METALLICA To Perform At This Year's GRAMMY AWARDS; Band Plans 'Something Very Unique And Special'

METALLICA will perform at the 59th annual Grammy Awards, set to take place on February 12 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The ceremony will be televised at 7 p.m. on CBS.

The band is up for a Grammy this year in the “Best Rock Song” category for the track “Hardwired”, from METALLICA‘s latest album, “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, which came out last November.

Said METALLICA in a statement: “First, it was a total honor to be nominated, but now this?!!? We’re beyond excited that we have been invited to perform on the 59th annual Grammy Awards telecast on Sunday, February 12, 2017.

“It’s been three years since we were lucky enough to participate in the awards show when we last performed with world-renowned Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang and we’re thrilled to be asked back.

“We have something very unique and special planned for this celebratory night, so tune in to watch on CBS-TV… Check those local listings for your timezone and keep watching here for more information.”

METALLICA‘s nomination for “Best Rock Song” was a surprise since the band is not included in the “Best Metal Performance” category. But as a member of the group that lost the inaugural metal Grammy to JETHRO TULL, METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett takes it with a grain of salt. “Y’know, we’ve had such a crazy relationship with the Grammys, so when the Grammys do something like this we kind of like throw our arms in the air — ‘Whatever. Whatever!'” Hammett told Billboard with a laugh. “But it’s still an honor. It’s still great to be recognized by the academy, and it’s still fun to play the Grammys when we’re asked. I think it’s cool. I think it’s funny we’re in a different category, but we take it all in stride.”

After METALLICA lost the 1989 “Best Hard Rock/Heavy Metal Recording” Grammy to JETHRO TULL, the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), parent company of the Grammys, separated the two genres in 1990 by creating categories for “Best Hard Rock Performance” and “Best Metal Performance”. METALLICA won the “Best Metal Performance” award the next year, for “One”, and has earned nine so far.

When METALLICA‘s “Black” album won another “Best Metal Performance” Grammy in 1992, METALLICA‘s Lars Ulrich “thanked” JETHRO TULL for not releasing an album in that year.

Fonte: Blabbermouth.net