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This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal music in the year 1996.

Contents

• Newly formed bands
• Albums
• Disbandments
• Events
• References

Newly formed bands

Albums

Disbandments

• Beherit
• Carnis
• Damn Yankees
• Down
• Extreme
• Prong
• Sexart
• Skid Row
• Tesla ^[1]
• Trouble

Events

• Alice in Chains plays their last concert with Layne Staley on July 23, 1996.
• 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.

References