1983 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in 1983.

Newly formed bands

• Alcatrazz
• Atrocity
• Autograph
• Bathory
• Bon Jovi
• Death
• Excel (known as Chaotic Noise until 1985)
• Fastway
• Fates Warning
• Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve
• Helloween
• Keel^{[citation needed]}
• Living Colour
• Lizzy Borden
• Master
• Mayhem
• Megadeth
• Metal Church (formerly known as Shrapnel)
• Morbid Angel
• Onslaught
• Poison
• Possessed
• Queensrÿche
• Ratt
• Rigor Mortis
• Sabbat
• Sacrife
• Savatage
• Stryper
• Testament (known as Legacy until 1986)
• Tokyo Blade
• White Lion

Albums

• AC/DC - Flick of the Switch
• Accept - Balls to the Wall
• Alcatrazz - No Parole From Rock N' Roll
• Alice Cooper - DaDa
• Black Sabbath - Born Again
• Blue Öyster Cult - The Revölution by Night
• Def Leppard - Pyromania
• Diamond Head - Canterbury
• Dio - Holy Diver
• Dokken - Breaking the Chains
• Europe - Europe
• Fastway - Fastway
• Girlschool - Play Dirty
• Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve - Through the Fire
• Hanoi Rocks - Self-Destruction Blues
• Hanoi Rocks - Back to Mystery City
• Helix - No Rest For The Wicked
• Iron Maiden - Piece of Mind
• KISS - Lick It Up
• Kix - Cool Kids
• Krokus - Headhunter
• Loudness - The Law of Devil's Land
• Manowar - Into Glory Ride
• Mercyful Fate - Melissa
• Metallica - Kill 'Em All
• Mötley Crüe - Shout at the Devil
• Motörhead - Another Perfect Day
• Oz - Fire in the Brain
• Ozzy Osbourne - Bark at the Moon
• Pantera - Metal Magic
• Phoenix Rising - Phoenix Rising
• Queensrÿche - Queensrÿche
• Quiet Riot - Metal Health
• Ratt - Ratt (EP)
• Satan - Court in the Act
• Savage - Loose 'N Lethal
• Savatage - Sirens
• Saxon - Power & the Glory
• Slayer - Show No Mercy
• Steeler - Steeler
• Suicidal Tendencies - Suicidal Tendencies
• Thin Lizzy - Thunder and Lightning
• Tokyo Blade - Tokyo Blade
• Twisted Sister - You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll
• Virgin Steele - Guardians of the Flame
• Witchfinder General - Friends of Hell
• Y&T - Mean Streak

Events

• Yngwie Malmsteen got his start this year in the band Steeler. Also in that band was (Future Keel vocalist) Ron Keel & Former W.A.S.P. bassist Rik Fox. The band had only one album, Steeler.
• Dave Mustaine, lead guitarist for Metallica, is fired for drug/alcohol abuse, and is replaced by Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett, after which he formed the L.A. thrash metal band Megadeth.
• KISS ended the use of makeup in their act.
• November 19: Cum on Feel the Noize is No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• April 17: Mountain bassist, and Cream producer, Felix Pappalardi was shot and killed by his wife Gail Collins Pappalardi.

References

Preceded by: 1982

Heavy Metal Timeline 1983

Followed by: 1984