This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2010.

Bands disbanded

Abscess An abscess is a collection of pus that has built up within the tissue of the body, usually caused by bacterial infection. Signs and symptoms of abscesses include redness, pain, warmth, and swelling. The swelling may feel fluid-filled when pre ...

Acheron The Acheron ( or ; ''Acheron'' or Ἀχερούσιος ''Acherousios''; ''Acherontas'') is a river in the Epirus (region), Epirus region of northwest Greece. It is long, and has a drainage area of . The river's source is located near the vil ...

The Autumn Offering The Autumn Offering was an American metalcore band that formed in Daytona Beach, Florida, in 1999. After achieving some degree of local success, the band was signed to Stillborn Records, founded by Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed, in 2003. The band r ...

* Despised Icon * Destroy the Runner * Detente * Dio * Fear My Thoughts * Fellsilent *

Finch The true finches are small to medium-sized passerine birds in the family Fringillidae. Finches generally have stout conical bills adapted for eating seeds and nuts and often have colourful plumage. They occupy a great range of habitats where the ...

Gwen Stacy Gwendolyne Maxine "Gwen" Stacy is a character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics, usually as a supporting character in those featuring Spider-Man (Peter Parker). A college student and the daughter of George Stacy, Georg ...

* Heaven & Hell * Ignominious Incarceration *

Isis Isis was a major goddess in ancient Egyptian religion whose worship spread throughout the Greco-Roman world. Isis was first mentioned in the Old Kingdom () as one of the main characters of the Osiris myth, in which she resurrects her sla ...

* Luna Mortis * Narnia * The Number Twelve Looks Like You *

Red Harvest ''Red Harvest'' ( 1929) is a novel by American writer Dashiell Hammett. The story is narrated by the Continental Op, a frequent character in Hammett's fiction, much of which is drawn from his own experiences as an operative of the Pinkerton ...

* Revolution Renaissance * Salt the Wound *

Theatre of Tragedy Theatre of Tragedy was a Norwegian band from Stavanger, active between 1993 and 2010. They are best known for their earlier albums, which influenced the gothic metal genre. History Formation (1993) Theatre of Tragedy was founded on 2 October 199 ...

* Wrench in the Works * Xasthur * Zyklon

Bands reformed

* Abruptum *

Autopsy An autopsy (also referred to as post-mortem examination, obduction, necropsy, or autopsia cadaverum) is a surgical procedure that consists of a thorough examination of a corpse by dissection to determine the cause, mode, and manner of deat ...

* Battleaxe *

Coroner A coroner is a government or judicial official who is empowered to conduct or order an inquest into the manner or cause of death. The official may also investigate or confirm the identity of an unknown person who has been found dead within th ...

* Empyrium * Exhumed *

Godflesh Godflesh are an English industrial metal band from Birmingham. The group formed in 1982 under the original title O.P.D. (later Fall of Because) but did not release any complete music until 1988 when Justin Broadrick (guitar, vocals, programmi ...

* Lord Belial * Lock Up *

Morgoth Morgoth Bauglir (; originally Melkor ) is a character, one of the godlike Vala (Middle-earth), Valar and the primary antagonist of Tolkien's legendarium, the mythic epic published in parts as ''The Silmarillion'', ''The Children of Húrin'', ...

Murderdolls Murderdolls was an American rock band formed in Hollywood, California in 2002. Its lineup consisted of core members Wednesday 13 and Joey Jordison while former touring members included Ben Graves, Acey Slade, Eric Griffin and Tripp Eisen. ...

* Nightfall *

Quiet Riot Quiet Riot is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band founded in Los Angeles in 1973 by guitarist Randy Rhoads, bassist Kelly Garni, and vocalist Kevin DuBrow. The original lineup featured Rhoads and Garni with lead vocalist Kevin Du ...

* Salt the Wound *

Sanctuary A sanctuary, in its original meaning, is a sacred space, sacred place, such as a shrine, protected by ecclesiastical immunity. By the use of such places as a haven, by extension the term has come to be used for any place of safety. This seconda ...

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

* Tokyo Blade * Voivod * Wastefall

Bands formed

Æther Realm Æther Realm is an American heavy metal band from Greenville, North Carolina. Their music is a blend of melodic death metal and folk metal, with lyrical themes of fantasy and mythology. The band's influences include Wintersun and Children of Bo ...

* A Breach of Silence *

Deafheaven Deafheaven is an American black metal band formed in 2010. Originally based in San Francisco, the group began as a two-piece with singer George Clarke and guitarist Kerry McCoy (musician), Kerry McCoy, who recorded and self-released Demo (Deafh ...

