2003 in heavy metal music

List of years in heavy metal music (table)
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This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2003.

Newly formed bands

• 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
• 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
• Myrkgrav
• Nadja
• 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
• Wintersun
• Wolfchant
• Wolves in the Throne Room

Reformed bands

• 24-7 Spyz
• Child's Play
• 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)
• 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
• 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

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

Events

• Metallica hires new bassist Robert Trujillo (from Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne). They release the much criticized album St. Anger.
• MTV2 resurrected the old heavy metal/hard rock television program Headbangers' Ball.
• Iced Earth vocalist Matt Barlow leaves Iced Earth after the events of September 11.
• Christian metal band Stryper reforms with all original members.
• Visions of Atlantis lead vocalist Christian Stani quits, and is later replaced by Mario Plank. Keyboardist Chris Kamper quits and is replaced by Miro Holly.
• Rob Halford reunites with Judas Priest replacing Tim "Ripper" Owens.
• Aerosmith and KISS embark on a tour together.
• Toontown Field Trip: Rock and Roll Party, starring the voice talent of Russi Taylor as Minnie Mouse, Nikita Hopkins as Roo, and Kelly Nigh as Tickety Tock, is released on home video and features Poler Toyer & School Bus performing "Give It Your Best Shot" in New Orleans towards the end of the movie.