1997 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1997.

Newly formed bands

* Akercocke
* American Head Charge
* Elvenking
* Finntroll
* Pig Destroyer
* Static-X
* The Dillinger Escape Plan
* uneXpect

Reformed Bands

* Black Sabbath
* Ratt

Albums

* Aerosmith - "Nine Lives"
* Alice Cooper - "A Fistful of Alice"
* Black Sabbath - "Reunion"
* Body Count - ""
* Bruce Dickinson - "Accident of Birth"
* Children of Bodom - "Something Wild"
* Cradle of Filth - "Dusk and Her Embrace"
* Deftones - "Around The Fur"
* The Dillinger Escape Plan - "The Dillinger Escape Plan"
* Dimmu Borgir - "Enthrone Darkness Triumphant"
* Dream Theater - "Falling into Infinity"
* Edguy - "Kingdom of Madness"
* Emperor - "Anthems to the Welkin at Dusk"
* Entombed - "To Ride Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth"
* Europe - " Definitive Collection (Compilation Album)
* Freak Kitchen - "Junk Tooth EP"
* Godflesh - Love and Hate in Dub
* Guns N' Roses - "Use Your Illusion"
* HammerFall - "Glory to the Brave"
* Immortal - "Blizzard Beasts"
* In Flames - "Whoracle"
* Judas Priest - "Jugulator"
* Kiss - ""
* Kreator - "Outcast"
*Limp Bizkit" Three Dollar Bill Y'all"
* Yngwie J. Malmsteen - "Facing the Animal"
* Machine Head - "The More Things Change"
* Megadeth - "Cryptic Writings"
* Metallica - "ReLoad"
* Mötley Crüe - "Generation Swine"
* Nightwish - "Angels Fall First"
* No Big Silence - "99"
* Pig Destroyer - "Demo"
* Pig Destroyer - "Pig Destroyer / Orchid (Split EP)"
* Queensrÿche - "Hear in the Now Frontier"
* Rammstein - "Sehnsucht"
* Razor - "Decibels"
* Rhapsody of Fire - "Legendary Tales"
* Shadows Fall - "Somber Eyes to the Sky"
* Skid Row - "Razor Sharp!"
* Solefald - "The Linear Scaffold"
* Strapping Young Lad - "City"
* Stratovarius - "Visions"
* Stratovarius - "The Past And Now"
* The 3rd and the Mortal - "In This Room", "Streams" (EP)
* U.D.O. -"Solid"
* Whitesnake - "Restless Heart"

Disbandments

*Soundgarden

Events

* Motley Crue and former vocalist Vince Neil reconcile their differences, and Neil rejoins the band.
* Black Sabbath reunites with the original line-up between "Black Sabbath" and "Never Say Die!".
* Bassist Mooseman leaves Body Count and is replaced by Griz. Meanwhile, the late drummer Beatmaster V is replaced by O.T.