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This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal music in the year 1996.
Newly formed bands
- 3 Doors Down
- Ajattara
- Alabama Thunderpussy
- Alien Ant Farm
- Averse Sefira
- Breed 77
- Cattle Decapitation
- Combatwoundedveteran
- Control Denied
- The Crest
- Daylight Dies
- Decapitated
- Diabolic
- Dornenreich
- Drowning Pool
- Ebony Tears
- Fall of the Leafe
- Flaw (as F.law)
- Gardenian
- Goatsnake
- God Forbid
- Gojira
- The Haunted
- Heaven Shall Burn
- Hibria
- Into Eternity
- Iron Savior
- Kiss It Goodbye
- Kittie
- Linkin Park (as Xero)
- Manticora
- Maudlin of the Well
- MD.45
- Mudvayne
- Nargaroth
- Narnia
- Nashville Pussy
- Nightwish
- Nocturnal Breed
- Norther
- Omnium Gatherum
- Orden Ogan
- Pain
- Penumbra
- Prayer for Cleansing
- Queens of the Stone Age
- Racetraitor
- Saliva
- Samsas Traum
- Sculptured
- Shining
- The Sins of Thy Beloved
- Soulburn
- Spineshank
- Spirit Caravan
- Stam1na
- Training for Utopia
- Trans-Siberian Orchestra
- Tvangeste
- Two
- Ultraspank
- uneXpect
- The Union Underground
- Within Temptation
- Yob
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)
- Anal Cunt - 40 More Reasons To Hate Us
- Accept - Predator
- Acid Bath - Paegan Terrorism Tactics
- Alice in Chains - Unplugged (live)
- Altar - Ego Art
- Amon Amarth - Sorrow Throughout the Nine Worlds (EP)
- Amorphis - Elegy
- Anathema – Eternity
- Angelcorpse - Hammer of Gods
- Angra - Holy Land
- Angra - Freedom Call (EP)
- Antidote - Mind Alive
- Anvil (band) – Plugged in Permanent
- Apocalyptica - Plays Metallica by Four Cellos
- Arch Enemy - Black Earth
- Arcturus - Aspera Hiems Symfonia
- Asphyx - God Cries
- Asphyx - Embrace the Death (recorded in 1990)
- Ayreon - Actual Fantasy
- Bathory - Blood on Ice
- Behemoth - Grom
- Biohazard - Mata Leão
- Borknagar - Borknagar
- Bruce Dickinson - Skunkworks
- Brutality - In Mourning
- Brutal Truth - Kill Trend Suicide
- Cannibal Corpse - Vile
- Cathedral - Supernatural Birth Machine
- Civil Defiance - The Fishers For Souls
- Converge - Petitioning the Empty Sky
- Corrosion of Conformity - Wiseblood
- Cradle of Filth - V Empire or Dark Faerytales in Phallustein (EP)
- Cradle of Filth - Dusk... and Her Embrace
- Crowbar - Broken Glass
- Cryptopsy - None So Vile
- The Cult – High Octane Cult
- Danzig – Danzig 5: Blackacidevil
- Dark Funeral - The Secrets of the Black Arts
- Dawn - Sorgh på Svarte Vingar Fløgh
- Deep Purple - Purpendicular
- Def Leppard - Slang
- Desultory - Swallow the Snake
- Deeds Of Flesh - Trading Pieces
- DGeneration – No Lunch
- Dimmu Borgir - Stormblåst
- Dio - Angry Machines
- Downset. - Do We Speak a Dead Language?
- Drain STH – Horror Wrestling
- Dying Fetus - Purification Through Violence
- Earth Crisis - Gomorrah's Season Ends
- Edge of Sanity - Crimson
- Eyehategod - Dopesick
- Far - Tin Cans with Strings to You
- FireHouse – Good Acoustics
- Forbidden - Green
- Freak Kitchen - Spanking Hour
- Fu Manchu - In Search of...
