QUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre has called the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame a “joke of an organization”.
LaTorre, much like many others, made the comment out of the growing frustration within the metal community over the perceived lack of respect for the genre b the institution.
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 JUDAS PRIEST, IRON MAIDEN and MOTÖRHEAD have yet to be recognized by the Rock Hall.
BLACK SABBATH, the pioneers of heavy metal themselves, weren’t inducted until 2006.
On Friday (May 14), La Torre took to his Twitter to write: “The Rock And Roll Of Fame [sic] doesn’t really recognize many bands. Well, that door swings both ways. More bands do not recognize this joke of an organization, and rightfully so.”
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,”.
Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame president and CEO Greg Harris commented on the recent backlash earlier this week, saying: “We celebrate all forms of rock and roll. We’ve nominated MAIDEN, JUDAS PRIEST have been nominated, we put DEF LEPPARD in… Those that are nominated, over 80 percent of them eventually do get inducted. So it’s really a question of, let’s keep nominating them, let’s get ’em on the ballot, and let’s get it out to the voting body.”
IRON MAIDEN, one of the most influential and respected bands in the world, was on the ballot for Rock Hall induction this year, but didn’t make the class of 2021.
The institution is a complete joke. That’s just the way it is.
The Rock and Roll of Fame doesn’t really recognize many bands. Well, that door swings both ways. More bands do not recognize this joke of an organization, and rightfully so.
— Todd La Torre (@ToddLaTorre) May 14, 2021