So in case your Internet connection was out for a day, the Grammys were last night. We didn’t watch, but apparently it was a good day for The Arcade Fire and someone named Esparanza Spalding. As per usual, the awards for metal and hard rock were presented before the actual ceremony, the equivalent of a restaurant seating your party by the kitchen.

The good news? Iron Maiden won Best Metal Performance for “El Dorado.” It could be argued that Slayer deserved to win, or that it would have been innovative for Megadeth to win for a song taken not from an album, but a failed franchise video game. But at the end of the day, Iron Maiden got the respect they deserve for a solid song taken from their best album in years. It’s a shame the award wasn’t presented during the ceremony, because it would’ve been amazing to have Eddie accept for the band.

And while I would have preferred Alice In Chains to pick up a Grammy for “A Looking In View,” Zach went two for two in his prediction of who would win the Metal and Hard Rock Performance Grammys, having picked Them Crooked Vultures to win for “New Fang.” I guess the combination of Zeppelin (via bassist John Paul Jones), Dave Grohl and Josh Homme was catnip for the NARAS voters, and they went for the safest bet in a field crowded with other safe bets.