Metal Hammer magazine has revealed the full list of nominees for the 2026 Golden Gods Awards, the most prestigious and widely recognized awards ceremony in heavy metal music. The ceremony, scheduled for June 12 at the O2 Academy Brixton in London (the day before Download Festival begins at Donington), will feature live performances by several nominated acts alongside the awards presentations.
In the Album of the Year category, nominees include TOOL (their yet-untitled new album), MASTODON ("Leviathan II"), GHOST ("Impera" carried over for a special recognition award), JUDAS PRIEST ("Invincible Shield"), and GOJIRA ("Magma II — Fortitude Reborn"). The Best New Band category features ORBIT CULTURE (Sweden), BLOOD INCANTATION (USA), SPIRITBOX (Canada), AFTERBIRTH (USA), and UNTO OTHERS (USA) as nominees. Best Live Act nominees are IRON MAIDEN, RAMMSTEIN, SLIPKNOT, TOOL, and BEHEMOTH.
The Riff Lord category — Metal Hammer's award for outstanding guitarwork — sees ADAM JONES of TOOL, MICHAEL AMOTT of ARCH ENEMY, GARY HOLT of EXODUS, RICHIE FAULKNER of JUDAS PRIEST, and MARK MORTON of LAMB OF GOD as nominees. The God of All Gods lifetime achievement award will be presented to a recipient whose identity has not yet been revealed, though industry sources widely expect it to be JAMES HETFIELD of METALLICA. Voting opens via the Metal Hammer website and will close on May 1. The ceremony will be broadcast live on Metal Hammer's YouTube channel.