Timeline of heavy metal - Definition and Overview

This is a timeline of heavy metal or hard rock, from its beginnings in the late 60s to the present time. 1968 - 1969 - 1970 - 1971 - 1972 - 1973 - 1974 - 1975 - 1976 - 1977 - 1978 - 1979 - 1980 - 1981 - 1982 - 1983 - 1984 - 1985 - 1986 - 1987 - 1988 - 1989 - 1990 - 1991 - 1992 - 1993 - 1994 - 1995 - 1996 - 1997 - 1998 - 1999 - 2000 - 2001 - 2002 - 2003 - 2004 - 2005

1968

• Newly formed bands
  • Alice Cooper
  • Deep Purple
  • Led Zeppelin
  • Rush

• Albums

• Disbandments

• Events

1969

• Newly formed bands
  • Black Sabbath

• Albums
  • Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin
  • Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin II

• Disbandments

• Events

1970

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Black Sabbath - Black Sabbath
  • Black Sabbath - Paranoid
  • Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin III

• Disbandments

• Events

1971

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Led Zeppelin - Led Zeppelin IV
  • Black Sabbath - Master of Reality
  • Alice Cooper - Love It To Death

• Disbandments

• Events

1972

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Black Sabbath - Vol. 4

• Disbandments

• Events

1973

• Newly formed bands
  • AC/DC

• Albums
  • Led Zeppelin - Houses of the Holy
  • Black Sabbath - Sabbath Bloody Sabbath

• Disbandments

• Events

1974

• Newly formed bands
  • Y&T
  • Twisted Sister

• Albums
  • Judas Priest - Rocka Rolla
  • Rush - Rush

• Disbandments

• Events
  • The drummer John Rutsey of Rush quits and Neil Peart joins as a permanent member.

1975

• Newly formed bands
  • Iron Maiden (by Steve Harris)
  • Motörhead

• Albums
  • Black Sabbath - Sabotage
  • Rush - Caress of Steel
  • Rush - Fly by Night

• Disbandments

• Events

1976

• Newly formed bands
  • Quiet Riot

• Albums
  • Black Sabbath - Technical Ecstacy
  • Black Sabbath - We Sold Our Souls for Rock 'n' Roll
  • Judas Priest - Sad Wings of Destiny
  • Rush - 2112

• Disbandments

• Events

1977

• Newly formed bands
  • Def Leppard

• Albums
  • Motörhead - Motörhead
  • Ted Nugent - Cat Scratch Fever
  • Rush - A Farewell to Kings

• Disbandments

• Events

1978

• Newly formed bands
  • Dokken

• Albums
  • Judas Priest - Stained Class
  • Rush - Hemispheres (EP)

• Disbandments

• Events
  • Def Leppard's drummer Rick Allen joins at 15 as a permanent member.

1979

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • AC/DC - Highway to Hell
  • Judas Priest - Hell Bent for Leather
  • Judas Priest - Unleashed in the East (live album)

• Disbandments

• Events
  • Ozzy Osbourne leaves Black Sabbath

1980

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • AC/DC - Back in Black
  • Angel Witch - Angel Witch

• Disbandments

• Events
  • Bon Scott, lead singer of AC/DC, dies at 33 on February 19 after a binge of heavy drinking.

1981

• Newly formed bands
  • Metallica
  • Slayer

• Albums
  • Rush - Moving Pictures
  • Motley Crue - Too Fast For Love

• Disbandments

• Events

1982

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
  • Twisted Sister - Under the Blade
  • Rush - Signals
  • Y&T - Black Tiger
  • Quiet Riot - Metal Health
  • Judas Priest - Screamin' For Vengeance

• Disbandments

• Events

1983

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • AC/DC - Flick of the Switch
  • Def Leppard - Pyromania
  • Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
  • Metallica - Kill 'Em All
  • Motörhead - Another Perfect Day

• Disbandments

• Events

1984

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Dokken - Tooth And Nail
  • Quiet Riot - Condition Critical
  • Iron Maiden - Powerslave
  • Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
  • Metallica - Ride The Lightning
  • Judas Priest - Defenders Of The Faith

• Disbandments

• Events
  • Def Leppard's drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in a car accident.

1985

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Y&T - Down for the Count
  • Megadeth - Killing Is My Business... And Business Is Good!
  • Dokken - Under Lock And Key

• Disbandments

• Events

1986

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Megadeth - Peace Sells... But Who's Buying?
  • Bon Jovi - Slippery When Wet
  • Iron Maiden - Somewhere in Time
  • Metallica - Master of Puppets
  • Ozzy Osbourne - The Ultimate Sin
  • Slayer - Reign in Blood
  • Van Halen - 5150

• Disbandments

• Events
  • Metallica's bassist Cliff Burton dies at 24 on September 27 in a bus accident in Sweden.

