The Loudwire Awards in Los Angeles prove that hard rock and heavy metal are still kicking live.
In case you missed it, Loudwire hosted an award show in Los Angeles last week, celebrating everything metal and hard rock. Hosted by Chris Jericho and appearances by Steel Panther, Stone Sour, Ded and even Eddie Money it was an exciting night. Some of the highlights included the legendary Tony Iommi being honored with the Courage Award. We all know that Black Sabbath is responsible for heavy metal so Iommi deserves the award and much more.
But what made this award show extraordinary were the performances.
It all began with a performance from In This Moment and their version of Billy Idol’s ‘White Wedding’ accompanied by none other than Judas Priest’s Rob Halford. “It’s a nice day for a black wedding,” they traded off each other setting quite the tone for the night to come.
Ice-T and his band Body Count performed ‘No Lives Matter’. To make the atmosphere even heavier, Dave Mustaine joined the band for their song ‘Civil War’. Where else would you see two legends of different matter in one stage together?
https://youtu.be/DxLJ9ePNdjw.
Nothing More mash-up of hard rock and dubstep brought an electrifying energy to The Novo. Fronted by Jonny Hawkins, their two-song set was nothing short of ordinary. They covered Skrillex’s ‘First of the Year (Equinox)’ with a giant Scorpion Tail Midi controller as the special guest. The band was later accompanied by Of Mice and Men’s Aaron Pauley for a cover of Audioslave’s ‘Show Me How to Live’ in honor of Chris Cornell.
Halestorm also paid tribute to Chris Cornell for their cover of ‘Fell on Black Days’. Yet, they really got the crowd going after Lita Ford joined them on stage for the Runaways ‘Cherry Bomb’, which featured backup vocals by the Butcher Babies and Ash Costello of New Years Day.
Dallas’ Power Trip won Best Metal Song of the Year for ‘Executioner’s Tax’. Frontman Riley Gale stated that they just wanted to see the world and never thought they ended it up with the award. “Watch out old timers, we’re here,” he added. The energy throughout their set proved why they’re the next big thing in metal as they performed their award-winning song with full force. Jamey Jasta from Hatebreed joined them for a tribute to Lemmy from Motorhead for a cover of ‘(We Are) The Road Crew’.
Anthrax and their cover of Kansas’ ‘Carry On My Wayward Son’ was a golden token to the night. If you haven’t heard the reissue of For All Kings (Megaforce, Nuclear Blast), you’re missing out. Joey Belladonna takes the timeless hit to the limit.
SoCal natives, Avenged Sevenfold headlined the event with four songs. They took home two Loudwire Awards that night for Best Live Act and Best Heavy Metal act. They began their set with The Stage (Capitol Records) from their latest release of the same name and this performance proved that the fan-voted awards were not wrong. The atmosphere was electric and the crowd was ready to sing along to ‘Nightmare’, ‘God Damn’ and the closer of the night, ‘Hail to the King’.
Visit here for a complete list of the 2017 Loudwire Awards.
WORDS BY CYNTHIA JO
PHOTOS BY GRIZLEE MARTIN FOR LOUDWIRE, WITH PERMISSION