Rhino Factoids: Kerrang Awards 2004

11 years ago today, heavy metal reigned triumphant, punk proved it still had power, and a band from Detroit known for kicking out the jams officially became iconic, but that's the sort of thing happens when the Kerrang Awards go down.

Held at The Brewery, in Havering England, the 2004 Kerrang Awards - given out by the legendary hard rock magazine with an onomatopoeia name, Kerrang - named Muse's Absolution as the year's best album and Lostprophets' “Last Train Home” as the year's best single, but the ceremony wasn't just about studio recordings. The MC5 were given the Icon Award, as well they should've been, given how many up-and-coming bands were influenced by their work, while the 2004 Best Band on the Planet Award was given to Metallica, and fair enough, you could certainly do a lot worse than those guys. The Darkness walked away with Best Live Band, Ash scored as Classic Songwriters, and into the Hall of Fame went Green Day…and the world hadn't even really had a chance to hear their American Idiot album yet!

Hard rock and heavy metal may get a bad rap, but there's no question that the folks at Kerrang have better than average taste, and they look outside the box when it comes to honoring artists who've proven influential on the genre. We've put together a playlist featuring some of the folks from our catalog who won big at the 2004 awards. Give it a spin and don't be afraid to bang your head whilst doing so.