1996 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1996.

Newly formed bands

• Alabama Thunderpussy
• American Head Charge
• Arch Enemy
• Control Denied
• Decapitated
• Disturbed
• Evergrey
• God Forbid
• Gojira
• Hibria
• Lordi
• Nightwish
• Orgy
• Samsas Traum
• Sonata Arctica
• The Crest
• The Haunted
• Within Temptation

Albums

• 24-7 Spyz - 6 (alternate version released in America as Heavy Metal Soul by the Pound)
• 24-7 Spyz - Heavy Metal Soul by the Pound (alternate version released in Europe as 6)
• Acid Bath - Paegan Terrorism Tactics
• Alice in Chains - Unplugged
• Apocalyptica - Plays Metallica by Four Cellos
• Arch Enemy - Black Earth
• Ayreon - Actual Fantasy
• Behemoth - Grom
• Bruce Dickinson - Skunkworks
• Cannibal Corpse - Vile
• Cradle of Filth - Vempire
• Cradle of Filth - Dusk And Her Embrace
• Cryptopsy - None So Vile
• Deep Purple - Purpendicular
• Def Leppard - Slang
• Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst
• Dio - Angry Machines
• Eyehategod - Dopesick
• Forbidden - Green
• Freak Kitchen - Spanking Hour
• Hank Williams III - Three Hanks: Men With Broken Hearts
• Helloween - The Time Of The Oath
• Hypocrisy - Abducted
• In Flames - The Jester Race
• Iced Earth - The Dark Saga
• Katatonia - Brave Murder Day
• Korn-Life is Peachy
• Tony MacAlpine - Violent Machine
• Manowar - Louder Than Hell
• Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar
• Metallica - Load
• Ministry - Filth Pig
• Moonspell - Irreligious
• Motörhead - Overnight Sensation
• My Dying Bride - Like Gods of the Sun
• Nevermore - The Politics of Ecstasy
• Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood
• Oomph! - Wunschkind
• Opeth - Morningrise
• Rage - End of All Days
• Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
• Rotting Christ - Triarchy of the Lost Lovers
• Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill
• Pitch Shifter - Infotainment?
• Poison - Greatest Hits 1986-1996
• Rush - Test for Echo
• Sepultura - Roots
• Sentenced - Down
• Soundgarden - Down on the Upside
• Slipknot - Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.
• Stratovarius - Episode
• Theatre of Tragedy - Velvet Darkness They Fear
• The 3rd and the Mortal - Painting on Glass
• Tool - Ænima
• Steve Vai - Fire Garden
• Van Halen - Best of Volume I
• Warrant - Belly to Belly
• Warrant - Live 86 - 96

Disbandments

• Down
• Extreme
• Prong
• Skid Row
• Trouble

Events

• Alice in Chains plays their last ever concert with Layne Staley on July 23, 1996. They later go on hiatus until April 20, 2002 in which Staley is found dead in his apartment after overdosing on a Speedball (drug).
• Body Count drummer Beatmaster V dies of leukemia.
• The first Ozzfest tour sets off, with headliners Ozzy Osbourne, Slayer and Danzig.
• The original line-up of KISS (Ace Frehley, Gene Simmons, Peter Criss, Paul Stanley) come back together.
• Bassist Greg Christian of Testament is out of the band, leaving guitarist Eric Peterson as the sole ever-present in the line-up.
• Slash leaves Guns N' Roses, citing differences with Axl Rose
• Sammy Hagar departs Van Halen, after a feud with Eddie Van Halen. Van Halen briefly reunites with David Lee Roth at a highly-publicized event at the MTV Video Music Awards, but fires him shortly thereafter.
• Tim 'Ripper' Owens fills the void left by Rob Halford in 1993 as lead singer of Judas Priest.

References

Preceded by: 1995

Heavy Metal Timeline 1996

Followed by: 1997