish
Season Of Mist
Basick
Game Of The Year
The Legend Of Zelda: Breath Of The Wild
Overwatch
Mass Effect: Andromeda
Iron Maiden: The Legacy Of The Beast
Resident Evil 7: Biohazard
Editorial-chosen awards include Riff Lord presented by Century Media, Defender Of The Faith presented by Orange Amplification, Album Of The Year, Icon, Inspiration, Spirit Of Hammer and The Golden God.