1987 in heavy metal music
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This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1987.
Newly formed bands
- Alchemist
- Alice in Chains
- Asphyx
- Autopsy
- Cynic
- Danzig
- Deicide
- Disharmonic Orchestra
- Entombed
- Fleshcrawl
- Follow for Now
- Hermética
- Hobbs' Angel of Death
- Impellitteri
- Intruder
- Kamelot
- Kyuss
- Malevolent Creation
- Meliah Rage
- Meshuggah
- Mortification
- Nirvana
- Nocturnus
- Phantom Blue
- Pink Cream 69
- Primordial
- Ripping Corpse
- Rollins Band
- Rotting Christ
- Samael
- Therion
- Tiamat
- Transmetal
- U.D.O.
- Von
- Winger
Albums & EPs
- ADX – Suprematie
- Aerosmith - Permanent Vacation
- Agent Steel - Unstoppable Force
- Agentz – Stick To Your Guns
- Alias (US) – Alias
- Alice Cooper - Raise Your Fist and Yell
- The Angels, aka Angel City – Live Line (live)
- Anthem - Bound to Break
- Anthrax - Among the Living
- Anthrax - I'm the Man (EP)
- Anvil - Strength of Steel
- Apocrypha - The Forgotten Scroll
- Armored Saint - Raising Fear
- Atomkraft – Conductors of Noize (EP)
- Autograph - Loud and Clear
- Barón Rojo - Tierra de Nadie
- Bathory - Under the Sign of the Black Mark
- Beast (Ger) - The Letter
- Bitch - The Bitch Is Back
- Black Sabbath - The Eternal Idol
- Blood Feast - Face Fate (EP)
- Blood Feast - Kill for Pleasure
- Bloodgood - Detonation
- Blood Money – Battlescarred
- Bonfire - Fireworks
- Breaker (US) - Get Tough
- Burning Starr - Blaze of Glory
- Cacophony - Speed Metal Symphony
- Candlemass - Nightfall
- Carnivore - Retaliation
- Celtic Frost - Into the Pandemonium
- Paul Chain Violet Theatre - Opera 4th
- Chastain - The 7th of Never
- Chrome Molly - Stick It Out
- Commander - The High N' Mighty
- Coroner - R.I.P.
- Coven – Blessed Is the Black
- Crossfire – Live Attack
- The Cult - Electric
- Crying Steel - On the Prowl
- Damien - Every Dog Has Its Day
- D.R.I. - Crossover
- Dirty Looks – I Want More
- Death - Scream Bloody Gore
- Death Angel - The Ultra-Violence
- Death Row (Ger) - Raging Steel
- Def Leppard - Hysteria
- Devastation - Violent Termination
- Diamond Claw - No Hate In Paradise (EP)
- Paul Di'Anno's Battlezone – Children of Madness
- Dio - Dream Evil
- Dokken - Back for the Attack
- Dream Death - Journey Into Mystery
- Earthshaker - Aftershock
- ESP - The Future Is Now
- Executioner - Break the Silence
- Excel - Split Image
- Exodus - Pleasures of the Flesh
- EZO - EZO
- Faith No More - Introduce Yourself
- Fast Kutz – Burnin'
- Faster Pussycat - Faster Pussycat
- Frehley's Comet - Frehley's Comet
- Geisha - Phantasmagoria
- Genöcide (US) – Submit to Genöcide
- Glasgow – Zero Four One
- Graven Image - Warn the Children (EP)
- Great White - Once Bitten
- Grim Reaper - Rock You to Hell
- Guns N' Roses - Appetite for Destruction
- Hades - Resisting Success
- Hammerwitch - Return to Salem (EP)
- Hans Naughty - Paint the Town Red
- Heathen - Breaking the Silence
- Helix - Wild in the Streets
- Hellion - Screams in the Night
- Helloween - Keeper of the Seven Keys: Part I
- Holy Moses - Finished with the Dogs
- Holy Terror – Terror and Submission
- Icon – A More Perfect Union
- Impellitteri – Impellitteri (EP)
- Indestroy - Indestroy
- Infernäl Mäjesty – None Shall Defy
- Intrinsic – Intrinsic
- Intruder - Live to Die
- Ion Britton - Eat Metal (EP)
- Jesters of Destiny - In a Nostalgic Mood (EP)
- Judas Priest - Priest...Live!
- Kane Roberts - Kane Roberts
- Keel - Keel
- Killers (Fra) - Mise aux Poings
- King Diamond - Abigail
- Kiss - Crazy Nights
- Kreator - Terrible Certainty
- Kublai Kahn - Annihilation
- Lȧȧz Rockit - Know Your Enemy
- Leatherwolf - Leatherwolf
- Liege Lord - Burn to My Touch
- Lion - Dangerous Attraction
- Liquid Mirror - Kicked Out of Fantasy
- Lizzy Borden - Terror Rising (EP)
- Lizzy Borden - Visual Lies
- Loudness - Hurricane Eyes
- Tony MacAlpine - Maximum Security
- Mad Max - Night of Passion
- Malibu Barbi - Rude Girls (EP)
- Malteze - We Came 2 Rock (EP)
- Mama's Boys – Growing Up the Hard Way
- Mammoth - Mammoth
- Manowar - Fighting the World
- Masi - Fire in the Rain
- McAuley Schenker Group - Perfect Timing
- Medieval - Medieval Kills!
