1996 in heavy metal music

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)

Accept – Predator

Acid Bath - Paegan Terrorism Tactics

Alice in Chains - Unplugged

Amorphis - Elegy

Antidote - Mind Alive

Apocalyptica - Plays Metallica by Four Cellos

Arch Enemy - Black Earth

Ayreon - Actual Fantasy

Bathory - Blood on Ice

Behemoth - Grom

Bruce Dickinson - Skunkworks

Cannibal Corpse - Vile

Cathedral - Supernatural Birth Machine

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

Edge of Sanity - Crimson

Eyehategod - Dopesick

Forbidden - Green

Freak Kitchen - Spanking Hour

Fu Manchu - In Search Of...

Helloween - The Time Of The Oath

Hypocrisy - Abducted

In Flames - The Jester Race

Iced Earth - The Dark Saga

King Diamond – The Graveyard

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

Monstrosity – Millennium

Moonspell - Irreligious

Motörhead - Overnight Sensation

My Dying Bride - Like Gods of the Sun

Napalm Death - Diatribes

Nevermore - The Politics of Ecstasy

Nothingface - Pacifier

Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood

Oomph! - Wunschkind

Opeth - Morningrise

Overkill – The Killing Kind

Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill

Pitch Shifter - Infotainment?

Poison - Greatest Hits 1986-1996

Polluted Inheritance - Betrayed

Prong - Rude Awakening

Rage - Lingua Mortis

Rage - End of All Days

Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire

Rotting Christ - Triarchy of the Lost Lovers

Rush - Test for Echo

Scorpions – Pure Instinct

Sepultura - Roots

Sentenced - Down

Soundgarden - Down on the Upside

Slayer – Undisputed Attitude

Slipknot - Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat.

Staind - Tormented

Stratovarius - Episode

Summoning - Dol Guldur

Theatre of Tragedy - Velvet Darkness They Fear

The 3rd and the Mortal - Painting on Glass

Therion - Theli

Tool - Ænima

Type O Negative - October Rust

Steve Vai - Fire Garden

Van Halen - Best Of – Volume I

Warrant - Belly to Belly

Warrant - Live 86 - 96

White Fear Chain - Visceral Life

Xentrix - Scourge

Disbandments

Damn Yankees

Down

Extreme

Prong

Sexart

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.