METALLICA Wins 'Best Metal Performance' GRAMMY For '72 Seasons'

METALLICA was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 66th annual Grammy Awards, which is being held tonight (Sunday, February 4) at the Crypto.com Arena (formerly the Staples Center) in Los Angeles, California. METALLICA was nominated for "72 Seasons", the title track of the band's 2023 album.

METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo was on hand to accept the award. He said in his speech: "All right. Wow. Incredible.

"I just wanna say that Lars [Ulrich], James [Hetfield] and Kirk [Hammett] could not be here cause they're with their families, and, as you know, families are everything to all of us," he continued. "That comes first. And I live in Southern California, so it's a little easier.

"But we wanna thank Greg Fidelman, our incredible producer, and our recording team. Amazing — one of the best teams ever.

"This is like family," Trujillo added. "When you're making an album like this, you're jamming, you're collaborating — the spirit of '72 seasons', which is your youth — and creating music together.

"Keep those instruments in your hands. Let's keep the youth making music and keeping the dream alive."

METALLICA was also nominated in the "Best Rock Album" (for "72 Seasons") and "Best Rock Performance" (for "Lux Æterna") categories, but did not win those awards.

METALLICA has now won 10 Grammy Awards from a total of 26 nominations.

METALLICA was nominated for the very first "Hard Rock/Metal Performance" Grammy in 1989, but famously lost to JETHRO TULL, a band distinguished mainly by its heavy use of flute. Fans — and even some audience members — were rightly outraged, though TULL's record label tried to make light of the faux pas by placing a Billboard ad that read, "The flute is a heavy, metal instrument."

The Grammy Awards ceremony will air live from 8 p.m. until 11:30 p.m. ET / from 5 p.m. until 8:30 p.m. PT. The event will air live on the CBS television network and stream on Paramount+.

The nominees in the "Best Metal Performance" category were as follows:

* DISTURBED - "Bad Man"
* GHOST - "Phantom Of The Opera"
* METALLICA - "72 Seasons"
* SLIPKNOT - "Hive Mind"
* SPIRITBOX - "Jaded"

The eligibility period for the 66th annual Grammy Awards is October 1, 2022 through September 15, 2023.

The Grammys voting process begins with members and record companies submitting entries, which are then screened for eligibility and category placement. The Online Entry Process (OEP) access period took place from July 17, 2023 to August 31, 2023. First round voting occurred from October 11 to October 20, 2023. Lastly, final round voting spanned December 14, 2023 to January 4, 2024 — and the winners will be announced during Music's Biggest Night on February 4.

The Academy's voting members, all involved in the creative and technical processes of recording, then participate in (1) the nominating process that determines the five finalists in each category; and (2) the final voting process which determines the Grammy winners.

Last year's "Best Metal Performance" Grammy went to Ozzy Osbourne, who was nominated for "Degradation Rules", a track from his 2022 album "Patient Number 9".