- Messiah Force – The Last Day
- Metallica - The $5.98 E.P. - Garage Days Re-Revisited (EP)
- Montrose – Mean
- Vinnie Moore - Mind's Eye
- Mötley Crüe - Girls, Girls, Girls
- Motörhead - Rock 'n' Roll
- Napalm Death - Scum
- Nasty Savage - Indulgence
- Necrophagia – Season of the Dead
- Neurosis – Pain of Mind
- John Norum - Total Control
- Obsession - Methods of Madness
- Odin – The Gods Must Be Crazy
- Omen - Nightmares (EP)
- Ozzy Osbourne - Tribute (live)
- Ostrogoth - Feelings of Fury
- Overlorde - Overlorde (EP)
- Overkill - Taking Over
- Paganini - It's a Long Way to the Top
- Paradox - Product of Imagination
- Pentagram - Day of Reckoning
- Phantom – Dead or Alive
- Phenomena – Phenomena II: Dream Runner
- Picture – Marathon
- Possessed - The Eyes of Horror (EP)
- Post Mortem – The Missing Link (EP)
- Pretty Maids - Future World
- Primal Scream – Volume One
- Protector - Misanthropy (EP)
- Prong - Primitive Origins (EP)
- Racer X - Second Heat
- Rage - Execution Guaranteed
- Railway - Climax
- Rankelson – The Bastards of Rock 'n' Roll
- Raven - Life's a Bitch
- Rollins Band - Life Time
- Running Wild - Under Jolly Roger
- Rush - Hold Your Fire
- Sacred Child - Sacred Child
- Sacred Oath – A Crystal Vision
- Sacrifice - Forward to Termination
- Sacrilege – Within the Prophecy
- Saint Vitus - Thirsty and Miserable
- Sanctuary - Refuge Denied
- Sarcófago - I.N.R.I.
- Satan - Suspended Sentence
- Satanic Rites - No Use Crying
- Joe Satriani - Surfing with the Alien
- Savage Steel – Begins with a Nightmare
- Savatage - Hall of the Mountain King
- Seikima-II - Big Time Changes
- Sepultura - Schizophrenia
- Shok Paris - Steel and Starlight
- Shout - It Won't Be Long
- Silent Rage - Shattered Hearts
- Sinner - Dangerous Charm
- Slaughter - Strappado
- Sodom - Persecution Mania
- Stiletto - Blame It On Youth
- Suicidal Tendencies - Join the Army
- Joey Tafolla - Out of the Sun
- Tankard - Chemical Invasion
- Taramis - Queen of Thieves
- Testament - The Legacy
- Tigertailz - Young and Crazy
- TNT – Tell No Tales
- Tormé – Die Pretty, Die Young
- Tormé – Official Bootleg (live)
- Triumph – Surveillance
- Trouble - Run to the Light
- Tuff Luck - Tuff Luck
- Twisted Sister - Love Is for Suckers
- Tygers of Pan Tang - Burning in the Shade
- Tyrant (Ger) - Ruling the World
- Tyrant (US) - Too Late to Pray
- Tyrants Reign - Year of the Tyrants (EP)
- Tyton - Mind Over Metal
- U.D.O. - Animal House
- Unseen Terror - Human Error
- Vanadium – Corruption of Innocence
- Vendetta (Ger) – Go and Live ... Stay and Die
- Vengeance (Hol) - Take It or Leave It
- Venom - Calm Before the Storm
- Victory - Hungry Hearts
- Viper - Soldiers of Sunrise
- Voivod - Killing Technology
- Vow Wow - V
- Vulcain – Live Force (live)
- VXN - VXN (EP)
- Warlock - Triumph and Agony
- W.A.S.P. - Live...In the Raw
- Wehrmacht – Shark Attack
- Whiplash - Ticket to Mayhem
- White Lion - Pride
- Whitesnake - Whitesnake
- Wrath - Nothing to Fear
- Würzel – Bess (EP)
- Y&T - Contagious
- Zodiac Mindwarp - Tattooed Beat Messiah
- Zoetrope - A Life of Crime
Disbandments
- Alcatrazz (reformed in 2006)
- Sound Barrier
- Twisted Sister (reformed in 2003)
Events
- Udo Dirkshneider departs Accept citing management issues, and later the same year forms U.D.O.
- Bon Jovi headlined 1987's Monsters of Rock festival with Dio, Metallica, Anthrax, W.A.S.P. and Cinderella. Dee Snider, Bruce Dickinson and Paul Stanley joined Bon Jovi to perform "We're an American Band" by Grand Funk.
- Motörhead's drummer Pete Gill leaves the band and Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor returns.
- Mötley Crüe - Girls, Girls, Girls peaked at No. 2 in the Billboard charts.
- The show Headbangers Ball debuts on MTV on April 18, 1987.
- Bon Jovi's album Slippery When Wet tops the Billboard charts for eight weeks.
- In December 1987, Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx suffers a near-fatal heroin overdose.
- Bassist Louiche Mayorga leaves Suicidal Tendencies and is replaced by Bob Heathcote. At the same time, the band becomes a five piece as they hire former No Mercy guitarist Mike Clark as their rhythm guitarist.