Mastodon, Megadeth, Dream Theater, Foo Fighters Nominated for Best Hard Rock / Metal Grammy Performance

It's official! The nominees have been announced for the 54th annual Grammy Awards, with Mastodon, Megadeth, Dream Theater and the Foo Fighters capturing nominations for the newly formed Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance category - which combines the old Best Hard Rock Performance and Best Metal Performance categories.

Megadeth have had a monster year in 2011. Having released 'TH1RT3EN' to rabid fans on Nov. 1 and having their new music featured in both 'Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock' and the upcoming 'NeverDead' video game. Megadeth are nominated for the track 'Public Enemy No. 1,' which they played on 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' while dressed has famous movie monsters for Halloween. The band has never won a Grammy, although having been nominated a record number of nine times for 'Best Metal Performance.'

Mastodon released yet another critically acclaimed album this year, titled 'The Hunter.' Reaching as high as No. 10 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, Mastodon has proven themselves worthy of their second Grammy nomination for the single 'Curl of the Burl.' Mastodon was nominated for 'Colony of Birchmen' in 2007, but was beaten by Slayer's 'Eyes of the Insane.'

Dream Theater have received the first nomination in their 26-year career for 'On the Backs of Angels,' from their 2011 release 'A Dramatic Turn of Events.'

Foo Fighters are one of the top dogs in for the 2012 Grammys, being nominated for a handful of awards. In this category, the Foos are nominated for 'White Limo.' The band has already won six Grammy Awards over the years.

Surprisingly, pop-punkers Sum 41 round out the nominees in the Best Hard Rock / Metal Performance category with the track 'Blood In My Eyes' from their 2011 release 'Screaming Bloody Murder.'

The Grammy Awards will air live on CBS on Feb. 12. Who do you think deserves to win the award? Let us know in the comments section below!