2003 in heavy metal music

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

Newly formed bands

* Born of Osiris
* Communic
* DevilDriver
* Epica
* Equilibrium
* Korpiklaani
* Sturmgeist
* Sybreed
* Wicked Wisdom

Reformed bands

* 24-7 Spyz
* Europe
* Fear Factory
* Judas Priest
* Primus
* Stryper

Albums

* Alice Cooper - "The Eyes Of Alice Cooper"
* Akercocke - "Choronozon"
* Arch Enemy - "Anthems of Rebellion"
* Avenged Sevenfold - "Waking the Fallen"
* Black Label Society - The Blessed Hellride
* Bon Jovi - "This Left Feels Right"
* Cannibal Corpse - "15 Year Killing Spree"
* Children of Bodom - "Hate Crew Deathroll"
* Chimaira - "The Impossibility of Reason"
* Cog - "Open Up"
* Cradle of Filth - "Damnation and a Day"
* The Darkness - "Permission to Land"
* Deep Purple - "Bananas"
* Devildriver - "DevilDriver"
* Dimmu Borgir - "Death Cult Armageddon"
* Divinity Destroyed - "Divinity Destroyed"
* Divinity Destroyed - "Eden in Ashes"
* DragonForce - "Valley of the Damned"
* Dream Theater - "Train of Thought"
* Europe - "" (Compilation Album)
* Finntroll - "Visor om Slutet"'
* Gojira - "The Link"
* Gojira - "Maciste All Inferno (EP)"
* Helloween - "Rabbit Don't Come Easy"
* Iron Maiden - "Dance of Death"
* Judas Priest - "Livin' after Midnight"
* Kiss - ""
* Korn - Take A Look In The Mirror
* Kreator - "Live Kreation"
* Lamb of God - "As the Palaces Burn"
* Limp Bizkit - Results May Vary
* Living Colour - "Collideøscope"
* Macabre - "Murder Metal"
* Marilyn Manson - "The Golden Age of Grotesque"
* Metallica - "St. Anger"
* Moonspell - "The Antidote"
* Motörhead - "Live at Brixton Academy"
* No Big Silence - "Unreleased"
* Opeth - "Damnation"
* Pitchshifter - "Bootlegged, Distorted, Remixed and Uploaded
* Skid Row - "Thickskin"
* Solefald - "In Harmonia Universali"
* Sonata Arctica - "Winterheart's Guild"
* Static-X - "Shadow Zone"
* Strapping Young Lad - "Strapping Young Lad"
* Stratovarius - "Elements, Pt. 1"
* Stratovarius - "Elements, Pt. 2"
* Stryper - ""
* Theocracy - "Theocracy"
* Tourniquet - "Where Moth and Rust Destroy"
* Trivium - "Ember to Inferno"
* Týr - "Eric the Red"
* uneXpect - "WE, Invaders"
* Virgin Black - "Elegant... and Dying"

Disbandments

* Coal Chamber
* Five pointe o
* Limbonic Art
* Immortal
* Pitchshifter
* Pantera

Events

* Metallica hires new bassist Robert Trujillo (from Suicidal Tendencies and Ozzy Osbourne).
* 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 11th.
* 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