Rock stars galore including Black Sabbath, Slash, Tenacious D and Black Veil Brides were out in force as the Kerrang! Awards 2012 fuelled by Relentless Energy Drink took place in London.
Big winners included Black Sabbath, You Me At Six, Black Veil Brides, My Chemical Romance and Enter Shikari, with over a million votes cast making this the biggest Awards yet.
Renowned as one of the most legendary awards events in the rock music calendar, the Kerrang! Awards 2012 fuelled by Relentless Energy Drink did not disappoint, with a rock royalty theme to mark the Queen’s Jubilee. Hosted by Corey Taylor and Scott Ian, some of the biggest names in international rock and metal took to the Awards “black carpet” to celebrate the past year in music.
On the eve of what will be a triumphant return to Donington Park, with their headlining appearance at the Download Festival on Sunday 10 June, Black Sabbath were honoured with the Kerrang! Inspiration Award. Accompanied on the night by their families, Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi and Geezer Butler collected this trophy in honour of Black Sabbath’s immeasurable impact on heavy rock. Put bluntly, without Black Sabbath, there would be no Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Lamb of God, Machine Head…the list goes on, with Lars Ulrich once saying, “Black Sabbath is and always will be synonymous with heavy metal". Kerrang! delivered the World Exclusive Comeback Interview the week prior to the awards.
U.S. comedy rockers Tenacious D were honoured with the Kerrang! Service to Rock, for their brilliant blend of satire and rock, which has garnered hits including ‘Tribute’ and ‘Wonderboy’, roping in friends such as Dave Grohl, Ronnie James Dio and Ben Stiller to appear in videos along the way. Kerrang said, within the bands cover feature earlier in the year, “It is brilliant to welcome back the Kings of goofball rock!”
The world’s most famous rock guitarist Slash was presented with the Kerrang! Icon award, putting him in the company of previous K! Icons Dio, Alice in Chains, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails and MC5, with Kerrang! saying “Slash should be credited and forever rewarded for defining the sound of modern rock music…”
Surrey rockers You Me At Six rocked up to collect the honour of Best British Band (presented by Fender) for the second year running, beating off competition from Iron Maiden and Bullet For My Valentine in a year which has also seen them write and perform the world’s first rollercoaster single (‘The Swarm’ for Thorpe Park).
Fellow Brits Enter Shikari were crowned Best Live Band (presented by Rock of Ages), in praise of the band’s renowned live performances and furiously energetic shows which continue to sell out across the UK and Europe.
Sheffield metallers Bring Me The Horizon collected the award for Best Video (presented by Kerrang! TV), for the track ‘Alligator Blood’ which placed the band against a stunning visual backdrop of S&M, demons and witchcraft, with city mates While She Sleeps honoured with Best British Newcomer.
Welsh rockers The Blackout picked up The Devotion Award (sponsored by Relentless Energy Drink). The magazine decided to give the band the award for two reasons. 1) They were so impressed at how the bands rabid fanbase had supported the group through thick and thin, even going as far as to fund the recording of the bands last album, Hope, when they had severed ties with their record label, and 2) They just make them laugh a lot.
Atlanta prog metallers Mastodon were awarded with Best Album (presented by Fireball), for their critically acclaimed 2011 release ‘The Hunter’ which went to No. 19 in the UK Album Charts – a huge achievement for a record whose song titles include ‘Curl of the Burl’, ‘"Octopus Has No Friends" and "Bedazzled Fingernails"!!
Best Single (presented by Kerrang! Radio) was awarded to glam metal group Black Veil Brides for “Rebel Love Song’, with My Chemical Romance honoured with Best International Band for the third time in their career, having won the trophy in 2006 and 2007. Falling In Reverse were crowned Best International Newcomers.
Inducted into the Kerrang! Hall of Fame, joining alumni such as Motley Crue, Judas Priest, Slayer and Iron Maiden were Californian heavy metallers Machine Head, in tribute to a career that has spanned over two decades.
With the Download Festival opening its arena gates tomorrow for a 3-day weekend of non-stop rock, metal and entertainment, Kerrang! presented the Kerrang! Service to Metal award to Live Nation VP of Promotions Andy Copping, in honour of Download’s 10th anniversary. Download picked up a second award by being named Best Festival, one of ten new awards categories introduced for the Kerrang! Awards 2012 fuelled by Relentless Energy Drink.
These new categories meant that TV, film, video games and comedians could all be part of the Awards, reflecting on the wider world of entertainment. Fantasy clearly inspired the voters this year, with HBO series Game Of Thrones honoured with Best TV Show, Skyrim with Best Video Game, and The Hunger Games with Best Film. British comedian Russell Howard added Best Comedian to his growing list of awards and accolades.
Villain of the Year was a hotly contested category but squeaky clean pop star Justin Bieber took the crown, beating off stiff competition from Simon Cowell and One Direction. Hottest Male went to Asking Alexandria’s Ben Bruce whilst Hottest Female went to Lzzy Hale from Halestorm. With over 2.5 million followers, Hayley Williams from Paramore was awarded Tweeter of the Year. Finally, Kerrang! Awards 2012 Best Live Band vocalist Rou Reynolds took home the title of Hero of the Year.
Remarking on the winners, Kerrang!'s Editor James McMahon stated: “So that’s another awards down, for another year, and I <think>, justice was done in all the categories. Rock in 2012 has more than its fair share of heroes, pioneers, legends – and I’m chuffed a large proportion got to take home an oversized metallic K! for their mantelpiece this evening…”
Presenters on the night included Billy Talent, Lzzy Hale from Halestorm, Skindred, Young Guns, comedians Brendon Burns and Tiffany Stevenson, Rise to Remain, Cancer Bats and Bullet For My Valentine
The official Aftershow took place at The Relentless Garage sponsored by Relentless Energy Drink in London with guest DJs courtesy of Kerrang! Radio’s Johnny Doom and Matt Stocks, Badge of Friendship, Crossfire Sound System featuring Zac Slack and James Sherry and Last Resort DJ’s
‘K! Awards 2012: The Winners’ will TX on Kerrang! TV at 9pm on Friday 8th June
Kerrang! Radio will be broadcasting all day from the awards, giving listeners minute-by-minute updates on all the action. Tune into 105.2, Freeview channel 722 or search for Kerrang! Radio on DAB.
Published on 08 June 2012 by Wayne Feltham
