1983 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1983.

Newly formed bands

* Alcatrazz
* Bathory
* Bon Jovi
* Death
* Excel (known as Chaotic Noise until 1985)
* Fastway
* Fates Warning
* Helloween
* Keel
* Living Colour
* Lizzy Borden
* Mayhem
* Megadeth
* Metal Church (formerly known as Shrapnel)
* Morbid Angel
* Onslaught
* Poison
* Possessed
* Queensrÿche
* Savatage
* Stryper
* Testament (known as Legacy until 1986)
* White Lion

Albums

* AC/DC - "Flick of the Switch"
* Accept - "Balls to the Wall"
* Alcatrazz - "No Parole From Rock N' Roll"
* Alice Cooper - "DaDa"
* Black Sabbath - "Born Again"
* Blue Öyster Cult - "The Revölution by Night"
* Def Leppard - "Pyromania"
* Diamond Head - "Canterbury"
* Dio - "Holy Diver"
* Dokken - "Breaking the Chains"
* Europe - "Europe
* Fastway - "Fastway"
* Girlschool - "Play Dirty"
* Hanoi Rocks - "Self-Destruction Blues
* Hanoi Rocks - "Back to Mystery City"
* Helix - "No Rest For The Wicked"
* Iron Maiden - "Piece of Mind"
* KISS - "Lick It Up"
* Kix - "Cool Kids"
* Krokus - "Headhunter"
* Loudness - "Law of Devil's Land"
* Manowar - "Into Glory Ride"
* Mercyful Fate - "Melissa"
* Metallica - "Kill 'Em All"
* Mötley Crüe - "Shout at the Devil"
* Motörhead - "Another Perfect Day"
* Ozzy Osbourne - "Bark at the Moon"
* Pantera - "Metal Magic"
* Phoenix Rising - "Phoenix Rising"
* Queensrÿche - "Queensrÿche"
* Quiet Riot - "Metal Health"
* Ratt - "Ratt (EP)"
* Savage - "Loose 'N Lethal"
* Savatage - "Sirens"
* Saxon - "Power & the Glory"
* Slayer - "Show No Mercy"
* Steeler - "Steeler"
* Suicidal Tendencies - "Suicidal Tendencies"
* Thin Lizzy - "Thunder and Lightning"
* Twisted Sister - "You Can't Stop Rock 'N' Roll"
* Venom - "At War with Satan"
* Y&T - "Mean Streak"

Events

*At the end of the year, drummer Phil "Philthy Animal" Taylor and guitarist Brian Robertson leave Motörhead. The band is reborn with a new, four-piece line-up (Lemmy/Phil Campbell/Würzel/Pete Gill).
* Yngwie Malmsteen got his start this year in the band Steeler. Also in that band was (Future Keel vocalist) Ron Keel & Former W.A.S.P. bassist Rik Fox. The band had only one album, Steeler.
* Dave Mustaine, lead guitarist for Metallica, is fired for drug/alcohol abuse, and is replaced by Exodus guitarist Kirk Hammett, after which he formed the L.A. Thrash band Megadeth
* Mötley Crüe - "Shout at the Devil" Becomes a huge hit marking one of the turning points into commercialization of Heavy Metal. Helping make the L.A. Glam Metal scene even bigger.
* KISS put away their makeup.
* On November 19, 1983 Quiet Riot's "Cum on Feel the Noize" Becomes the first ever top 5 hit in Heavy Metal history.
* November 26, 1983 "Cum on Feel the Noize" is #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart for a second week. This week, Quiet Riot's Metal Health Album Also Tops The chart. The first time a metal band had a top 10 hit song & a #1 album the same week. Metal health also sells over 6 Million copies. Other bands such as Def Leppard, & Albums like Shout at the Devil by Mötley Crüe are Sometimes falsely considered the "breakthru". However it wasn't Until Quiet Riot had their success that the Metal scene really started.
*Black Sabbath Vocalist Ronnie James Dio and drummer Vinny Appice left the band to form Dio and were replaced by ex-Deep Purple Singer Ian Gillan and former Sabbath Drummer Bill Ward
*On April 17, 1983 Mountain bassist, and Cream producer, Felix Pappalardi was shot and killed by his wife Gail Collins Pappalardi.