American thrash metal band Megadeth this year released their new (sixteenth) album The Sick, The Dying… And The Dead!, for the 13th time nominated for a Grammy Award in the category “Best Metal Performance” for the song We’ll Be Back. It is the first single from the album and is also the closing track on the album itself. The song was released on June 23 and was a treat for any fan of old school American thrash metal thanks to its guitar riffs, heaviness and speed. The fastest thing on the album and one of the most memorable and recognizable Megadeth songs. Obviously it’s not without self-plagiarism, but it sounds great and powerful. It is a soldier’s story about courage, personal sacrifice and the will to survive. This is the first part of a trilogy of videos, which was released by the band in conjunction with the release of the new album. You can read a review of the album here.
Dave Mustaine couldn’t hide his emotions when he heard about his new Grammy nomination:
I am so happy to be nominated again. I am still on a high from our last win, and this is just surreal. After all the hard work put in by my team, this moment is for them to share in the celebration as well!
All told, Megadeth have been nominated for a Grammy as many as 12 times through 2022, and won in 2017 in the Best Metal Performance category for the title track of the band’s 2016 album Dystopia. It wasn’t without its mishaps. As the Megadeth musicians approached the stage to receive their awards, the background was playing the song Master Of Puppets by Metallica for some reason. Then, in his acceptance speech, Mustaine said:
Fantastic! Only took twelve tries to get this. Last time we were here, we were talking to Kenny G, and he asked me how many times we were here, and he goes, ‘Well, eleven isn’t that bad.’ And I said, ‘How many times did it take you?’ And he said, Twenty-one.’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, my god. If it takes twenty-one times… I don’t know if I’ll live that long.'”
Other nominees in the Best Metal Performance category:
“Call Me Little Sunshine” – Ghost
“Kill or Be Killed” – Muse
“Degradation Rules” – Ozzy Osbourne feat. Tony Iommi
“Blackout” – Turnstile
The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance has been awarded since 1990. Each year the U.S. National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences selects several nominees for “artistic achievement, technical excellence, and significant contribution to the development of the recording industry without regard to album (single) sales and chart position”. Over the years the winners have included Metallica, Nine Inch Nails, Ozzy Osbourne, Motörhead, Slipknot, Slayer, Judas Priest, Iron Maiden, Megadeth and others.
