I
t’s 7:26pm on Wednesday, June
19, and Metallica’s Lars Ulrich
is standing onstage at London’s
Islington Assembly Hall making
a rather ominous announcement.
“The doors are locked from the outside,”
the drummer warns several hundred
bemused Kerrang! Awards 2019
attendees. “So snuggle up and we’ll tell
some stories!”
Collecting his – spoiler alert – second
award of the evening alongside bandmate
and bassist Rob Trujillo, Lars is in fine
storytelling form,not least because this
year’s epic ceremony is sandwiched in
between two sold-out Metallica stadium
shows in Manchester and London.
“Every time we come to England, it
doesn’t change,” he grins, beginning one
of many brilliant tales told both on and
offstage. “The first time that I came to
England in the early ’80s and followed my
favourite bands around, it was incredible.
The first time Metallica came to England
and played the Marquee in the spring
of 1984, it was like butterflies in all our
stomachs. This was the mecca, and this was
ground zero for everything that we grew up
on, and everything that we wanted to be.
“All the music and the lineage of
everything that I had listened to for the
previous 10 years,” he continues, “it was
all within 200 miles of where you’re sitting
right now... I still feel like that same fucking
18-year-old when I come back to your
beautiful country. I just feel the inspiration,
the history, the lineage, and everything that
made me want to be in a band, sitting here
tonight. All those years, all those magazines,
and all that crazy shit... It kept me alive, andmade me want to fucking do this. Now the
doors will open again!”
It’s not like anyone would want to leave,
though. For starters, there’s an endless
supply of both Metallica’s own, delicious
Enter Night beer available, as well as yummy
rum cocktails from Dead Man’s Fingers and
food courtesy of Tortilla. Then there’s the
company in the room – from Led Zeppelin
legend Jimmy Page through to Queen’s
Roger Taylor and K! Awards regulars like
Architects, Enter Shikari and Don Broco.
There’s also a cool 11 awards to get through
in total, all introduced by various starsfrom the worlds of rock and metal, as well
as Kerrang! editor Sam Coare and global
creative director Phil Alexander.
“We still believe in the unadulterated
power of rock’n’roll,” begins Phil. “We
believe that music at its best can alter not
only how you feel, but how you think, and
how you behave. Music allows us to hope
in a world of uncertainty and turmoil, and
just as significantly, music provides us with asense of community and belonging.”
But before we get round to celebrating
music’s all-encompassing power, our two
hosts pause to reflect on a significant figure
from our scene who we were all devastated
to lose this year: The Prodigy frontman
Keith Flint. Tonight, of course, is dedicated
to him, as well as his friends, family and
his bandmates.
“I remember presenting the band in
question with an award at this ceremony,
probably 13 years ago. They told me
at the time they ‘fucking hated’ awards
ceremonies, but they respected Kerrang!,
which is why they were there,” Phil
remembers, before the entire room rallies
together for a standing ovation.
“I wish he was here to see that.”
As the ceremony kicks off, the first award
of the night falls to one of our eight voted-
for categories: Best British Breakthrough
Act. A hotly-contested battle between a
host of diverse bands – YONAKA, IDLES,
Scarlxrd, Svalbard and Black Peaks. Rou
Reynolds of Enter Shikari presents and
immediately tries to outdo his infamous
speech at last year’s ceremony.
“Being a new band today is difficult. It’s
a lot like anal sex, actually – it can be really
difficult to penetrate the inner-ring of rock
music,” the frontman chuckles, dubiously.
“If I was going to compare the current
state of affairs for new bands to a sexual act,
it wouldn’t be anal sex – it would probably
be a golden shower,” Rou continues as
the room erupts with laughter. “Because
unfortunately, most people seem to be
content just lapping on the mainstream!”
Um, swiftly moving on...
The mighty IDLES scoop this gong, and it’sKERRANG! 27“BEING A NEW BAND
TODAY IS DIFFICULT.
IT’S A LOT LIKE
ANAL SEX...”
ROU REYNOLDSWords:
EMILY CARTER
PHOTOs:
JENN FIVE, paul harries, ANDY FORD
Welcome to the KERRANG! AWARDS 2019 – a legendary night of
fun, debauchery and celebration. And if you weren’t lucky enough to
have walked the red carpet, our blow-by-blow report’s got all the goss...
WINNERS
BOOZERS
AND
THE AWARDS