This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2014.

Bands formed

* Act of Defiance * Beyond the Black * Black Pantera *

Entombed A.D. Entombed A.D. was a Swedish death metal band formed in 2014, composed of former members of Entombed after their breakup. They released their debut album, ''Back to the Front'', the same year. The band's final lineup consisted of Olle Dahlstedt ...

The Gentle Storm The Gentle Storm is a Dutch musical project by singer and lyricist Anneke van Giersbergen and composer and musician Arjen Anthony Lucassen, founder and leader of other musical projects such as Star One, Ayreon, Guilt Machine and Ambeon. The duo ha ...

The Mute Gods The Mute Gods are an English progressive rock supergroup uniting Nick Beggs, Marco Minnemann and Roger King. Beggs approached King—with whom he had worked as part of Steve Hackett's band—about a collaboration in 2014, and Minnemann was chosen ...

Myrkur Myrkur is a Danish black metal band led by singer Amalie Bruun. Myrkur is a solo project within the genre of second-wave black metal. Initially, the real-life identity of the person behind the project was kept unknown. Her identity has since be ...

Bands disbanded

* Bleeding Through *

Brutal Truth Brutal Truth was an American grindcore band from New York City, formed by ex-Anthrax, Nuclear Assault, and Stormtroopers of Death bass guitarist Dan Lilker in 1990. The group disbanded in 1999, but reformed in 2006 and continued to release musi ...

Chimaira Chimaira () is an American heavy metal band from Cleveland, Ohio. Formed in August 1998, the group was a member of the New Wave of American Heavy Metal scene. The band's name is derived from the word Chimera, a monstrous creature in Greek my ...

Massacre A massacre is the killing of a large number of people or animals, especially those who are not involved in any fighting or have no way of defending themselves. A massacre is generally considered to be morally unacceptable, especially when per ...

* Pestilence

Bands reformed

Aftermath Aftermath may refer to: Companies * Aftermath (comics), an imprint of Devil's Due Publishing * Aftermath Entertainment, an American record label founded by Dr. Dre * Aftermath Media, an American multimedia company * Aftermath Services, an America ...

Atreyu Atreyu is an American metalcore band from Yorba Linda, California, formed in 1998. The band currently consists of clean vocalist Brandon Saller, guitarists Dan Jacobs and Travis Miguel, bassist and unclean vocalist Marc "Porter" McKnight, and ...

(hiatus during 2011–2014) *

Breaking Benjamin Breaking Benjamin is an American Rock music, rock band from Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, formed in 1999 by lead singer and guitarist Benjamin Burnley and drummer Jeremy Hummel. The first lineup of the band also included guitarist Aaron Fink an ...

(hiatus during 2010–2014) *

Centinex Centinex is a Swedish death metal band formed in 1990. They disbanded on 12 April 2006. They were scheduled to perform their final concert at an already booked show in Eskilstuna, Sweden, on 13 May 2006, but later cancelled. Some of the membe ...

Haste the Day Haste the Day was an American metalcore band formed in Carmel, Indiana in 2001 and signed to Solid State Records. Their name is derived from a lyric in the hymn " It Is Well with My Soul" by Horatio Spafford. The band released an EP titled '' T ...

Life of Agony Life of Agony is an American alternative metal band from Brooklyn, New York City, formed in 1989 by singer Mina Caputo (then known as Keith Caputo), bassist Alan Robert and guitarist Joey Z. The band has released six studio albums to date, mos ...

Events

* On January 6, Benighted announced the departure of bassist Eric Lombard, and Alexis Lieu as his replacement. * On January 10, bassist

Dan Lilker Daniel A. Lilker (born October 18, 1964) is an American semi-retired musician best known as a bass player, but also guitarist, pianist, drummer and vocalist. He was the bassist for the thrash metal band Nuclear Assault and was a founding member ...

(

Nuclear Assault Nuclear Assault was an American thrash metal band formed in New York City in 1984. Part of the mid-to-late 1980s thrash metal movement, they were one of the main bands of the genre to emerge from the East Coast along with Overkill, Whiplash, ...

