2003 in heavy metal music

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
 * 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

 * Coal Chamber
 * Five Pointe O
 * 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.