2008 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2008.

Bands formed

 * A Sound of Thunder
 * A Storm of Light
 * Aeon Zen
 * Allegaeon
 * Amaranthe
 * Arkaea
 * Austrian Death Machine
 * Betraying the Martyrs
 * Bölzer
 * Bombus
 * Cain's Offering
 * Chickenfoot
 * Christian Mistress
 * City of Fire
 * Code Orange
 * Ex Deo
 * From Fall to Spring
 * God Seed
 * Hamferð
 * Holy Grail
 * King of Asgard
 * Krypts
 * Lustre
 * Pallbearer
 * Power Trip
 * Revolution Renaissance
 * Solution .45
 * Tears of Tragedy
 * The Empire Shall Fall
 * Triptykon
 * Uneven Structure

Reformed bands

 * At the Gates (for a few shows)
 * Carcass (for touring)
 * Einherjer (for touring)
 * Exhorder (for a few tours and some new material)
 * Forbidden (for a few shows)
 * Krokus
 * Living Sacrifice
 * Spineshank

Disbandments

 * Alabama Thunderpussy
 * Beneath the Sky
 * Byzantine
 * Celtic Frost
 * Dead to Fall
 * Demigod
 * The Duskfall
 * From Autumn to Ashes
 * Himsa
 * Knorkator
 * Ministry
 * Sieges Even
 * Sikth
 * Still Remains
 * The Red Death
 * The Agony Scene
 * Remove the Veil

Events

 * Twiggy Ramirez rejoins Marilyn Manson in early January.
 * Mikael Åkerfeldt rejoins Bloodbath in late January.
 * Ola Frenning leaves Soilwork in February.
 * Chris Broderick joins Megadeth in February.
 * Timo Tolkki leaves Stratovarius after some internal troubles in March.
 * Thomas Gabriel Fischer leaves Celtic Frost in April.
 * Singer Lisa Middelhauve leaves Xandria in April.
 * On May 11, original Rush drummer John Rutsey died in his sleep from an apparent heart attack.
 * Blasphemer leaves Mayhem in May.
 * Mike Kimball leaves Dying Fetus in May.
 * On July 27, former White Spirit and Tank drummer Graeme Crallan died after a fall in a London street.
 * Wes Borland joins Marilyn Manson's lineup in mid-August.
 * D.R.I. guitarist Spike Cassidy makes a full recovery from cancer.
 * Snot reforms with ex-Divine Heresy vocalist Tommy Vext.
 * Michael Nicklasson leaves Dark Tranquillity in August.
 * Jeff Singer leaves Paradise Lost in August.
 * Christian "Witchhunter" Dudek, ex-drummer of Sodom, dies of liver failure on September 7.
 * Christian Älvestam leaves Scar Symmetry in September.
 * Peter Wichers rejoins Soilwork in September.
 * Tormentor rejoins Gorgoroth in September, as does Pest in December.
 * Denny Axelsson, vocalist of Blinded Colony, leaves the band.
 * Former Marilyn Manson bassist Gidget Gein dies of a heroin overdose.
 * Josh Freese plans to depart from Nine Inch Nails by the end of 2008.
 * John Kempainen leaves The Black Dahlia Murder in December.
 * Job For A Cowboy founding member and guitarist Ravi Bhadriraju leaves the band in late 2008.
 * Al Glassman leaves Despised Icon to join Job For A Cowboy.
 * Gaahl (ex-Gorgoroth) reveals his homosexuality.