Marilyn Manson, Slash, Evanescence - Club Nokia - 4/11/12

Danielle Bacher

Revolver Golden Gods
Club Nokia
4-11-12

Better than ... Any hard rock show you'd see on the Sunset Strip nowadays.

Music awards shows generally suck. They are most often excuses for industry people to slap themselves on the back and perform crappy performances of songs you don't want to hear anyway. Revolver magazine's Golden Gods Awards ceremony, however, was an excuse for non-industry people to bang their heads and celebrate all things heavy.

Danielle Bacher

The evening kicked off with a shredtastic rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" performed by a Swedish man. Yngwie Malmsteen, famous for his many fire-and-fog album covers, played lightning-fast licks while a group of Navy Color Guard members bore the flag. The first full performance was by Sixx: A.M., the side project of Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx. The single "Are You with Me Now" was actually not that metal at all, sounding more like a Shinedown or Nickelback radio single. Still, Sixx was in good form, and guitarist DJ Ashba showed off what would be a leitmotif for the show: two-hand tapping.

The MC for the rest of the proceedings was WWE professional wrestler/game show host/assclown Chris Jericho. Jericho is the lead singer of something called Fozzy, and the crowd was happy to treat him as the heel of the evening. In fact, many of the musical guests (including Zakk Wylde and Aerosmith's Joe Perry) joined in the fun, referring to Jericho as "a fucking douche" throughout the event. The first award was for Best Guitarist(s) of 2012, and it was awarded to Jake Pitts and Jinxx of Black Veil Brides. Next up were presenters Hellyeah, the new band of former Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul, who announced the nominees for Badass Drummer of the Year. The winner was Jeremy Spencer of Five Finger Death Punch.

Orlando, FL metalcore group Trivium took the stage next, amping the volume to ear-bleeding levels. Singer Matt Heafy delighted the crowd by announcing two guest vocalists, Robb Flynn of Machine Head and Corey Taylor of Slipknot, for a cover of Metallica's long and pummeling "Creeping Death." Taylor and the rest of his band announced the next award, the Paul Gray Best Bassist Award, named in honor of their late bandmate who died of a drug overdose in 2010. Winner Nikki Sixx returned to the stage to collect the statuette.

Danielle Bacher

The Golden God Award, given to an individual who personifies "the spirit of hard rock/metal," went to a surprisingly heartfelt and appreciative Gene Simmons. "This is electric church, baby. We do it for you. Without you, all of us are nothing," he declared, perfectly encapsulating the camaraderie of the metal community.