- Godflesh - Songs of Love and Hate
- Gorefest - Soul Survivor
- Gorgoroth - Antichrist
- Grave - Hating Life
- Grinspoon - Licker Bottle Cozy (EP)
- Helloween - The Time of the Oath
- Hypocrisy - Abducted
- Hypocrisy - Maximum Abduction (EP)
- Immolation - Here in After
- In Flames - The Jester Race
- Iced Earth - The Dark Saga
- Integrity – Humanity is the Devil
- King Diamond - The Graveyard
- Kataklysm - Temple of Knowledge
- Katatonia - Brave Murder Day
- Korn - Life Is Peachy
- Korpse - Revirgin
- Kvist - For Kunsten Maa Vi Evig Vike
- L.A. Guns – American Hardcore
- Tony MacAlpine - Violent Machine
- Madball - Demonstrating My Style
- Manowar - Louder Than Hell
- Marduk - Heaven Shall Burn... When We Are Gathered
- Marilyn Manson - Antichrist Superstar
- Mercyful Fate - Into the Unknown
- Metallica - Load
- Ministry - Filth Pig
- Monstrosity - Millennium
- Moonspell - Irreligious
- Morgana Lefay - Maleficium
- Morgoth - Feel Sorry for the Fanatic
- Mortician - Hacked Up for Barbecue
- Mortification - EnVision EvAngelene
- Motörhead - Overnight Sensation
- My Dying Bride - Like Gods of the Sun
- Napalm Death - Diatribes
- Necrophobic – Spawned by Evil (EP)
- Nevermore - The Politics of Ecstasy
- Neurosis - Through Silver in Blood
- Occult – The Enemy Within
- Old Man's Child - Born of the Flickering
- Orange 9mm - Tragic
- Orphanage - By Time Alone
- Oomph! - Wunschkind
- Opeth - Morningrise
- Overkill – The Killing Kind
- Pantera - The Great Southern Trendkill
- Pan.Thy.Monium - Khaooohs and Kon-Fus-Ion
- Pitchshifter - Infotainment?
- P.O.D. - Brown
- Poison - Poison's Greatest Hits: 1986–1996 (compilation)
- Iggy Pop – Nude & Rude: The Best of Iggy Pop
- Pro-Pain – Contents Under Pressure
- Prong - Rude Awakening
- Quo Vadis - Forever...
- Rage - Lingua Mortis (four re-recorded songs from the album Black in Mind, with arrangements for a classic orchestra)
- Rage - End of All Days
- Rage Against the Machine - Evil Empire
- Rotting Christ - Triarchy of the Lost Lovers
- Rush - Test for Echo
- Sacred Reich - Heal
- Samael - Passage
- Satyricon - Nemesis Divina
- Scorpions – Pure Instinct
- Sepultura - Roots
- Sentenced - Down
- Soundgarden - Down on the Upside
- Slayer - Undisputed Attitude
- Slipknot - Mate. Feed. Kill. Repeat. (demo)
- Staind - Tormented
- Steelheart – Wait
- Stone Temple Pilots – Tiny Music... Songs from the Vatican Gift Shop
- Stratovarius - Episode
- Stuck Mojo - Pigwalk
- Summoning - Dol Guldur
- Theatre of Tragedy - Velvet Darkness They Fear
- The 3rd and the Mortal - Painting on Glass
- The Hellacopters – Supershitty to the Max!
- Therion - Theli
- Thorr's Hammer - Dommedagsnatt (EP)
- Tool - Ænima
- Type O Negative - October Rust
- Steve Vai - Fire Garden
- Vader - Future of the Past
- Van Halen - Best Of – Volume I (compilation)
- Virgin Steele - The Marriage of Heaven and Hell Part II
- Vision of Disorder - Vision of Disorder
- Warrant - Belly to Belly
- Warrant – The Best of Warrant
- Xentrix - Scourge
- Zakk Wylde – Book of Shadows
Disbandments
Events
- Alice in Chains plays their last 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.
- 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 left 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.