The ceremony will be at Auckland’s Vector Arena Nov. 3.

The band, which is touring the U.S. in October, is up for album, single, group, music video and artist of the year, among others.

Passive Me Aggressive You also won two technical awards, announced at the nominations event – for producer (Thom Powers and Aaron Short) and engineer (Thom Powers, Aaron Short and Olly Harmer).

Sony-signed singer-songwriter Brooke Fraser and urban poet Ladi6 are up for five noms.

Up for three each were hip-hoppers Tiki Taane and David Dallas, dub ’n’ bass Six60, new wave duo Kids of 88 and Warner-signed Avalanche City.

Dragon, who moved to Australia in the mid-’70s, will receive the Legacy award for its impact on NZ music. Among the 40 members that passed through its ranks was guitarist Tommy Emmanuel. However, the act had only two Top 10 singles and two Top 20 albums in its home market.

In comparison, it had six Top 20 albums and nine Top 20 singles in Australia.

This year the metal community registered a protest with an online petition and Facebook page. The demand for a metal category was started by Sarah Sampson, who runs Black Frog event and management, which books metal acts.

There are categories for hip-hop, roots, alternative, electronic and Christian music.

Awards director Chris Caddick insisted that metal is represented in the rock section.