America’s first-ever hard-rock and heavy-metal music awards show is back! The second annual REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS presented by Epiphone will take place Thursday, April 8, returning to Club Nokia in Downtown Los Angeles. The show will later be televised on VH1 Classic on Saturday, May 22 (air time TBA). Tickets go on sale this Friday, February 19 via Ticketmaster.

This year, hosting duties for the Golden Gods will be shared between musician, activist, and entrepreneur Andrew W.K. and professional wrestler, actor, author, and metal fanChris Jericho. The nominees of nine different categories—plus the recipients of this year’s prestigious Golden God Award and the Revolver Golden Gods Lifetime Achievement Award—were revealed today at a press conference held at the Rainbow Bar & Grill on the world-famous Sunset Strip in Los Angeles. Both hosts were on hand, along with Rob Halford (Judas Priest), Lemmy Kilmister (Motörhead), Dave Mustaine(Megadeth), Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society, Ozzy Osbourne), Vinnie Paul(HELLYEAH, Pantera), Chuck Billy (Testament), Kat Von D (TV’s L.A. Ink) and NFLDallas Cowboys Marc Columbo, Cory Proctor, and Leonard Davis to announce the nominees.

New for this year, fans everywhere can cast their vote beginning today to choose who will take home the awards for “Best Guitarist,” “Best Drummer,” “Best Vocalist,” “Album of the Year,” “Best Live Band,” “Best Underground Band,” “Most Metal Athlete,” “Hottest Chick(s) in Metal” and “Comeback of the Year.” Voting starts today at www.revolvermag.com/goldengods and ends on Wednesday, March 31. The complete list of nominees in each category are listed below.

The Revolver Golden God Award is given to one special honoree a year who embodies all that is metal. This year, the accolade will go to Judas Priest frontman and Metal God Rob Halford, and it will be presented to him by last year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner, the legendary Ozzy Osbourne. (Last year Revolver honored metal legend Dave Mustaine of Megadeth with the Golden God Award.) This year’s recipient of the RevolverGolden Gods Lifetime Achievement Award is none other than hard rock icon Lemmy Kilmister. Lemmy has fronted Motörhead, the loudest band on the planet, for 35 years, and his background includes being Jimi Hendrix’s roadie in the ’60s before joining Hawkwind. Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana, Them Crooked Vultures) will do the honor of presenting Lemmy with his Revolver Golden Gods Lifetime Achievement Award.

Adding to the celebration of all that is best in metal this year, the Golden Gods Awards will also include hard rocking musical numbers by Rob Zombie, Fear Factory (who will make their first L.A. appearance ever with their new lineup), As I Lay Dying, the Devil Wears Prada, and last year’s host Brian Posehn’s all-star band featuring Scott Ian,Brendon Small, John Tempesta, and Joey Vera, with a special performance by Zakk Wylde. More performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

“As a diehard fan of hard rock and metal who still can’t quite figure out how he ended up as the editor-in-chief of Revolver magazine, I am beyond stoked to attend the 2010 Golden Gods, let alone work on it behind the scenes,” states Revolver’s editor-in-chief, Brandon Geist. “An award show celebrating the true power and artistry of this most overlooked, vilified, and misunderstood form of music has been long overdue. But award shows can be lame, self-congratulating affairs, which is why I’m particularly excited that most of this year’s winners will be picked not by some mysterious panel of snotty critics or the incestuous members of whatever ‘academy,’ but by the fans. Metal has always been all about the fans; it’s music for diehard fans by diehard fans. So power to the people, and may the best maniacs win!”

The nominees for the 2010 REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS presented by Epiphone are:

BEST GUITARIST
Kirk Hammett (Metallica)
Tony Iommi (Heaven & Hell)
Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Street Sweeper Social Club)
Dave Mustaine (Megadeth)
Slash
Zakk Wylde (Black Label Society)

BEST DRUMMER
Chris Adler (Lamb of God)
Brann Dailor (Mastodon)
Dave Grohl (Them Crooked Vultures)
Gene Hoglan (Dethklok, Fear Factory)
Dave Lombardo (Slayer)
Jimmy “The Rev” Sullivan (Avenged Sevenfold)

