Metallica have been named Best International Band supported by Austin, Texas at the VO5 NME Awards 2017.

The metal group were up against the likes of Tame Impala, Green Day, Kings Of Leon, A Tribe Called Quest and Tegan And Sara in the category.

The band couldn’t make it to the ceremony due to other commitments, but sent a short video of them accepting the award in Copenhagen.


Holding the middle finger trophy, the group apologised for not being present at the ceremony and thanked fans for voting for them.

“Hello there, all our furry feathered friends,” said drummer Lars Ulrich, stood beside bandmates Robert Trujillo and James Hetfield. “It’s three quarters of Metallica hitting you from Copenhagen.

“We’re bummed we couldn’t be there tonight to join you in all the middle fingering going around the joint, but we’re very appreciative of this. We hope you guys are having a crazy and fun night. Kirk [Hammett], who is also an international kind of guy, sends his love.”

The trio then closed off their acceptance speech by raising their middle fingers to the crowd.

Stay with us here at NME.COM/awards to get all the latest news, videos, photos and gossip from the ceremony, which will also see Pet Shop Boys receive the Godlike Genius Award and close the ceremony with a live performance. You can also tune in live on the Facebook Live stream on NME’s official Facebook page.

Voting for the VO5 NME Awards 2017 is now closed. Following thousand votes from NME readers, Beyonce led the pack going into the ceremony with five nominations. The 1975, Skepta, Christine And The Queens and Bastille followed closely behind with four nods each.


A host of stars and musicians have already hit the red carpet, including Goldie, Wiley, Charli XCX and Dua Lipa.

Bastille opened the ceremony tonight at London’s O2 Academy Brixton with a live performance of ‘Good Grief’, which is in the running for Best Track supported by Red Stripe. It also features on their second album ‘Wild World’, which is also up for Best Album supported by HMV.

In addition to Pet Shop Boys and Bastille, Dua Lipa will perform. Wiley will make a special appearance after collecting the Outstanding Contribution To Music award and the Bands4Refugees supergroup will perform covers to raise funds and awareness for Help Refugees.