• January 2 –
Russ North, former vocalist of
Cloven Hoof, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 59. • January 3 – Manfred Schütz, founder of
SPV GmbH, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 74. • January 5 –
Fredrik "Freddie Eugene" Lindgren, former guitarist of
Unleashed and
Terra Firma, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 53. • January 7 – Ragne Wahlquist, vocalist and guitarist of
Heavy Load, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 69. • January 13 – Peter "P. Fluid" Forrest, former vocalist of
24-7 Spyz, was beaten to death at the age of 64. • January 15 – Wayne Gerard Fabra, former drummer of
Necrophagia, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 58. • January 16 – Cristiano Fusco, former guitarist of
Torture Squad, died from bone marrow cancer at the age of 53. • January 27 –
Aaron Rossi, former drummer of
Ministry and
Prong, died from a heart attack at the age of 44. • February 5 –
Dave Jerden, engineer, producer and mixer of numerous hard rock and metal bands including
Alice in Chains,
Anthrax,
Jane's Addiction and
Spinal Tap, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 75. • February 11 – Jan-Martin Jensen, founder and organizer of
Inferno Metal Festival, died from cancer. • February 15 – Pål Mozart Bjørke, former bassist of
Madder Mortem, died from undisclosed reasons. • February 19 – Karl Cochran, former guitarist of
Ace Frehley and
Joe Lynn Turner, died in a car accident at the age of 61. • February 25 – Coburn Pharr, former vocalist of
Annihilator, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 62. • February 26 – Graham "Gra" Scoresby, former drummer of
Witchfynde, died in a car accident at the age of 68. • March 2 – Sindre Nedland, vocalist and keyboardist of
In Vain and former vocalist of
Funeral, died from cancer at the age of 40. • March 6 – Sergio Cisneros "Kiskilla" Anguita, former keyboardist and accordionist of
Mägo de Oz, died from
COPD complications at the age of 58. • March 11 – Joe McFadden, music industry executive who worked for
EMI and
Capitol Records and worked with numerous metal bands including
Mötley Crüe,
Megadeth,
Iron Maiden,
Five Finger Death Punch,
Papa Roach, and
The Hu, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 77. • March 15 –
Les Binks, former drummer of
Judas Priest,
Lionheart and
Tytan, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 73. • March 28 – Dirk Schröder, former vocalist of
Iron Angel, died from undisclosed reasons. • April 12 –
Roy Thomas Baker, record producer for several heavy metal artists including
Ozzy Osbourne,
Mötley Crüe and
Alice Cooper, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 78. • April 19 – Ricky Siahaan, guitarist of
Seringai, died from a heart attack at the age of 48. • April 29 – Brian Montana, former guitarist of
Possessed, was shot to death by police at the age of 60. • April 30 – Piotr Radecki, former guitarist of
Kat & Roman Kostrzewski, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 49. • May 1 – Igor Molchanov, former drummer of
Aria and
Master, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 63. • May 4 – Lars Lindén, bassist of
Carnal Forge, died from colon cancer at the age of 54. • May 6 – Tony J. Liddle, former guitarist of
Blitzkrieg, died from undisclosed reasons. • May 13 –
Dale Henderson, vocalist and guitarist of
Beowülf, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 59. • May 19 – Chris Hager, former guitarist of
Mickey Ratt and
Rough Cutt, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 67. • May 19 – Adam Ramey, vocalist of
Dropout Kings, died from suicide at the age of 31. • May 22 –
Daniel Williams, former drummer of
The Devil Wears Prada, died in the
2025 San Diego Cessna Citation II crash at the age of 39. • June 6 – Charles "Chuck" Profus, former drummer of
Agent Steel, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 61. • July 4 – Kevin Riddles, bassist of
Tytan and former bassist of
Angel Witch, died from cancer at the age of 68. • July 5 – Peter Brabbs, former guitarist of
Tank, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 68. • July 8 – Tim Cronin, former vocalist, bassist and drummer of
Monster Magnet, died from
ALS at the age of 63. • July 11 –
David Kaff (better known as Viv Savage), former keyboardist of
Spinal Tap, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 79. • July 22 –
Ozzy Osbourne, solo artist and former vocalist of
Black Sabbath, died from a heart attack at the age of 76. • July 29 –
Paul Mario Day, former vocalist of
Iron Maiden and
More, died from cancer at the age of 69. • July 31 – Erik Wunder, multi-instrumentalist of
Cobalt, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 42. • August 4 – Larry Gillstrom, guitarist of
Kick Axe, died from cancer at the age of 69. • August 6 – Harry Hill, former drummer of
Fist, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 69. • August 8 – Jill Lisson, former vocalist and bassist of
Funerus, died from heart failure related to complications from diabetes at the age of 54. • August 20 –
Brent Hinds, former vocalist and guitarist of
Mastodon, died in a
traffic collision at the age of 51. • August 25 – Nisse Karlén, vocalist and former guitarist and bassist of
Sacramentum, died by suicide at the age of 50. • August 27 – Jürgen Bartsch, bassist of
Bethlehem, died from an undisclosed illness. • September 6 – Guido "Atomic Steif" Richter, former drummer of
Sodom,
Living Death,
Assassin and
Holy Moses, died from undisclosed reasons. • September 7 – Allen Blickle, former drummer of
Baroness, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 42. • September 16 –
Tomas Lindberg, vocalist of
At the Gates and
Lock Up, and former vocalist of
Grotesque and
Nightrage, died from adenoid cystic carcinoma complications at the age of 52. • October 7 – Edward Reekers, former long-term vocal contributor of
Ayreon, died from cancer at the age of 68. • October 8 – Ace Finchum, former drummer of
Tigertailz, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 62. • October 11 –
Ian Watkins, former vocalist of
Lostprophets, was murdered in prison at the age of 48. • October 12 – John Waterhouse, former guitarist of
Demon, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 75. • October 12 – Jody Henry, former bassist of
Omen, died from an
intracerebral hemorrhage. • October 16 –
Ace Frehley, solo artist and former guitarist and vocalist of
Kiss and
Frehley's Comet, died from complications from a fall at the age of 74. • October 18 –
Sam Rivers, bassist of
Limp Bizkit, died from
cardiac arrest at the age of 48. • October 23 –
Marcie Free, former vocalist of
King Kobra, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 71. • October 26 – Rasmus "Hække" Henriksen, former guitarist of
Illdisposed and
Panzerchrist, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 47. • October 27 – Bryan Johnston, former guitarist of
Morpheus Descends, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 50. • November 2 – Thomas Klein, former guitarist of
Warrant, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 59. • November 6 – Chris Bradley, vocalist and bassist of
Savage, died after a long illness. • December 14 –
Rob Reiner, writer and director of
This Is Spinal Tap and
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues about parody heavy metal band
Spinal Tap, was stabbed to death at the age of 78. • December 21 – John Thomas "Jontho" Bratland, vocalist and former drummer of
Ragnarok, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 48. ==Albums released==