Heavy Music Awards – judging panel blasts past 300

The number of judges at the Heavy Music Awards has exploded to 308, with WWE superstar Chris Jericho among the latest to get involved.

This week a further 203 individuals from a huge range of globally-renowned organisations signed up to nominate their picks across ten categories at the first Heavy Music Awards.

Joining a list that had already been described as “a who’s who of heavy music”, the new additions represent the likes of Parlophone, Shazam, Universal, Earache, X-Ray, Punktastic, Ticketmaster, AEG, CAA, Live Nation France, The O2, The Lad Bible, Eleven Seven, Sony Music, Groezrock, Uprawr, Red Bull Records, ADA, KROQ, EMP, Kerrang! TV, Century Media, LD Communications, ITB, Songkick, Hopeless Records, Gibson Guitars, Impericon, Association of Independent Festivals, Twickets, Jackson Guitars, Coda, Mascot Label Group, Avocado Booking and many, many more.

The panel is currently casting votes to decide the finalists of the HMAs, before the public votes to pick winners. The event itself will take place in London on August 24.

Atlantic Records’ Chris Ruff, known for his work with Halestorm, Shinedown and Paramore, and another esteemed member of the HMAs judging panel, said:

It’s a pleasure to be asked to be involved in the inaugural Heavy Music Awards.

Heavy music shapes the vast majority of my listening habits, and I’m looking forward to helping celebrate the immeasurable impact of heavy music both past and present.

Dave Bradley, co-founder of the HMAs, revealed that he had been “staggered” by the heavy music industry’s reaction to the Awards.

He said:

This new announcement of additional judges once again underlines our absolute determination to create a truly democratic panel.

In the same way a film fan can trust the Oscars to present a shortlist of unerring quality, we want everyone – even someone who is totally unfamiliar with heavy music – to be able to take it for granted that any finalist at the HMAs is operating at an extremely high level. A judging panel of several hundred goes a long way to guaranteeing that.