Music award
shows can often seem like superficial affairs, with industry big wigs
congregating to pat each other on the back for winning awards chosen by an
elite group of voters. However, the Kerrang! Awards flies in the face of this
tradition, with its nominees and winners being
determined by fan votes.
These awards may not be as globally revered or capture as much mainstream attention as the Grammys or even the Brit Awards, but their status remains high in the rock community, with the fan voting adding an extra air of legitimacy and excitement. The 2019 Kerrang! Awards ceremony is just over a week away, so in anticipation of the biggest awards show in rock, I thought I would share my picks of the nominees.
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| Architects have the most nominations this year (Photo credit: Ryan Johnson) |
The most interesting category for me this year is Best British
Breakthrough, which is genuinely hard to predict. IDLES seem a safe
bet, given that they have amassed a very impressive following over the last
year or so and also have a Brit Awards nomination under their belt.
'Trap metal' artist Scarlxrd already has in excess of one million monthly
listeners on Spotify, with his genre-bending sound redefining what it means to
be both a rock artist and a rap artist in 2019. Opening for Bring me the
Horizon earlier this year brought the 24-year-old rapper new levels of
attention amongst rock fans, so don’t be surprised if he walks away with the
trophy in the wake of all his recent hype. My pick of the bunch is Yonaka,
something which will come as no surprise to anyone who used to listen to my
show on LSRadio. This four-piece have been making some of the most exciting
alternative music out there for the last two years now and have just dropped
their debut full length LP Don’t Wait till
Tomorrow, easily my most anticipated record of this year. Frontwoman Theresa
Jarvis is a genuine star in the making and the whole band is surely on the
verge of a real mainstream breakthrough, meaning that Yonaka walking away with
Best British Breakthrough would make perfect sense. Also nominated are Svalbard
and Black Peaks, but the three aforementioned acts seem like the biggest
contenders.
For Best International Breakthrough, Californian pop punks SWMRS
feel like likely winners, but I went with ska-punk revivalists The
Interrupters, whose most recent record Fight the Good Fight was one
of my top picks of 2018.
The Best Album category is equally strong and diverse this
year, with the records nominated illustrating the breadth of rock music in
2019. This category was the hardest one for me to decide on, but I
ultimately went with Bring
Me the Horizon’s amo
- still quite possibly my favourite album of 2019 so far. The divisive yet
inescapable Greta van Fleet have also got the nod for their 70s-inspired
debut full-length Anthem
of the Peaceful Army, while Ghost’s Prequelle and Architects’
Holy Hell,
perhaps the best offerings from each band to date, are also very strong
contenders. Given the emotional significance of Holy Hell, being
Architects’ first LP since the tragic passing of Tom Searle, its easy to see
fans voting the new record to much-deserved awards status.
Architects also have the most
nominations over all, with a total of three, so there's a good chance we
will see the metalcore stalwarts walk away with an award to cap off their
stellar last few years.
My pick for Best Song was Rammstein's 'Deutschland',
the colossal lead single from their new untitled record. I hadn't been a particularly
big fan of Rammstein previously, but the track quickly forced me to
re-evaluate my opinions on Germany's biggest metal act. This industrial metal banger also seems like a safe
bet for the winner, given the track's recent staying power on the UK rock charts.
Finally, there are the Live categories, awarded to the bands who
have put on the best gigs and tours in the last 12 months. After I snubbed
Architects for Best Album, I thought it was appropriate to vote for them in the
Best British Live Act category, whilst Metallica look my vote for
Best International Live Act.
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| Metallica bringing the heat on their Worldwired tour (Photo credit: Ryan Johnson) |
Voting closes on 12th June, with the ceremony taking place on 19th June. You can cast your votes and see the full lists of nominees at kerrang.com/vote.
- Danny
Follow me on Twitter @realdannymoore
Check out my review of Metallica's Manchester Etihad gig here.
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