Esprit D'Air Esprit D'Air ("Spirit of Air" in French) is a Japanese alternative metal band formed in 2010 with members from Japan and England who coalesced in London. The band is led and fronted by Kai, current guitarist from The Sisters of Mercy. In 2013 ...

* Sulphur Aeon

Books

Cult of Luna Cult of Luna is a Swedish post-metal band from Umeå founded in 1998. Their style of music is similar to contemporary bands Neurosis and Isis. Cult of Luna was signed to Earache Records in the early 2000s and released five albums, including th ...

released a book explaining the full story behind their '' Eternal Kingdom'' album. The book is written in Swedish and translated into English, and the hardcover includes an audiobook.

Events

Slayer Slayer is an American thrash metal band from Huntington Park, California, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King, drummer Dave Lombardo and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. Slayer's fast and aggressive musical style made them ...

frontman/bassist Tom Araya to undergo back surgery. * Emperor Magus Caligula, B-Force and Dominator all Quit

Dark Funeral Dark Funeral is a Swedish black metal band from Stockholm, founded by guitarists Blackmoon and Lord Ahriman in 1993. They emerged during the second wave of black metal. Their lyrical themes have traditionally pertained to Satanism and anti ...

. * Rush inducted into

Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame The Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame () is a Canadian non-profit organization, founded in 1998 by Frank Davies, that inducts Canadians into their ''Hall of Fame'' within three different categories: songwriters, songs, and those others who have m ...

2010. * Mayhem Festival 2010 will tour through North America from July through August. The third annual tour will be co-headlined by

Korn Korn (stylized as KoЯn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, originally formed in 1993 by James Shaffer, James "Munky" Shaffer, Reginald Arvizu, Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu and David Silveria, who were members of the band ...

and

Rob Zombie Robert Bartleh Cummings (born January 12, 1965), known professionally as Rob Zombie, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and actor. His music and lyrics are notable for their horror and sci-fi themes, and his live show ...

. * Guitarist Jani Stefanovic quits Solution .45. *

Scorpions Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the Order (biology), order Scorpiones. They have eight legs and are easily recognized by a pair of Chela (organ), grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward cur ...

announce that they will retire after touring in support of final album '' Sting in the Tail''. *

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

headline

Download Festival Download Festival is a rock festival created by Andy Copping, held annually at the Donington Park motorsport circuit in Leicestershire, England (since 2003); in Paris, France (since 2016); at Parramatta Park, Sydney (since 2019); Flemington ...

, marking their return to Donington for the first time in 19 years, since 1991's

Monsters of Rock Monsters of Rock was a hard rock and heavy metal music festival. It was originally held annually in Castle Donington, England, from 1980 to 1996, taking place every year except 1989 and 1993. It later branched into other locations such as th ...

. Also

Rage Against the Machine Rage Against the Machine (often abbreviated as RATM or shortened to Rage) was an American Rock music, rock band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 1991. It consisted of vocalist Zack de la Rocha, bassist and backing vocalist Tim ...

and

Aerosmith Aerosmith is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Boston in 1970. The group consists of lead vocalist Steven Tyler, bassist Tom Hamilton (musician), Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer, and guitarists Joe Perry (musician), Joe Perry and B ...

to headline. *

In Flames In Flames is a Swedish Heavy metal music, heavy metal band, formed by guitarist Jesper Strömblad in Gothenburg in 1990 out of the Swedish death metal, Swedish death metal scene. Their lineup has changed several times, with vocalist Anders Frid ...

founding member Jesper Strömblad quits the band after 17 years due to personal problems in February. * Original

Megadeth Megadeth is an American thrash metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1983 by vocalist and guitarist Dave Mustaine. Known for their technically complex guitar work and musicianship, Megadeth is one of the "big four" of American thrash metal—alo ...

bassist

Dave Ellefson David Ellefson is an American musician, best known for his long tenure as the bassist and backing vocalist for thrash metal band Megadeth across two stints. Ellefson initially became an accomplished bassist and honed his songwriting skills whi ...

rejoins the band after departing in 2002. *

Mike Portnoy Michael Stephen Portnoy (born April 20, 1967) is an American musician who is primarily known as the drummer, backing vocalist, and co-founder of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. In September 2010, Portnoy announced his departure fro ...

