The Nominees for this year's Revolver Golden Gods awards have been announced.

The GRAMMY's happened this past weekend and the Oscars are just around the corner, so it's about that time for the US's only Hard Rock/Metal Award show, Revolver Magazine's Golden Gods, to release the nominees.

Held in it's usual spot of Club Nokia in downtown L.A. on April 11th, there's a brand new feature to the award show that I'm particularly excited about. The event will be broadcast live for the first time via X-Box Live, as well as on the X-Box and Revolver Facebook pages.

The GRAMMY Museum, right next door to Club Nokia, will debut a new exhibit on April 11th as well titled Golden Gods: The History of Heavy Metal

The event will be hosted by WWE Superstar and Fozzy frontman Chris Jericho (his third consecutive year hosting), along with a slew of current stars, up-and-comers, and living legends on hand to present the awards.

Voting on the 11 categories is open now, you can vote by going to www.goldengodsawards.com.

The show's namesake, The Golden God Award, is given to "one special honoree a year who embodies the spirit of rock and metal" according to the award website. This year, the recipient will be Kiss Demon Gene Simmons (previous winners have been Alice Cooper, Rob Halford of Judas Priest, and Dave Mustaine of Megadeth)

Simmons commented on his win

"It's an honor and privilage to accept the Golden God Award. A God is only as powerful as the faithful who worship him." (signed God of Thunder)

Kiss is slated to release their 20th studio album "Monsters" later this year.

The show will feature performances by Marilyn Manson (his first U.S. performance in approximately three years), Slash feat. Myles Kennedy and the Conspirators, Evanescence, Sixx:A.M., and 2011 Best New Band winners Black Veil Brides. More performances will be announced in the coming weeks.

Revolver Editor in Chief Brandon Geist had this to say

“Every year, the Revolver Golden Gods grows bigger and more badass. The 2012 edition is without question the most epic one yet, from the performers and presenters to the nominees and honorees. And this year, with the GRAMMY Museum launching its tie-in ‘Golden Gods: The History of Heavy Metal’ exhibit, and Xbox LIVE broadcasting the show around the world as it goes down in its entirety, the event will truly encompass the full timeline of heavy music and span the globe. Epic, indeed.”

You can read the whole press release here, as well as the complete list of categories and nominees. Also, don't forget to vote.

-IH