Wednesday night (April 23rd) the biggest names in rock and metal descended upon Los Angeles’ Club Nokia for the 6th Annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards. The awards show featured performances by Guns N’ Roses, Joan Jett, Suicide Silence, The Pretty Reckless, A Day to Remember, and Zakk Wylde. Additional appearances were made by Marilyn Manson, Alice Cooper, Dave Navarro, Tony Hawk, Carmen Electra, Nicholas Cage, Joe Manganiello, ZZ Top, and more. It was lineup that sounded great in theory, but unfortunately failed in execution.
The show kicked off with one of the night’s most memorable moments— a surprise three-song set by Slayer, which included the debut of “Implode”, the band’s first studio recording in five years. The surprise performance had even the celebrity attendees (who were all shocked that Slayer managed to keep the performance tight-lipped) leaving the comforts of the VIP lounge to rush the main floor stage. Slayer set the tone for what was poised to be one of the best nights the genre has seen in years. However, the awards show may have peaked in the first ten minutes as the night’s remaining surprises were not welcome ones.
Technical issues, pauses in production, and a couple physically upset presenters made for some awkward moments throughout the evening. During Joan Jett’s performance of “I Hate Myself for Loving You,” guest vocalist Taylor Momsen (of The Pretty Reckless) flubbed a vocal line, forcing Jett and company to give the song a second attempt. The band’s keyboardist apologized to the crowd, saying that the band had never rehearsed the song with Taylor before. What made the re-do even more awkward was the out-of-place addition of ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons, who didn’t even play guitar during the song, rather stood on stage and yelled “come on” at the crowd.
The most embarrassing moment for the show’s production team unfortunately overshadowed the night’s most touching performance. Black Label Society’s Zakk Wylde played the piano and sang a brilliant tribute to the genre’s fallen stars from throughout the past. As photos of the deceased appeared behind Wylde in tribute, Jani Lane of Warrant was credited as a former member of Motorhead.
Throughout the night fans and peers seemed to be in agreement with the award recipients—that is until the winner for “Comeback of the Year” was announced. Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian seemed physically upset after he announced Deep Purple as the winner. Ian took to Twitter immediately after the award to make it even more clear how upset he was that Sabbath didn’t win.
With all the delays and technical issues peppered throughout the night, everyone was counting down to a classic Axl Rose blow-up. Despite the chaos and yet another technical issue right before GNR hit the stage, however, Axl Rose maintained his composure and delivered a short, heartfelt acceptance speech for the Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award, thanking his bandmates, Nicholas Cage (who delivered one of the night’s best introductions), and the Golden Gods.
Attendees were then treated to an rare, intimate GNR set that included a reunion with original bassist Duff McKagan.
2014 Golden Gods Awards Winners & Honorees
Best Vocalist: Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age
Best Live Band: Rob Zombie
Most Devoted Fans: Avenged Sevenfold
Best New Talent: Twelve Foot Ninja
Comeback of the Year: Deep Purple
Paul Gray Best Bassist Award: Chris Kael, 5FDP
Best Film & DVD: Pierce the Veil
Best Drummer: Arin Ilejay, Avenged Sevenfold
Song of the Year: Five Finger Death Punch, ‘Lift Me Up’
Most Metal Athlete: Josh Barnett, Mixed Martial Arts
Dimebag Darrell Best Guitarist: Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance, Avenged Sevenfold
Album of the Year: Black Sabbath, ’13′
Golden God Award: Joan Jett
Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award: Axl Rose
