1997 in heavy metal music

Newly formed bands

Aletheian

Akercocke

American Head Charge

The Dillinger Escape Plan

Droid

Elvenking

Finntroll

Isis

Lostprophets

Pig Destroyer

Primal Fear

Spawn of Possession

Static-X

Throwdown

Turisas

uneXpect

Reformed Bands

The original Black Sabbath line up

Jane's Addiction (disbanded again later that year)

Ratt

Suicidal Tendencies

Albums

Aerosmith – Nine Lives

Alice Cooper – A Fistful of Alice

Black Sabbath – Reunion

Body Count – Violent Demise: The Last Days

Bruce Dickinson – Accident of Birth

Coal Chamber – Coal Chamber

Dark Tranquillity – The Mind's I

Deftones – Around The Fur

Deicide – Serpents of the Light

Devin Townsend - Ocean Machine: Biomech

The Dillinger Escape Plan – The Dillinger Escape Plan

Dimmu Borgir – Enthrone Darkness Triumphant

Dokken – Shadowlife

Dream Theater – Falling into Infinity

Ebony Tears - Tortura Insomniae

Edguy – Kingdom of Madness

Electric Wizard – Come My Fanatics...

Emperor – Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk

Entombed – To Ride Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth

Europe – Definitive Collection (Compilation Album)

Faith No More – Album of the Year

Fates Warning – A Pleasant Shade of Gray

Freak Kitchen – Junk Tooth EP

Gamma Ray – Somewhere Out in Space

Godflesh – Love and Hate in Dub

Grip Inc. - Nemesis

HammerFall – Glory to the Brave

Hed PE – Hed Pe

Helmet – Aftertaste

Hypocrisy - "The Final Chapter*

Immortal – Blizzard Beasts

Incubus – Enjoy Incubus

Incubus – S.C.I.E.N.C.E.

In Flames – Whoracle

Incantation – Tribute to the Goat

Jane's Addiction – Kettle Whistle

Judas Priest – Jugulator

Kiss – Carnival of Souls: The Final Sessions

Kreator – Outcast

Limp Bizkit Three Dollar Bill Y'all

Yngwie J. Malmsteen – Facing the Animal

Machine Head – The More Things Change

Marilyn Manson - Remix & Repent

Megadeth – Cryptic Writings

Metallica – ReLoad

Mötley Crüe – Generation Swine

Mudvayne – Kill, I Oughtta

Nightwish – Angels Fall First

No Big Silence – 99

Orange Goblin - Frequencies from Planet Ten

Overkill - "From the Underground and Below"

Pig Destroyer – Demo

Pig Destroyer – Pig Destroyer / Orchid (Split EP)

Primus – Brown Album

Queensrÿche – Hear in the Now Frontier

Rammstein – Sehnsucht

Razor – Decibels

Rhapsody of Fire – Legendary Tales

Rollins Band - Come in and Burn

Rotting Christ – A Dead Poem

Sevendust – Sevendust

Shadows Fall – Somber Eyes to the Sky

Snot – Get Some

Sodom – 'Til Death Do Us Unite

Solefald – The Linear Scaffold

Strapping Young Lad – City

Stratovarius – Visions

Stratovarius – The Past And Now

Symphony X – The Divine Wings of Tragedy

The 3rd and the Mortal – In This Room, Streams (EP)

U.D.O. - Solid

Vader - "Black To The Blind"

Vital Remains – Forever Underground

Whitesnake – Restless Heart

Disbandments

Acid Bath

Jane's Addiction (reformed in 2001)

Rollins Band (reformed in 1999)

Soundgarden (reformed in 2010)

X Japan (reformed in 2007)

Events

Mötley Crüe and former vocalist Vince Neil reconcile their differences, and Neil rejoins the band.

Black Sabbath reunites with the original line-up between Black Sabbath and Never Say Die!.

Bassist Mooseman leaves Body Count and is replaced by Griz. Meanwhile, the late drummer Beatmaster V is replaced by O.T.

After a two-year hiatus, vocalist Mike Muir and rhythm guitarist Mike Clark reform Suicidal Tendencies. Rocky George and Robert Trujillo are replaced by Dean Pleasants and Josh Paul on guitar and bass respectively, and future Bad Religion drummer Brooks Wackerman also joins.

The Mentors frontman, El Duce, is killed when hit by a train.

Former Slipknot vocalist, Anders Colsefni, is replaced with current lead singer of Slipknot, Corey Taylor.