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It was no surprise to us that 2008 was the year of the big names: Opeth, Testament, Moonspell, AC/DC and Metallica all released new albums and they all won in their respective category without much competition at all. Out of these bands only Opeth had two big competitors, Ayreon and Enslaved, but still they took the trophy with a difference of almost 300 votes. However, the most convincing victory was for Amon Amarth's "Twilight Of The Thundergod". By winning the category with almost 60% of the votes and 500 votes more than the runner-up Scar Symmetry, they re-defined the meaning of "crushing the competition".
A few other things we noticed was that Virgin Black proved that it does help to have a loyal fan base, as they were the doomed runner-up behind Mar de Grises, but after posting a news bulletin the votes for their " Requiem - Fortissimo" album sky-rocketed and they ended up with almost twice the amount of votes. Metallica almost pulled a "Nightwish" (i.e. winning both The Biggest Letdown and The Biggest Surprise), but they had to give in to In Flames' "A Sense Of Purpose" in The Biggest Letdown category. Our guess is that they're not too sad about that.
The neck-by-neck race of '08 took place in the Sludge/Stoner Metal category, where the long-lasting tie between Ufomammut and Black Mountain was broken on the last day, in favour of the Italians of Ufomammut. '08 also brought a new treble forward, after Angtoria's success in '06's (winning the Best Atmospheric/Symphonic, Best Debut and Best Cover Song categories). This time the honour befell to the one and only Opeth, winning not only the Best Progressive Metal category, but also the Best Cover song and Best DVD categories.
Metal Storm won an award too, for Best Drama, concerning our little feud with Wikipedia. Congratulations dear readers, you have proven your own insanity as clearly, Metal Storm does not exist and neither are you actually reading this. It's all a big conspiracy, that's what we say.
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 Best albums by genre
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Other awards
Special award
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The Best Alternative Metal Album
The Best Atmospheric/Symphonic Metal Album
The Best Avantgarde Metal Album
The Best Black Metal Album
The Best Death Metal Album
The Best Doom Metal Album
The Best Extreme Doom Metal Album
The Best Gothic Metal Album
The Best Grindcore Album
The Best Hard Rock Album
The Best Heavy Metal Album
The Best Melodeath/Gothenburg Metal Album
The Best Metalcore Album
The Best Pagan/Viking/Folk Metal Album
The Best Post-Metal Album
The Best Power Metal Album
The Best Progressive Metal Album
The Best Sludge/Stoner Metal Album
The Best Thrash Metal Album
The Best Cover Song
The Best Debut Album
The Best DVD
The Best Video
The Biggest Letdown
The Biggest Surprise
The Best Drama
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Not nearly as publicized as the other battles above, but every bit as mundane (only more self-referential), is the ongoing struggle between the few, the proud, the staff of Metal Storm and the uberposeurs of Wikipedia. Apparently, the vault of all human knowledge is hellbent on denying MS a page on their site, despite the fact every single scrap of information obtained since the big bang itself has an entry on their site, complete with obligatory arguments over worthless parsimonious minutiae. Despite the many reviews, bands interviewed, work with labels, work with festivals, dragons slain, and chicks bedded by MS staff, they claim we do not exist, and, ergo, do not deserve entry in their site so that valuable web space can be spent arguing theories over the eating habits of the dung beetle. Of course, if MS does not exist, and you are reading this, either you do not exist or you are clearly insane. Have fun bouncing that notion around your melon.
Results:
Metal Storm vs. Wikipedia | 173
Rhapsody of Copyright Infringement Cease Musical Activities, Slaying Dragons | 124
Enslaved Download a Sheep, Film at 11 | 105
Chinese Democracy Leakage | 97
Brain Drill, Butt Probed | 51
Glen Benton vs. Blabbermouth Youth | 37
Gorgoroth - Gaahl coming out of the closet | 36
Stratovarius - Stratovarius vs. Timo Tolkki | 19
Nightwish - Anette Olzon leaving the stage | 12 |
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