Revolver Golden Gods Awards

Source: Loudwire.com

At last year’s Revolver Golden Gods Awards, the night was unofficially dedicated to late Slayer guitarist JEFF HANNEMAN. This year, however, the Golden Gods were kicked off in brilliant fashion as SLAYER took the stage for a surprise three-song set.

Photo: Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire

The awards ceremony was opened by Marilyn Manson. Shrouded in darkness, the ‘Antichrist Superstar’ paid a somewhat creepy tribute to the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, noting that both bands had been blamed for inciting violence in their time. In the middle of reciting the lyrics to ‘Helter Skelter,’ Manson suddenly said the magic word, “Slayer.”

The thrash foursome, who were unannounced, took the stage and launched into ‘South of Heaven’ while inverted crosses invaded the stage. Slayer went on to unleash a forceful performance of ‘War Ensemble’ before treating the crowd to a brand new song ‘Implode.’

At last year’s Revolver Golden Gods Awards, the night was unofficially dedicated to late Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman. This year, however, the Golden Gods were kicked off in brilliant fashion as Slayer took the stage for a surprise three-song set.

The awards ceremony was opened by Marilyn Manson. Shrouded in darkness, the ‘Antichrist Superstar’ paid a somewhat creepy tribute to the Rolling Stones and the Beatles, noting that both bands had been blamed for inciting violence in their time. In the middle of reciting the lyrics to ‘Helter Skelter,’ Manson suddenly said the magic word, “Slayer.”

America’s only hard-rock and heavy-metal award show — the fourth annual Revolver Golden Gods award show presented by Epiphone — took place last night (Wednesday, April 11) at Club Nokia in Downtown Los Angeles. For the first time ever, the event was broadcast live in its entirety on Xbox LIVE, as well as on the Xbox and Revolver Facebook pages.

Hosting duties for the Golden Gods awards show were handled by FOZZY frontman and WWE pro-wrestling legend Chris Jericho, who returned for the third consecutive year. The nominees in 11 different categories, plus the recipient of this year’s prestigious “Golden God Award,” were revealed on February 15 at a press conference held at the Grammy Museum in Los Angeles.

The Golden God Award, given to one special honoree a year who embodies the spirit of hard rock and metal, went to KISS demon Gene Simmons, whose band will release their highly anticipated 20th studio album, “Monster”, this summer. (Previous honorees include hard-rock and metal legends Alice Cooper, Rob Halford of JUDAS PRIEST and Dave Mustaine of MEGADETH.)

Adding to the celebration, The 2012 Revolver Golden Gods awards show featured one-of-a-kind special performances and collaborations that honored both the past, present and future of heavy music. The night’s hard-rocking musical performances included sets by MARILYN MANSON (in his first U.S. performance in nearly three years); iconic Grammy-winning guitarist Slash featuring Myles Kennedy and THE CONSPIRATORS; EVANESCENCE; SIXX: A.M. featuring Nikki Sixx of MÖTLEY CRÜE, James Michael, acclaimed rock producer and songwriter, and DJ Ashba of GUNS N’ ROSES (in their first performance in almost four years); and 2011 “Best New Band” Golden Gods Award winner BLACK VEIL BRIDES, who performed their only U.S. show of 2012 so far.

Revolver Golden Gods winners:

* Best Guitarists: Jinxx and Jake Pitts (BLACK VEIL BRIDES)
* Best Drummer: Jeremy Spencer (FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH)
* Paul Gray Best Bassist: Nikki Sixx (MÖTLEY CRÜE, SIXX: A.M.)
* Riff Lord: Slash
* Comeback Of The Year: SLIPKNOT
* Best International Band: X JAPAN
* Best Live Band: AVENGED SEVENFOLD
* Best Vocalist: Amy Lee (EVANESCENCE)
* Most Metal Athlete: CM Punk (WWE wrestling)
* Most Dedicated Fans: AVENGED SEVENFOLD
* Album Of The Year: KORN’s “The Path Of Totality”
* Golden God: Gene Simmons (KISS)
* Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award: RUSH