2008 in heavy metal music

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

Bands formed

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

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.

Albums released

January

Day	Artist	Album
2	In Mourning	Shrouded Divine
8	For the Fallen Dreams	Changes
11	Benedictum	Seasons of Tragedy
22	Byzantine	Oblivion Beckons
	The Red Death	Godmakers
	With Blood Comes Cleansing	Horror
25	Alestorm	Captain Morgan's Revenge
	Avantasia	The Scarecrow
	Ayreon	01011001
	Brainstorm	Downburst
28	Bullet for My Valentine	Scream Aim Fire
28	Heaven Shall Burn	Iconoclast
29	Decrepit Birth	Diminishing Between Worlds
29	Protest the Hero	Fortress

February

Day	Artist	Album
4	Baptism	Grim Arts of Melancholy
	Hate	Morphosis
	Iron Maiden	Live After Death^[1]
	Sworn Enemy	Maniacal
5	Brain Drill	Apocalyptic Feasting
	Salt the Wound	Carnal Repercussions
	Warbringer	War Without End^[2]
	Winds of Plague	Decimate the Weak^[3]
8	Behexen	My Soul for His Glory
12	Texas Hippie Coalition	Pride of Texas^[4]
13	Norther	N^[5]
15	Eluveitie	Slania^[6]
18	Hellhammer	Demon Entrails^[7]
18	To-Mera	Delusions^[8]
19	Ascension of the Watchers	Numinosum^[9]
	Dead to Fall	Are You Serious?^{[citation needed]}
	Genghis Tron	Board Up the House^[10]
	Hate Eternal	Fury & Flames^[11]
	Sculptured	Embodiment: Collapsing Under the Weight of God^[12]
	Virgin Black	Requiem – Fortissimo
22	Exciter	Thrash Speed Burn^[13]
	Metalium	Incubus - Chapter Seven
	Nortt	Galgenfrist
	Steel Attack	Carpe DiEnd^[14]
	Stormwarrior	Heading Northe^[15]
	Rage	Carved in Stone^[16]
	Unheilig	Puppenspiel
25	Dark Fortress	Eidolon^[17]
25	Dark Suns	Grave Human Genuine^[18]
26	Death Angel	Killing Season
26	myGRAIN	Signs of Existence
29	Agalloch	The White
29	Draconian	Turning Season Within

March

Day	Artist	Album
2	Nine Inch Nails	Ghosts I–IV
3	Azaghal	Omega
4	Nasum	Doombringer
4	Our Last Night	The Ghosts Among Us
7	Boris	Smile
7	Meshuggah	obZen
8	Scarlet Sins	Scarlet Sins
9	Buckethead	From the Coop
10	Bloodbath	Unblessing the Purity
11	Zimmer's Hole	When You Were Shouting at the Devil...
12	Shade Empire	Zero Nexus
18	Black Tide	Light from Above
18	Bury Your Dead	Bury Your Dead
19	The Black Mages	The Black Mages III: Darkness and Starlight
19	Hypocrisy	Catch 22 (V2.0.08) (Re-release)
20	Cataract	Cataract
21	Firewind	The Premonition
	Jon Oliva's Pain	Global Warning
	Korpiklaani	Korven Kuningas
24	Cavalera Conspiracy	Inflikted
25	Mercenary	Architect of Lies
28	Illdisposed	The Prestige
28	Kamelot	Ghost Opera: The Second Coming
29	Dream Theater	Greatest Hit (...and 21 Other Pretty Cool Songs)
31	Strapping Young Lad	1994–2006 Chaos Years

April

Day	Artist	Album
1	Dismember	Dismember^[19]
	Origin	Antithesis
	Sevendust	Chapter VII: Hope & Sorrow
	Septic Flesh	Communion
	The Sword	Gods of the Earth
	Theory of a Deadman	Scars & Souvenirs
4	In Flames	A Sense of Purpose
7	Children of Bodom	Blooddrunk
8	P.O.D.	When Angels & Serpents Dance
14	Mirrorthrone	Gangrene
15	Arsis	We Are the Nightmare
	Belphegor	Bondage Goat Zombie
	Destroy the Runner	I, Lucifer
	Embrace the End	Ley Lines
	Thine Eyes Bleed	Thine Eyes Bleed
18	Tiamat	Amanethes
21	Grave	Dominion VIII
22	Dominici	O3: A Trilogy, Part Three
	Story of the Year	The Black Swan
	Whitesnake	Good to be Bad
23	Kalmah	For the Revolution
25	Def Leppard	Songs from the Sparkle Lounge
25	Warrel Dane	Praises to the War Machine
28	Deicide	Till Death Do Us Part
28	My Dying Bride	An Ode to Woe
29	Sea of Treachery	At Daggers Drawn
29	Testament	The Formation of Damnation
30	Moonsorrow	Tulimyrsky

May

Day	Artist	Album
5	Nine Inch Nails	The Slip
	Scott Kelly	The Wake
	Textures	Silhouettes^[20]
6	Kayo Dot	Blue Lambency Downward
	Revocation	Empire of the Obscene
	Russian Circles	Station
13	Abysmal Dawn	Programmed To Consume
	Aletheian	Dying Vine
	Emmure	The Respect Issue
	Mourning Beloveth	A Disease for the Ages
14	Diablo	Icaros
16	Moonspell	Night Eternal
23	Cryptopsy	The Unspoken King^[21]
23	Kataklysm	Prevail
26	Ihsahn	angL
26	Shai Hulud	Misanthropy Pure
30	Communic	Payment of Existence
	Hollenthon	Opus Magnum
	Opeth	Watershed^[22]
	Pyramaze	Immortal
	Sabaton	The Art of War

