1982 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1982.

Newly formed bands

• Abattoir
• Arakain
• Armored Saint
• Artillery
• Avenger
• Baby Tuckoo
• BlackLace
• Brocas Helm
• Cinderella
• Cobra
• Coney Hatch
• Corrosion of Conformity (not originally a metal band)
• Crumbsuckers
• Culprit
• Death Angel
• Destruction
• Dio
• Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
• Dr. Mastermind
• D.A.D.
• Ezo
• Fates Warning
• The Georgia Satellites
• Godflesh (under the name "Fall of Because" until 1988)
• Griva
• Guardian
• Hazzard
• Heavens Gate
• Hell
• Hellhammer
• Hellion
• Helstar
• Kreator
• Lȧȧz Rockit
• Lethal
• Liege Lord
• Luzbel
• Mad Max
• Madam X
• Mournblade
• No Mercy
• Obsession
• Onslaught
• Outrage
• Philadelphia
• Post Mortem
• Roxx Gang
• Seikima-II
• Sieges Even
• Sinner
• Smack
• Streets
• Swans
• Tankard
• Terra Rosa
• TNT
• Tredegar
• Tublatanka
• Steve Vai
• Voivod
• W.A.S.P.
• Warfare
• Warlock
• Warrior
• Warriors
• Watchtower
• Waysted
• Wrath
• X (later known as X Japan)
• Znowhite

