Metallica leading Metal Grammy category

Metallica landed four Grammy nominations on Wednesday night (December 3rd), with the band's latest effort, Death Magnetic, getting nods for best rock album and best recording package. Two tracks from the disc also earned nominations -- best metal performance for "My Apocalypse" and best rock instrumental for "Suicide & Redemption." The nominations are an added bonus to the fan and critical acclaim Death Magnetic has already received, and drummer Lars Ulrich told us about another source of praise for the album: [ Click to listen if you have a backstage pass] "The main place where I feel a lot of difference from, say, five years ago is not so much from the fans or from the press. It's from the peers. I feel that there's a tremendous amount of love and respect. I get text messages every day from like members of other bands and stuff like that -- 'Dude, Death Magnetic is...' You know, it's like, there's a lot of peer love for Metallica right now and that's something that feels really good."

Metallica was nominated for the very first best metal performance Grammy in 1989, but famously lost to Jethro Tull. The group has won seven Grammys since, including five for best metal performance.

Other nominees in the metal category included:
"Heroes of Our Time" - Dragonforce
"Nostradamus"- Judas Priest
"Under My Thumb" - Ministry
"Psychosocial" - Slipknot

Other notable rock nominees are:
Best Rock Album
Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends - Coldplay
Rock N Roll Jesus - Kid Rock
Only By The Night - Kings Of Leon
Death Magnetic - Metallica
Consolers Of The Lonely - The Raconteurs
Best Alternative Music Album
Modern Guilt - Beck
Narrow Stairs - Death Cab for Cutie
The Odd Couple - Gnarls Barkley
Evil Urges - My Morning Jacket
In Rainbows - Radiohead
Best Hard Rock Performance
"Inside The Fire" - Disturbed
"Visions" - Judas Priest
"Wax Simulacra" - The Mars Volta
"Saints Of Los Angeles" - Motley Crue
"Lords Of Salem" - Rob Zombie