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2003 in music
By location
United Kingdom Ireland Norway South Korea
By genre
classical country heavy metal hip hop jazz Latin
By topic
List of albums released

(table)

+...

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2003.

Newly formed bands

Reformed bands

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)
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)
Divinity Destroyed – Eden in Ashes
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
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
Godhead – Evolver
Godsmack – Faceless
Gojira – The Link
Gojira – Maciste All'Inferno (EP)
Gorgoroth – Twilight of the Idols
Graveworm – Engraved in Black
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
Johnny Lokke – Wrecking Ball
Kamelot – Epica
Katatonia – Viva Emptiness
Kayo Dot – Choirs of the Eye
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
Limp Bizkit – Results May Vary
Linkin Park – Meteora
Living Colour – Collideøscope
Lost Horizon – A Flame to the Ground Beneath
Macabre – Murder Metal
Marduk – World Funeral
Masterplan – Masterplan
Marilyn Manson – The Golden Age of Grotesque
Machine Head – Through the Ashes of Empires
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
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
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

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.^[2]
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.^[3]
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.^[4]

Preceded by2002 Heavy Metal Timeline 2003 Succeeded by2004

References

^ "The Crofoot and AEG Live present: A Day to Remember with August Burns Red, Silverstein and Enter Shikari at the Royal Oak Music Theatre". Thecrofoot.com. Archived from the original on October 2, 2013. Retrieved July 9, 2013.
^ "Einar Andre Fredriksen". Metal Storm. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
^ Blabbermouth (March 18, 2003). "FINNTROLL Guitarist's Death Was Alcohol-Related". BLABBERMOUTH.NET. Retrieved April 19, 2024.
^ Sweeting, Adam (November 21, 2003). "Michael Kamen". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved April 19, 2024.

v t e Timeline of heavy metal and hard rock music
Heavy metal music before 1970
20th century	... 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
21st century	2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025