Dream Theater Dream Theater is an American progressive metal band formed in 1985 in Boston, Massachusetts. The band comprises John Petrucci (guitar), John Myung (bass), Mike Portnoy (drums), James LaBrie (vocals) and Jordan Rudess (keyboards). Dream Theat ...

joins

Avenged Sevenfold Avenged Sevenfold (abbreviated as A7X) is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Huntington Beach, California, formed in 1999. The band's current lineup consists of vocalist M. Shadows, rhythm guitarist Zacky Vengeance, lead gui ...

after the death of

The Rev James Owen Sullivan (February 9, 1981 – December 28, 2009), also known by his stage name The Rev (shortened version of ''the Reverend Tholomew Plague''), was an American musician, best known as a founding member of the heavy metal band Aven ...

, to record their fifth studio album ''

Nightmare A nightmare, also known as a bad dream, Retrieved 11 July 2016. is an unpleasant dream that can cause a strong emotional response from the mind, typically fear but also despair, anxiety, disgust or sadness. The dream may contain situations o ...

''. The results of The Rev's toxicology reports were released in June 2010, which revealed the cause of death as an accidental overdose from prescription drugs. *

Rammstein Rammstein (, "ramming stone") is a German band formed in Berlin in 1994. The band's lineup—consisting of lead vocalist Till Lindemann, lead guitarist Richard Kruspe, rhythm guitarist Paul Landers, bassist Oliver Riedel, drummer Christoph ...

is banned from Belarus by the ''Council for Morality'' due to their "violence, masochism, homosexuality and other abnormalities". * US

death metal Death metal is an extreme metal, extreme subgenre of heavy metal music. It typically employs heavily distorted and low-tuned guitars, played with techniques such as palm muting and tremolo picking; deep death growl, growling vocals; aggressive ...

band

The Famine The Famine was an American death metal band formed in Arlington, Texas, in 2006. They were signed to Solid State Records. History Formation and three-song EP The band initially formed with three of the original members of Embodyment i ...

's studio burnt down, along with their gear and recorded material for their upcoming 2010 release. *

Behemoth Behemoth (; , ''bəhēmōṯ'') is a beast from the biblical Book of Job, and is a form of the primeval chaos-monster created by God at the beginning of creation. Metaphorically, the name has come to be used for any extremely large or powerful ...

frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski came to court over a Bible ripping incident in 2007, and was found not guilty on the basis that "The defendant's behaviour wasn’t recognised as a crime." * Textures parts ways with their keyboardist Richard Rietdijk to pursue other musical interests. * On April 14,

Type O Negative Type O Negative was an American gothic/doom metal band formed in Brooklyn, New York City in 1989 by Peter Steele (bass, lead vocals), Kenny Hickey (guitar, co-lead vocals), Josh Silver (keyboards, backing vocals), and Sal Abruscato (drums ...

front-man

Peter Steele Peter Thomas Ratajczyk (January 4, 1962 – April 14, 2010), known professionally as Peter Steele, was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, bassist and composer of the gothic metal band Type O Negative. Before forming Type O N ...

death at age 48. * The Human Abstract replace former lead singer Nathan Ells with Travis Richter ( The Color of Violence, ex- From First to Last) and founding guitarist A.J. Minette returns. *

Judas Priest Judas Priest are an English heavy metal band formed in Birmingham in 1969. They have sold over 50 million albums and are frequently ranked as one of the greatest metal bands of all time. Judas Priest have also been referred to as one of the p ...

won the 2010

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

for Best Metal Performance of "Dissident Aggressor." * Debauchery frontman Thomas "The Bloodbeast" Gurrath was fired from his job as a philosophy trainee teacher at a high school in Stuttgart, Germany for being in a

band." *

Anthrax Anthrax is an infection caused by the bacterium '' Bacillus anthracis'' or ''Bacillus cereus'' biovar ''anthracis''. Infection typically occurs by contact with the skin, inhalation, or intestinal absorption. Symptom onset occurs between one ...

reunite with former singer

Joey Belladonna Joey Belladonna (born Joseph Bellardini; October 13, 1960) is an American singer, best known as the vocalist for thrash metal music, thrash metal band Anthrax (American band), Anthrax. He is also the vocalist and drummer of the cover band Chief ...

after his previous departure in 2007. *The first ever Sri Lankan metal documentary ''Arise - The Sri Lankan Metal Music Documentary'' was officially screened on 15 May 2010 at Alliance Française de Colombo, Sri Lanka. * Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer at the age of 67 on May 16, 2010. *Bay Area Metal legend Debbie Abono died of cancer at age 80, also on May 16, 2010. *

Ozzfest Ozzfest was an annual music festival tour of the United States and sometimes Europe and later Japan, featuring performances by many heavy metal music, heavy metal and hard rock musical groups. It was founded by Sharon Osbourne and her husband O ...

returns with bands such as

Ozzy Osbourne John Michael "Ozzy" Osbourne (born 3 December 1948) is an English singer, songwriter, and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead singer of the heavy metal music, heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which per ...

