Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame president and CEO Greg Harris has addressed criticism from heavy metal fans over the fact that IRON MAIDEN has once again been snubbed from the Rock Hall induction.
Even though artists are eligible for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame 25 years after the release of their first album or single, iconic hard rock and metal bands like MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the institution, which inducted GUNS N’ ROSES in that group’s first year of eligibility.
IRON MAIDEN was on the ballot for the second time this year, but the institution’s voters snubbed them once again.
Asked in a new interview with Taryn Daly of Audacy how he feels about the fact that the Rock Hall has gotten so much negative feedback for excluding MAIDEN from the induction, Harris said: “We love that people care — that they care if they’re in or out, and that their fans care. Now the truth is anybody that’s nominated, the odds are good that they’re eventually gonna get in. In fact, I think it may be as high as 90 percent eventually go in. RAGE [AGAINST THE MACHINE, who are finally getting inducted this year], this was their sixth time, I believe — fifth time on the ballot or sixth time. And so sometimes it takes a while. But let’s see where it lands. Right now, let’s celebrate this year’s class, and we can start to debate about next year’s class once the spotlight is off of this year’s class.”
The only metal or metal-adjacent acts to have made it into the Rock Hall so far have been BLACK SABBATH, LED ZEPPELIN, METALLICA, AC/DC, JUDAS PRIEST, KISS, VAN HALEN, RUSH, GUNS N’ ROSES and DEEP PURPLE.
IRON MAIDEN finished in the fourth place in the fan vote for this year’s Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction class.
George Michael led the fan vote with more than 1,040,000 ballots while Cyndi Lauper came in second with more than 928,000 votes. Warren Zevon came in third with more than 634,000 votes, with IRON MAIDEN landing more than 449,000 votes. Coming in the fifth place was SOUNDGARDEN with more than 427,000 votes.
More than three million votes were cast since voting began. The top five artists, as selected by the public, comprised a “fans’ ballot” that was tallied along with the other ballots to select the 2023 inductees.
Having been eligible for induction for nearly two decades, IRON MAIDEN is one of the biggest bands on the planet. Since the release of their self-titled debut album, the British heavy metal legends have released a further 16 full-length studio records, and sold over 100 million copies.
Rock Hall rules state that artists become eligible a quarter century after their first records were released, but the Hall also claims that other “criteria include the influence and significance of the artists’ contributions to the development and perpetuation of rock ‘n’ roll,” which is, of course, open to interpretation.