Albums & EPs

• Lee Aaron - The Lee Aaron Project
• Accept - Restless and Wild
• Acid - Acid
• Aerosmith - Rock in a Hard Place
• Alice Cooper - Zipper Catches Skin
• Americade - American Metal
• Anvil - Metal on Metal
• April Wine - Power Play
• August Redmoon - Fools Are Never Alone (EP)
• Axewitch - Pray for Metal (EP)
• The B'zz – Get Up
• Barón Rojo - Volumen brutal
• Beast (Ger) - Beast
• Bengal Tigers - Metal Fetish (EP)
• Bitch - Damnation Alley (EP)
• Bitches Sin - Predator
• Blackfoot - Highway Song Live!
• Black Sabbath - Live Evil
• Blue Öyster Cult - Extraterrestrial Live
• Bodine - Bold as Brass
• Bow Wow – Asian Volcano
• Bow Wow – Warning From Stardust
• Budgie - Deliver Us from Evil
• Breaker (Can) - In Days of Heavy Metal (EP)
• Breslau - Volksmusik
• Cheap Trick - One on One
• Cintron - Cintron (EP)
• Cloven Hoof - The Opening Ritual (EP)
• Coney Hatch - Coney Hatch
• Demon - The Unexpected Guest
• Demon Flight - Demon Flight (EP)
• Diamond Head - Borrowed Time
• Dietrich - Dietrich (EP)
• E.F. Band - Deep Cut
• Fargo - F
• Fist (UK) - Back with a Vengeance
• Fortnox - Fortnox
• Gamma - Gamma 3
• Gary Moore - Corridors of Power
• Gaskin - No Way Out
• Geddes Axe - Escape from New York (EP)
• Gillan - Magic
• Girl - Wasted Youth
• Girlschool - Screaming Blue Murder
• Glory Bells Band - Dressed in Black
• Grand Prix – There for None to See
• Sammy Hagar - Three Lock Box
• Hanoi Rocks - Oriental Beat
• Hanoi Rocks - Self Destruction Blues
• Headpins - Turn It Loud
• Heavy Load - Death or Glory
• Heritage - Remorse Code
• Hughes/Thrall - Hughes/Thrall
• The Hunt - The Thrill of the Kill
• Hyksos - Hyksos
• Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
• Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
• Killer (Bel) - Wall of Sound
• Killer (Swi) - Thriller
• Kiss - Creatures of the Night
• Krokus - One Vice at a Time
• Led Zeppelin - Coda (comp)
• Legend - Death in the Nursery
• Legend - Frontline (EP)
• Loudness - Devil Soldier
• Mad Max - Mad Max
• Magnum - Chase the Dragon
• Mama's Boys - Plug It In
• Manilla Road - Metal
• Manowar - Battle Hymns
• Frank Marino - Juggernaut
• Mercy – Swedish Metal (EP)
• Mercyful Fate - Nuns Have No Fun (EP)
• Messendger - Messendger
• Metal Massacre - Metal Massacre (Compilation, various artists)
• Metal Massacre - Metal Massacre II (Compilation, various artists)
• Michael Schenker Group - Assault Attack
• More - Blood & Thunder
• Motörhead - Iron Fist
• Night Ranger - Dawn Patrol
• Nightwing – Black Summer
• No Bros - Ready for the Action
• Aldo Nova - Aldo Nova
• Ted Nugent - Nugent
• Obús - Poderoso como el trueno
• Ozzy Osbourne - Speak of the Devil (live)
• Overlord (US) - Broken Toys (EP)
• Pat Benatar - Get Nervous
• Picture - Diamond Dreamer
• Plasmatics - Coup d'Etat
• Rage (UK) - Nice 'n' Dirty
• Rainbow - Straight Between the Eyes
• Rapid Tears - Honestly
• Raven - Crash Bang Wallop (EP)
• Raven - Wiped Out
• Resurrection Band - D.M.Z.
• Riff Raff - Robot Stud
• Riot - Restless Breed
• Riot - Riot Live (EP)
• The Rods - Wild Dogs
• Rose Tattoo - Scarred for Life
• Rush - Signals
• Samson - Losing My Grip (EP)
• Samson - Before the Storm
• Santers - Mayday (EP)
• Santers - Racing Time
• Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed (live)
• Scorpions - Blackout
• Sharks - Altar Ego
• Shiva - Firedance
• Sinner - Wild 'n' Evil
• Speed Queen - Speed Queen, aka II
• Split Beaver - When Hell Won't Have You
• Squadron - First Mission
• Stampede - Days of Wine and Roses (EP)
• Stampede - The Official Bootleg (live)
• Street Fighter - Feel the Noise
• Stress - Stress
• Sweet - Identity Crisis
• Talas - Sink Your Teeth Into That
• Tank - Filth Hounds of Hades
• Tank - Power of the Hunter
• Teeze (CA) - Teeze (EP)
• 38 Special - Special Forces
• TNT - TNT
• Torch - Fire Raiser (EP)
• Bernie Tormé – Turn Out the Lights
• Trance - Break Out
• Trust - Savage
• Twisted Sister - Ruff Cuts (EP)
• Twisted Sister - Under the Blade
• Tygers of Pan Tang - The Cage
• Tytan - Blind Men and Fools (EP)
• UFO - Mechanix
• Uriah Heep - Abominog
• Vanadium - Metal Rock
• Vandenberg - Vandenberg
• Van Halen - Diver Down
• Vardis - Quo Vardis
• Vendetta (US) - Vendetta
• Venom - Black Metal
• Virgin Steele - Virgin Steele
• Viva – Dealers of the Night
• Voie De Fait - Ange ou Démon
• Voltz - Knight's Fall
• Warning - Warning II
• White Heat – White Heat
• Whitesnake - Saints & Sinners
• Witchfinder General – Soviet Invasion (EP)
• Witchfinder General - Death Penalty
• Y&T - Black Tiger
• Zero Nine – Blank Verse
• Zero Nine – Visions, Scenes and Dreams

Disbandments

• Rok Mašina

Events

• Uriah Heep re-forms with Mick Box as bandleader.
• Iron Maiden's first album with Bruce Dickinson, The Number of the Beast, reaches No.1 in the U.K. music charts.
• Motörhead's guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke leaves the band and is replaced by ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson.
• Judas Priest's single "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" is released. It will go on to become the band's best selling single.
• Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Randy Rhoads dies in an airplane accident on March 19.
• Iron Maiden's drummer Clive Burr is fired from the band because of personal and tour-schedule problems. Nicko McBrain from Trust is hired to replace him.
• Ace Frehley, Space Ace and lead guitarist of Kiss, leaves the band. Vinnie Vincent takes his place.
• Queen departs from their hard rock legacy with the ill-received funk/disco album Hot Space.
• December: Former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan replaces Ronnie James Dio in Black Sabbath.
• The band Metallica leaves Los Angeles and relocates to the San Francisco Bay Area.