Mötley Crüe Mötley Crüe is an American Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Hollywood, California, in 1981 by bassist Nikki Sixx and drummer Tommy Lee, with guitarist Mick Mars and lead vocalist Vince Neil joining right after. The band has sol ...

Rob Halford Robert John Arthur Halford (born 25 August 1951) is an English heavy metal singer. He is best known as the lead vocalist of Judas Priest, which was formed in 1969 and has received accolades such as the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Perform ...

and

DevilDriver DevilDriver is an American heavy metal music, heavy metal band from Santa Barbara, California, Santa Barbara, California, formed in 2002, consisting of vocalist Dez Fafara, bassist Jon Miller, guitarist Alex Lee and drummer Davier Pérez. The b ...

on the bill. * Arsis re-joined by former bassist Noah Martin. *

Westboro Baptist Church The Westboro Baptist Church (WBC) is an American unaffiliated Primitive Baptists, Primitive Baptist church in Topeka, Kansas, that was founded in 1955 by pastor Fred Phelps. It is widely considered a hate group and a cult, and is known for Prot ...

plans to picket the Ronnie James Dio Memorial Service at The Hall of Liberty in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills. * On May 25, Slipknot bassist Paul Gray dies at age 38. *

Ratt Ratt (stylized as RATT) was an American glam metal band that had significant commercial success in the 1980s, with their albums having been certified as gold, platinum and multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA. ...

were forced to cancel their European tour due to

Stephen Pearcy Stephen Eric Pearcy (born July 3, 1956) is an American musician who is the founder, singer, songwriter of the heavy metal band Ratt. He has also created the bands Firedome, Crystal Pystal, Arcade, Vicious Delite, and Vertex. He has also reco ...

to undergo emergency hernia surgery. * On June 16, "The Big Four of Thrash Metal",

and

Metallica Metallica is an American heavy metal band. It was formed in Los Angeles in 1981 by vocalist and guitarist James Hetfield and drummer Lars Ulrich, and has been based in San Francisco for most of its career. The band's fast tempos, instrume ...

, played together for the first time at the Sonisphere Festival at Bemowo Airport in Warsaw, Poland. * The second event of Heavy MTL will be held in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

July 24 and 25, with bands such as

Testament A testament is a document that the author has sworn to be true. In law it usually means last will and testament. Testament or The Testament can also refer to: Books * ''Testament'' (comic book), a 2005 comic book * ''Testament'', a thriller no ...

, Halford,

Alice Cooper Vincent Damon Furnier (born February 4, 1948), known by his stage name Alice Cooper, is an American rock singer and songwriter whose career spans sixty years. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusion ...

, and

. * Early Graves vocalist Makh Daniels died in an automobile accident on August 1, 2010. The Funeral Pyre guitarist Justin Garcia fell asleep behind the wheel, and was taken with guitarist Tyler Jensen to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. *

Fear Factory Fear Factory is an American industrial metal band formed in Los Angeles in 1989. Throughout the band's career, they have released ten full-length albums and have evolved through a succession of sounds, all in their main style of industrial met ...

members narrowly avoid bus fire. The cause of the fire was the rear-wheel catching fire, but luckily their trailer was left unscathed. * Death of Desire vocalist Dawn Desirée was kidnapped by unknown members of a promotion agency, and guitarist Morbid was assaulted. * Reunited

Byzantine The Byzantine Empire, also known as the Eastern Roman Empire, was the continuation of the Roman Empire centred on Constantinople during late antiquity and the Middle Ages. Having survived the events that caused the fall of the Western Roman E ...

return without Tony Rohrbough, and introduce Brian Henderson as their new lead-guitarist. *

frontman Adam "Nergal" Darski is hospitalized due to advanced stage leukemia.

subsequently cancels all remaining summer festivals, and their Russian, Baltic States, and US tour. Adam "Nergal" Darski underwent a bone marrow transplant surgery, and is currently recovering. *

Acid Reign Acid Reign are an English thrash metal band from Harrogate. Originally active from 1985 to 1991, they rebooted in 2015 with just Howard "H" Smith remaining from the original line-up. Along with Onslaught, Sabbat and Xentrix, Acid Reign are ...

announce they will be re-mastering and re-issuing their albums, by legendary producer Bill Metoyer who has worked with such bands as

, Dirty Rotten Imbeciles,

Corrosion of Conformity Corrosion of Conformity (often abbreviated as C.O.C.) is an American heavy metal band from Raleigh, North Carolina, formed in 1982. The band has undergone multiple lineup changes throughout its existence, with lead guitarist Woody Weatherman a ...

and

Sacred Reich Sacred Reich is an American thrash metal band from Phoenix, Arizona, formed in 1985. Since 2019, the band's lineup has consisted of vocalist-bassist Phil Rind, lead guitarist Wiley Arnett, rhythm guitarist Joey Radziwill, and drummer Dave McClai ...

