2003 in heavy metal music

• A Day to Remember • The Abominable Iron Sloth • Abysmal Dawn • Adler's Appetite • Aina • Airbourne • Anagnorisis • Anubis Gate • As Blood Runs Black • As They Sleep • At All Cost • August Burns Red • Baroness • Battlecross • Bleed the Sky • Blessed by a Broken Heart • Bloody Panda • Born of Osiris • Carach Angren • The Chariot • Communic • Conducting from the Grave • Dååth • Damageplan • Darkwater • Demonoid • Diablo Swing Orchestra • Eisbrecher • Emmure • Furia • Head Control System • Hypno5e • In Vain • Jesu • Job for a Cowboy • Jon Oliva's Pain • Kayo Dot • Kroda • Leaves' Eyes • Les Discrets • Lyriel • Midnight • Myrkgrav • Nadja • NadimaČ • Ne Obliviscaris • Neaera • Om • Parkway Drive • Powerwolf • Rosetta • The Ruins of Beverast • Skeletonwitch • The Sword • Sybreed • Tesseract • Threat Signal • Through the Eyes of the Dead • Thulcandra • Trollfest • Turmion Kätilöt • Urfaust • Wintersun • Wolfchant • Wolves in the Throne Room == Reformed bands ==

• 24-7 Spyz • Child's Play • Count Raven • Fear Factory • Judas Priest • Killing Joke • MC5 • Primus • Stryper • Twisted Sister == Albums ==

• 8 Foot Sativa – Season for Assault • Aborted – Goremageddon: The Saw and the Carnage Done • Akercocke – Choronozon • Alien Ant Farm – truANT • Alice Cooper – The Eyes of Alice Cooper • All Shall Perish – Hate, Malice, Revenge • Anaal Nathrakh – When Fire Rains Down from the Sky, Mankind Will Reap as It Has Sown (EP) • Anthrax – ''We've Come for You All'' • Apocalyptica – Reflections • Arch Enemy – Anthems of Rebellion • As I Lay Dying – Frail Words Collapse • Avenged Sevenfold – Waking the Fallen • Bathory – Nordland II • Between the Buried and Me – The Silent Circus • Belphegor – Lucifer Incestus • Biohazard – Kill or Be Killed • The Black Dahlia Murder – Unhallowed • Black Label Society – The Blessed Hellride • Blood Stain Child – Mystic Your Heart • Bon Jovi – This Left Feels Right (Compilation) • Boysetsfire – Tomorrow Come Today • Brujeria – The Mexecutioner! - The Best of Brujeria (Compilation) • Cannibal Corpse – 15 Year Killing Spree (Box set) • Children of Bodom – Hate Crew Deathroll • Chimaira – The Impossibility of Reason • Circle II Circle – Watching in Silence • Coal Chamber – Giving the Devil His Due (Compilation) • Concept – Reason and Truth • Cog – "Open Up" (maxi single) • Cradle of Filth – Damnation and a Day • The Darkness – Permission to Land • Deathstars – Synthetic Generation • Decrepit Birth – ...And Time Begins • Deep Purple – Bananas • Default – Elocation • Deftones – Deftones • Deicide – The Best of Deicide (Compilation) • Destruction – Metal Discharge • DevilDriver – DevilDriver • The Devin Townsend Band – Accelerated Evolution • Dimension Zero – This Is Hell • Dimmu Borgir – Death Cult Armageddon • Divinity Destroyed – Divinity Destroyed (EP) • DragonForce – Valley of the Damned • Dream Evil – Evilized • Dream Theater – Train of Thought • Enslaved – Below the Lights • Entombed – Inferno • Epica – The Phantom Agony • Evanescence – Fallen • Evergrey – Recreation Day • Every Time I Die – Hot Damn! • Faith – Salvation Lies Within • Faith No More – This Is It: The Best of Faith No More (Compilation) • Fear Factory – Hatefiles (Compilation) • Finntroll – Visor om slutet (EP) • Fireball Ministry – The Second Great Awakening • Firewind – Burning Earth • From Autumn to Ashes – The Fiction We Live • Galneryus – The Flag of Punishment • Garrobos - Jinetes Calavera • Godhead – Evolver • Godsmack – Faceless • Gojira – The Link • Gojira – ''Maciste All'Inferno'' (EP) • Gorgoroth – Twilight of the Idols • Graveworm – Engraved in Black • Hanzel und Gretyl - Über Alles • Hatebreed – The Rise of Brutality • Helloween – ''Rabbit Don't Come Easy'' • Hortus Animae – Waltzing Mephisto • Ill Nino – Confession • Incubus – Live at Lollapalooza 2003 (Live) • Integrity – To Die For • Iron Maiden – Dance of Death • Ion Dissonance – Breathing Is Irrelevant • Jane's Addiction – Strays • Kamelot – Epica • Katatonia – Viva Emptiness • Kayo Dot – Choirs of the Eye • Killing Joke – Killing Joke • King Diamond – The Best of King Diamond (Compilation) • King Diamond – The Puppet Master • Kiss – Kiss Symphony: Alive IV (Live) • Korn – Take a Look in the Mirror • Kreator – Live Kreation (Live) • Krisiun – Works of Carnage • Lamb of God – As the Palaces Burn • Lanfear – The Art Effect • Leviathan – The Tenth Sub Level of Suicide • Life of Agony - The Best of Life of Agony • Limp Bizkit – Results May Vary • Linkin Park – Meteora • Living Colour – Collideøscope • Lost Horizon – A Flame to the Ground Beneath • Macabre – Murder Metal • Machine Head – Through the Ashes of Empires • Marduk – World Funeral • Marilyn Manson – The Golden Age of Grotesque • Masterplan – Masterplan • Matchbook Romance – West for Wishing (EP) • Memento – Beginnings • Mercyful Fate – The Best of Mercyful Fate (Compilation) • Metallica – St. Anger • Ministry – Animositisomina • Misanthrope – Sadistic Sex Daemon • Mnemic – Mechanical Spin Phenomena • Monstrosity – Rise to Power • Moonspell – The Antidote • Morbid Angel – Heretic • Motörhead – Live at Brixton Academy (Live) • Mushroomhead – XIII • Neil Turbin – Threatcon Delta • Nevermore – Enemies of Reality • Nightrage – Sweet Vengeance • Ningen Isu – Shura bayashi • Norther – Mirror of Madness • Nothingface – Skeletons • No-Big-Silence – Unreleased • Occult – Elegy for the Weak • Old Man's Child – In Defiance of Existence • One Minute Silence – One Lie Fits All • Overkill – Killbox 13 • Opeth – Damnation • Pantera – ''The Best of Pantera: Far Beyond the Great Southern Cowboys' Vulgar Hits!'' (Compilation) • Pitchshifter – Bootlegged, Distorted, Remixed and Uploaded (Compilation) • Place of Skulls – With Vision • P.O.D. – Payable on Death • Poison the Well – You Come Before You • Psycroptic – The Scepter of the Ancients • Queensrÿche – Tribe • Rage – Soundchaser • RAMP – Nude • Royal Hunt – Eyewitness • Rush – Rush in Rio (Live) • Seven Witches – Passage to the Other Side • Six Feet Under – Bringer of Blood • Six Feet Under - Double Dead (Live) • Skid Row – Thickskin • Skillet – Collide • Sepultura – Roorback • Sevendust – Seasons • Slayer – Soundtrack to the Apocalypse (Box set) • Soilwork – Figure Number Five • Solefald – In Harmonia Universali • Sonata Arctica – ''Winterheart's Guild'' • Spawn of Possession – Cabinet • Static-X – Shadow Zone • Strapping Young Lad – Strapping Young Lad • Stratovarius – Elements, Pt. 1 • Stratovarius – Elements, Pt. 2 • Stryper – 7: The Best of Stryper (Compilation) • Theocracy – Theocracy • The Lord Weird Slough Feg – Traveller • Throwdown – Haymaker • Three Days Grace – Three Days Grace • Tourniquet – Where Moth and Rust Destroy • Transport League – Multiple Organ Harvest • Trivium – Ember to Inferno • Type O Negative – Life Is Killing Me • Týr – Eric the Red • uneXpect – _wE, Invaders (EP) • Virgin Black – Elegant... and Dying • Xandria – Kill the Sun == Disbandments ==