BEST VOCALIST
Jonathan Davis (Korn)
Ronnie James Dio (Heaven & Hell)
Neil Fallon (Clutch)
Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)
Serj Tankian
Corey Taylor (Slipknot, Stone Sour)

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Alice in Chains, Black Gives Way to Blue
Heaven & Hell, The Devil You Know
Mastodon, Crack the Skye
Megadeth, Endgame
Slayer, World Painted Blood
Them Crooked Vultures, Them Crooked Vultures

BEST LIVE BAND
The Devil Wears Prada
Lamb of God
Metallica
Motörhead
Rob Zombie
Slayer

BEST UNDERGROUND BAND
Behemoth
Between the Buried and Me
The Black Dahlia Murder
Converge
The Dillinger Escape Plan
Obituary

MOST METAL ATHLETE
Josh Barnett (MMA fighting)
Marc Colombo, Cory Procter, and Leonard Davis (NFL football)
Chris Jericho (WWE wrestling)
Mike Piazza (MLB baseball)
Jason Ellis (Pro skateboarding)
Jolene Van Vugt (Pro motocrosser)

HOTTEST CHICK(S) IN METAL
Pearl Aday (Pearl)
Maria Brink (In This Moment)
Lzzy Hale (Halestorm)
Lacey Mosley (Flyleaf)
Alexia & Anissa Rodriguez (Eyes Set to Kill)
Cristina Scabbia (Lacuna Coil)

COMEBACK OF THE YEAR
AC/DC
Alice in Chains
Anvil
Fear Factory
Heaven & Hell
KISS

The Golden Gods are about celebrating all that is the wonder and amazement of Heavy Metal. The first annual Revolver Golden Gods Awards in 2009 was hosted by comedian Brian Posehn and featured musical performances by Megadeth, Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed, All That Remains and Suicide Silence, plus special DJ Slipknot’s Corey Taylor. Rock legend Ozzy Osbourne was honored the Revolver Golden Gods Lifetime Achievement Award. Check out more from last year’s stellar awards show here.

The REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS are sponsored by Epiphone, Drum Workshop, Roadrunner Records, Just Cause 2, Indiemerchandising, Metal Blade, Harley-Davidson, Ferret Music, Splatterhouse, Samson Zoom, Eagle Rock Entertainment, VH1 Classic and Sirius XM Radio.

For more information on tickets for the Revolver Golden Gods Awards please click here.

Presale tickets are available this Thursday, February 18 from 10:00 am–10:00 pm. More information can be found here.

About Revolver Magazine:
Revolver is the No. 1 hard-rock and heavy-metal destination in the world. In print for 10 years, the magazine takes readers into the studio, onto the stage, and behind the scenes, providing in-depth information, mind-blowing original photography, and hilarious insights they can’t find anywhere else. The home of the Hottest Chicks in Metal, Revolver also covers horror movies, mixed martial arts, tattoos, action sports, and more. In 2009,Revolver threw the first-ever U.S. hard-rock and metal awards show, the Revolver Golden Gods, which was broadcasted on MTV2 and featured appearances by Ozzy Osbourne, Maynard Keenan, Lemmy Kilmister, Megadeth, Kat Von D, Slipknot, Suicide Silence, the UFC’s BJ Penn, and many others. Revolver sponsors over 20 hard-rock tours each year, including the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival. Its website (www.revolvermag.com) features exclusive interviews, music and video, photo shoot outtakes, and contests.Revolver is also the official media partner of MySpace Music.

About VH1 Classic:
Launched in May 2000, VH1 Classic is a 24-hour network that presents videos, concerts and music specials all day long, featuring the best of rock, soul and pop artists from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s, including the Rolling Stones, the Who, Led Zeppelin, AC/DC, Bruce Springsteen, Michael Jackson, Prince, Whitney Houston, Madonna, and U2. Learn more at VH1Classic.com.

About Epiphone:
Recognized worldwide as a leader in musical instrument design, quality and innovation since 1873, the Epiphone Company produces every major type of fretted instrument including electric and acoustic guitars, mandolins and banjos, as well as amplifiers. Epiphone’s new “Prophecy” guitars are designed specifically for advanced players of rock and metal with a focus on speed, tone and reliability. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Epiphone is part of the Gibson family of brands. For more information visit www.epiphone.com.

Cast your vote for the REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS between now and March 31 at www.revolvermag.com/goldengods.