June

Day	Artist	Album
2	Bloodbath	The Wacken Carnage
	Disturbed	Indestructible
	Satyricon	My Skin Is Cold
9	Gama Bomb	Citizen Brain
	Unleashed	Hammer Battalion
	Venom	Hell
10	Inhale Exhale	I Swear...
10	Nachtmystium	Assassins: Black Meddle, Part 1
11	Ari Koivunen	Becoming
13	Grand Magus	Iron Will
13	Judas Priest	Nostradamus
16	Cult of Luna	Eternal Kingdom
16	Exit Ten	Remember the Day
17	Mötley Crüe	Saints of Los Angeles
20	Scar Symmetry	Holographic Universe
24	Aborted	Strychnine.213
24	Carnifex	The Diseased and the Poisoned
27	Equilibrium	Sagas
29	Khold	Hundre År Gammal
30	Raunchy	Wasteland Discotheque

July

Day	Artist	Album
1	Lamb of God	Walk with Me in Hell
7	Blaze Bayley	The Man Who Would Not Die
7	Stone Gods	Silver Spoons & Broken Bones
8	Cannibal Corpse	Centuries of Torment: The First 20 Years
8	Whitechapel	This Is Exile
14	Daylight Dies	Lost to the Living
18	Chrome Division	Booze, Broads and Beelzebub
18	Fear My Thoughts	Isolation
21	Krisiun	Southern Storm
22	Misery Signals	Controller
	Neuraxis	The Thin Line Between
	Nine Inch Nails	The Slip
	War of Ages	Arise and Conquer
27	Chelsea Grin	Chelsea Grin (EP)
29	Soulfly	Conquer
29	Dr. Acula	Below Me

August

Day	Artist	Album
5	Norma Jean	The Anti Mother
12	Extreme	Saudades de Rock
19	The Acacia Strain	Continent
	The Human Abstract	Midheaven
	Machinae Supremacy	Overworld
	The Showdown	Back Breaker
	Staind	The Illusion of Progress
20	DragonForce	Ultra Beatdown
20	Slipknot	All Hope Is Gone
22	Oomph!	Monster
25	Into Eternity	The Incurable Tragedy
26	Motörhead	Motörizer
29	Angband	Rising from Apadana
	Destruction	D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.
	Haggard	Tales of Ithiria
25	Acid Drinkers	Verses of Steel

September

Day	Artist	Album
1	The Berzerker	The Reawakening
	Volbeat	Guitar Gangsters & Cadillac Blood
	Welicoruss	WinterMoon Symphony
2	Blessed by a Broken Heart	Pedal to the Metal
5	All Shall Perish	Awaken the Dreamers
5	Iced Earth	The Crucible of Man
9	Brian "Head" Welch	Save Me From Myself
12	Metallica	Death Magnetic
16	All That Remains	Overcome
	Andromeda	The Immunity Zone
	Avenged Sevenfold	Live in the LBC & Diamonds in the Rough
	Intronaut	Prehistoricisms
	Obituary	Left to Die
17	Amon Amarth	Twilight of the Thunder God
	Swallow the Sun	Plague of Butterflies
	The Haunted	Versus
19	Evergrey	Torn
	Falchion	Chronicles of the Dead
	Sonic Syndicate	Love and Other Disasters
22	Omnium Gatherum	The Redshift
23	Metal Church	This Present Wasteland
24	Battlelore	The Last Alliance
26	Holy Moses	Agony of Death
26	Psycroptic	Ob(Servant)
29	Bring Me the Horizon	Suicide Season
	Enslaved	Vertebrae
	Dagoba	Face The Colossus
30	Bleeding Through	Declaration
	Dream Theater	Chaos in Motion 2007–2008
	In This Moment	The Dream
	Jeff Loomis	Zero Order Phase
	Megadeth	Anthology: Set the World Afire
	Suspyre	When Time Fades...
	Trivium	Shogun

October

Day	Artist	Album
6	Bloodbath	The Fathomless Mastery
7	Tesla	Forever More
13	Gojira	The Way of All Flesh
14	Haste the Day	Dreamer
	Unearth	The March
	Winterfylleth	The Ghost of Heritage
	Yngwie Malmsteen	Perpetual Flame
17	Zonaria	The Cancer Empire
20	The Amenta	n0n
20	Darkthrone	Dark Thrones and Black Flags
21	Disciple	Southern Hospitality
21	See You Next Tuesday	Intervals
22	Thyrfing	Hels vite
22	AC/DC	Black Ice
23	Lordi	Deadache
24	Darkane	Demonic Art
	Catamenia	VIII - The Time Unchained
	Sylosis	Conclusion of an Age
25	Cradle of Filth	Godspeed on the Devil's Thunder
28	Beneath the Massacre	Dystopia
28	Exodus	Let There Be Blood

November

Day	Artist	Album
3	Satyricon	The Age of Nero
3	Turisas	A Finnish Summer With Turisas
10	The Red Shore	Unconsecrated
11	Attack Attack!	Someday Came Suddenly
	Behemoth	Ezkaton
	Dance Club Massacre	Circle of Death
	Dir En Grey	Uroboros
	The Faceless	Planetary Duality
	Light This City	Stormchaser
	Six Feet Under	Death Rituals
	Sympathy	Anagogic Tyranny
	Pig Destroyer	Natasha (EP)
14	Edguy	Tinnitus Sanctus
	Elvenking	Two Tragedy Poets (...and a Caravan of Weird Figures)
	Hortus Animae	Funeral Nation / 10 Years Of Hortus Animae^[23]
17	Cynic	Traced in Air
18	Mononc' Serge & Anonymus	Musique Barbare
18	Mudvayne	The New Game
24	Arch Enemy	Tyrants of the Rising Sun
25	Becoming the Archetype	Dichotomy