• Coal Chamber • Five Pointe O • Last Tribe • Limbonic Art • Immortal • Pitchshifter • Pantera • Reveille • Rollins Band (reformed in 2006) == Events ==

• After months of auditions, Robert Trujillo, bassist of Ozzy Osbourne and former bassist of Suicidal Tendencies, was announced as Metallica's new bassist, replacing Jason Newsted. • After nearly a decade of the show being off the air, MTV2 announced the resurrection of ''Headbangers' Ball'' with Jamey Jasta as host. • Vocalist Matt Barlow announced his departure from Iced Earth. • Stryper reformed with all original members. • Visions of Atlantis vocalist Christian Stani and keyboardist Chris Kamper parted ways with the band, being replaced by Mario Plank and Miro Holly, respectively. • In July, Judas Priest announced the return of Rob Halford on vocals. == Deaths ==

• January 10 – Einar André Fredriksen, bassist, vocalist, and songwriter of Funeral, died by suicide at the age of 29. • March 16 – Teemu "Somnium" Raimoranta, founding member and guitarist of Finntroll, guitarist of Impaled Nazarene, and former guitarist of Thy Serpent, died from injuries after falling from a bridge. • November 18 – Michael Arnold Kamen, composer (especially of film scores), orchestral arranger and conductor, who collaborated with numerous artists from various genres, including Pink Floyd, Rush, Guns 'N Roses, and Metallica (S&M), died from a heart attack at the age of 55. ==References==