1987

• Newly formed bands
  • Danzig

• Albums
  • Dokken - Back For The Attack
  • Anthrax - Among the Living
  • Anthrax - I'm the Man (EP)
  • Death - Scream Bloody Gore
  • Def Leppard - Hysteria
  • Guns n' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
  • Overkill - Taking Over
  • Joe Satriani - Surfing With the Alien
  • Testament - The Legacy
  • Y&T - Contagious

• Disbandments

• Events

1988

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • AC/DC - Blow Up Your Video
  • Anthrax - State of Euphoria
  • Danzig - Danzig
  • Overkill - Under the Influence
  • Testament - The New Order
  • Dokken - Beast From The East

• Disbandments

• Events

1989

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Faith No More - The Real Thing
  • Great White - ...Twice Shy
  • Mr. Big - Mr. Big
  • Mötley Crüe - Dr. Feelgood
  • Nine Inch Nails - Pretty Hate Machine
  • Overkill - The Years of Decay
  • Ozzy Osbourne - No Rest for the Wicked
  • Primus - Suck on This (live)
  • Rush - A Show of Hands
  • Rush - Presto
  • Joe Satriani - Flying in a Blue Dream
  • Soundgarden - Louder Than Love
  • Testament - Practice What You Preach

• Disbandments
  • Dokken

• Events
  • Primus records their live album Suck on This at Berkeley Square in Berkeley, California on February 25 and March 5th.

1990

• Newly formed bands
  • Kyuss
  • Pearl Jam

• Albums
  • Anthrax - Persistence of Time
  • Death Angel - Act III
  • Extreme - Pornograffiti
  • Primus - Frizzle Fry
  • Slayer - Seasons in the Abyss
  • Steve Vai - Passion and Warfare
  • Testament - Souls of Black

• Disbandments

• Events

1991

• Newly formed bands
  • Rage Against the Machine
  • Tool

• Albums
  • AC/DC - The Razor's Edge
  • Anthrax - Attack of the Killer B's
  • Great White - Hooked
  • Kyuss - Wretch
  • Mr. Big - Lean Into It
  • Pearl Jam - Ten
  • Primus - Sailing the Seas of Cheese
  • Rush - Roll the Bones
  • Soundgarden - Badmotorfinger

• Disbandments
  • Death Angel

• Events

1992

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Def Leppard - Adrenalize
  • Faith No More - Angel Dust
  • Kyuss - Blues for the Red Sun
  • Megadeth - Countdown to Extinction
  • Primus - Miscellaneous Debris (EP)
  • Rage Against the Machine - Rage Against the Machine
  • Suicidal Tendencies - Art of Rebellion

• Disbandments

• Events
  • KNAC airs on radio airplay in Los Angeles, California for the first time.

1993

• Newly formed bands

• Albums

• Disbandments

• Events

1994

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Kyuss - Welcome to Sky Valley
  • Soundgarden - Superunknown

• Disbandments

• Events
  • A radio station in Los Angeles, California KNAC announced they were being sold to a Spanish station.

1995

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • AC/DC - Ballbreaker
  • Black Sabbath - Forbidden
  • Fear Factory - Demanufacture
  • Kyuss - ...And the Circus Leaves Town
  • Monster Magnet - Dopes to Infinity
  • White Zombie - Astro Creep: 2000

• Disbandments
  • Kyuss

• Events

1996

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Rush - Test for Echo

• Disbandments
  • Prong

• Events

1997

• Newly formed bands

• Albums

• Disbandments
  • Black Sabbath
  • Soundgarden

• Events

1998

• Newly formed bands

• Albums

• Disbandments
  • Faith No More

• Events

1999

• Newly formed bands

• Albums

• Disbandments
  • Rush

• Events

2000

• Newly formed bands

• Albums

• Disbandments
  • Rage Against the Machine

• Events
  • Metallica releases a song "I Disappear" that was never released on any studio albums and appears on the Mission: Impossible II soundtrack.

2001

• Newly formed bands
  • Audioslave

• Albums
  • System of a Down - Toxicity

• Disbandments

• Events
  • Rush reunites

2002

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Rush - Vapor Trails

• Disbandments

• Events

2003

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Iron Maiden - Dance of Death

• Disbandments

• Events

2004

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • Rush - Feedback

• Disbandments

• Events
  • A radio station in San Jose, California 92 KSJO announced they were being sold to a Spanish station.

2005

• Newly formed bands

• Albums
  • AC/DC - Strap it On
  • Guns n' Roses - Chinese Democracy
  • Nine Inch Nails - With Teeth
  • System of a Down - Hypnotize
  • System of a Down - Mesmerize

• Disbandments

• Events