Grammy Nominees 2011 Announced for Hard Rock and Metal

The Grammy nominees for the 53rd annual awards show were announced this evening, and some perennial favorites got the nods in the Best Metal Performance category. The same can be said for the Best Hard Rock Performance slot.

Best Metal Performances nominees are listed below, and it'll be fun to watch recent tourmates Megadeth and Slayer go mano y mano for the statue, along with stiff competition from old schoolers with lengthy histories like Iron Maiden and Korn, as well as from Lamb of God, who are a product of the '00s. This one is going to be a bloody battle to the finish line and for Grammy gold.

'El Dorado' -- Iron Maiden

'Let the Guilt Go' -- Korn

'In Your Words' -- Lamb of God

'Sudden Death' -- Megadeth

'World Painted Blood' -- Slayer

The Best Hard Rock Performance noms are as follows, with a clutch of '90s grunge bands doing battle nearly 20 years after their genre took over the mainstream. Alice in Chains vs. Soundgarden vs. Stone Temple Pilots? Let the flannel fly. Supergroup Them Crooked Vultures and the legend that is Ozzy Osbourne round out the category. I can't even begin to predict who will come away with the statue here.

'A Looking in View' -- Alice In Chains

'Let Me Hear You Scream' -- Ozzy Osbourne

'Black Rain' -- Soundgarden

'Between the Lines' -- Stone Temple Pilots

'New Fang' -- Them Crooked Vultures

Congrats to all the nominees. May the best headbangers and hard rockers win on Feb. 13!