In an awards show with no actual musical performances, Marilyn Manson still managed to steal the show. The headline from the night has to be not his Lifetime Achievement award but that he actually arrived in person to collect his gong. Such a presence instantly dwarfed the rest of the rock great and good that filled the Troxy for yesterday’s Relentless Kerrang Awards. Even reducing Alice Cooper’s appearance to collect his Legend award to that of a cameo role.
This black carpet event tied with a Zombie theme was certainly a resounding success; Relentless cocktails and un-dead bar staff made for a spectacular evening but it’s the attention to the small details that make you realise you’re somewhere special. Zombie hands leap out and grab you from the scenery (presumably from actors hidden behind the scenes), and smoke machines billow out scary Silent Hill mists giving everyone the Heavy Metal chills.
Alcohol ran free and everyone was raising a charged glass to the winners, with Bring Me The Horizon getting all the plaudits they deserved for their Best British Band award. I should imagine both their table and Royal Blood’s (Best British Newcomer) will be nursing a sore head this morning but a well deserved one.
The only question is, after a night to remember like this, just how will the event organisers top it next year?
Tobin James