Despite being one of the most popular music genres, heavy metal has relatively few award organisations compared to others. There are a handful of ceremonies each year which celebrate the best artists in heavy metal. They include the following.
Heavy Music Awards
This award ceremony was only established in 2017. It is designed to recognise the best metal artists democratically. Anyone can vote for the band of their choice. There are categories aimed at specific sub-genres. This is important because metal has evolved and branched out over the decades. The Heavy Music Awards is by far the most extensive ceremony of its type. No other events delve so deeply into different aspects of the genre.
Grammy for Best Metal Performance
The Grammys are the most famous professional music awards in the world. Despite this, there are very few categories when it comes to heavy metal. Instead, the Grammys are more focused on pop music. However, the Grammy for Best Metal Performance is still fairly prestigious amongst artists of the genre. The list of winners comprises of the very best metal bands around. This award was first given out in 1989.
ARIA Awards
The Australian Recording Industry Association Music Awards have been held since 1987. They have traditionally focused on country and dance music. That has begun to change, and there is now a category for heavy metal and hard rock albums. The ceremony tends to favour artists who hail from Australia. This means that lesser-known metal bands can attain a higher level of exposure.
Metal Storm Awards
Like the Heavy Music Awards, this annual event allows members of the public to vote for winners. The Metal Storm Awards tend to favour lesser-known artists. There is an extensive range of categories including best thrash, folk, death, doom and melodic metal bands.