. *

X Japan is a Japanese Rock music, rock band from Chiba Prefecture, Chiba, formed in 1982 by drummer and pianist Yoshiki (musician), Yoshiki and lead vocalist Toshi (musician), Toshi. Starting as a predominantly power metal, power/speed metal band with ...

are planning a North American tour after both

Otakon Otakon ( ) is an annual three-day anime convention held during July/August. From 1999 to 2016, it took place at the Baltimore Convention Center in Baltimore, Baltimore, Maryland's Inner Harbor district; in 2017, it moved to the Walter E. Washing ...

and

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

, visiting Canada and the United States. * After 25 years,

leaves

on September 8, 2010. * Ari Nissilä, Toni Kansanoja, Kari Vähäkuopus, and Mikko Nevanlahti all leave Catamenia on October 4, 2010. *2000s supergroup

re-form and release their 2nd and final studio album Women and Children Last. * Sweet Savage founding guitarist Trevor Fleming died on October 2. * Gotthard singer Steve Lee dies on October 5, 2010. *

parts ways with guitarist Tommy Church on November 1, 2010. *

Queensrÿche Queensrÿche () is an American progressive metal band. It formed in 1982 in Bellevue, Washington, out of the local band the Mob. The band has released 16 studio albums, one Extended play, EP, and several DVDs, and continues to tour and record ...

survive a bomb attack in Iraq while playing to the American troops. * Armando Acosta, the ex-drummer of

Saint Vitus Vitus (), whose name is sometimes rendered Guy or Guido, was a Christian martyr from Sicily. His surviving hagiography is pure legend. The dates of his actual life are unknown.Basil Watkins, ''The Book of Saints: A Comprehensive Biographical ...

died on November 25. *

King Diamond Kim Bendix Petersen (born 14 June 1956), better known by his stage name King Diamond, is a Danish rock musician. As a vocalist, he is known for his powerful and wide-ranging countertenor singing voice, in particular his far-reaching falsetto s ...

underwent a successful triple-bypass surgery on November 29. *

parts ways with former

drummer

Films

* MVD Visual and Sexy Intellectual will release a documentary DVD about

on February 23. The film is titled ''Revolution in the Head: Rage Against the Machine and the Art of Protest''. *

Industrial metal Industrial metal is the fusion of Heavy metal music, heavy metal and industrial music, typically employing repeating Heavy metal guitar, metal guitar riffs, sampling (music), sampling, synthesizer or music sequencer, sequencer lines, and Distor ...

act Ministry will release their film ''Fix: The Ministry Movie'' in 2010. * Mathawaada Chithrapata will release the first Sri Lankan metal music documentary titled Arise – The Sri Lankan Metal Music Documentary showcasing the lives and the reasons behind the Sri Lankan metal music scene. * Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth will release The Big 4 DVD Box Set on November 2, featuring footage of all the bands' live sets from the Big 4 tour.

Albums released

All releases are studio albums unless otherwise noted. The most successful metal album released in 2010 was

Iron Maiden Iron Maiden are an English Heavy metal music, heavy metal band formed in Leyton, East London, in 1975 by bassist and primary songwriter Steve Harris (musician), Steve Harris. Although fluid in the early years of the band, the line-up for most ...

's '' The Final Frontier'', topping the charts in 28 countries. It was also No. 1 in

Metal Hammer ''Metal Hammer'' is a heavy metal music magazine and website founded in 1983, published in the United Kingdom by Future, with other language editions published by different companies available in numerous other countries. ''Metal Hammer'' featu ...

's list of '50 Greatest albums of 2010'.

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

References

External links

About.com: Heavy Metal
{{DEFAULTSORT:2010 In Heavy Metal Music 2010s in heavy metal music

Metal A metal () is a material that, when polished or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electrical resistivity and conductivity, electricity and thermal conductivity, heat relatively well. These properties are all associated wit ...