, ex- Anthrax) announced that he will be retiring from being a full-time musician on October 18, which will be his 50th birthday. He also announced that Brutal Truth will split up. * On January 13, Testament announced the departure of bassist Greg Christian, and Steve DiGiorgio (who was part of the band from 1998 to 2004) as his replacement. * On January 16, In Mourning announced that they have parted ways with drummer Christian Netzell. And on April 2, they introduced Mattias Bender as their new drummer. * On January 26,

Black Sabbath Black Sabbath were an English rock music, rock band formed in Birmingham in 1968 by guitarist Tony Iommi, drummer Bill Ward (musician), Bill Ward, bassist Geezer Butler and vocalist Ozzy Osbourne. They are often cited as pioneers of heavy met ...

's " God Is Dead?" won this year's

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards (stylized as GRAMMY), or simply known as the Grammys, are awards presented by the Recording Academy of the United States to recognize "outstanding" achievements in the music industry. They are regarded by many as the most pr ...

for

Best Metal Performance The Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards to recording artists for works (songs or albums) containing quality performances in the heavy metal music genre. The Grammy Awards is an annual ceremony, where ...

. This was their first Grammy Award in 14 years, since their live version of " Iron Man" won the same category. * On February 6, The Ronnie James Dio Stand Up and Shout Cancer Fund announced ''This is Your Life'', a tribute album to celebrate the life and legacy of Ronnie James Dio. Covers of his songs from

Rainbow A rainbow is a meteorological phenomenon that is caused by reflection, refraction and dispersion of light in water droplets resulting in a spectrum of light appearing in the sky. It takes the form of a multicoloured circular arc. Rainbows c ...

and Dio will be performed by various artists: Metallica,

Motörhead Motörhead () were an English rock band formed in London in 1975 by Lemmy (lead vocals, bass), Larry Wallis (guitar) and Lucas Fox (drums). Lemmy was also the primary songwriter and only constant member. The band are often considered a precu ...

, Rob Halford ( Judas Priest, Halford), Anthrax, Corey Taylor ( Slipknot, Stone Sour),

Halestorm Halestorm is an American rock band from Red Lion, Pennsylvania, consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Lzzy Hale, her drummer brother Arejay Hale, guitarist Joe Hottinger, and bassist Josh Smith. The group's self-titled debut album was ...

Killswitch Engage Killswitch Engage is an American metalcore band from Westfield, Massachusetts, formed in 1999 after the disbanding of Overcast and Aftershock. Killswitch Engage's current lineup consists of vocalist Jesse Leach, guitarists Joel Stroetzel an ...

and many more. * On February 12, Marky Edelmann (a.k.a. Marquis Marky) announced plans to leave Coroner at the end of February. * On February 14, Lacuna Coil announced via their Facebook page that their guitarist Cristiano 'Pizza' Migliore and drummer Cristiano 'Criz' Mozzati have decided to retire from the band after 16 years citing personal reasons. * On February 21, Per ‘Sodomizer’ Eriksson announced his departure from

Katatonia Katatonia are a Swedish heavy metal band formed in Stockholm in 1991 by Jonas Renkse and Anders Nyström. The band started as a studio-only project for the duo, as an outlet for the band's love of death metal. Increasing popularity led them ...

and will be temporarily replaced by Bruce Soord (

The Pineapple Thief The Pineapple Thief are a British progressive rock band, started by Bruce Soord in 1999 in Somerset, England. History Early years Founder Bruce Soord started The Pineapple Thief as an outlet for his music back in 1999. Soord released the ...

, Wisdom of Crowds) and Tomas Åkvik (Nale) respectively. * On February 24, Guitarist John Ricci announced his departure from Exciter due to his decision to retire from the music industry, and, on April 4, it was announced that bassist Rob "Clammy" Cohen will also part ways with the band due to both personal and business issues. * On March 17, it was announced that

Angela Gossow Angela Nathalie Gossow (born 5 November 1974) is a German vocalist, best known as the former lead singer for the Swedish melodic death metal band Arch Enemy. Her other previous bands include Asmodina and Mistress. Early life Angela Gossow was ...

has left

Arch Enemy Arch Enemy is a Swedish melodic death metal band, originally a supergroup from Halmstad, formed in 1995. Its members were in bands such as Carcass, Armageddon, Carnage, Mercyful Fate, Spiritual Beggars, The Agonist, Nevermore, and Eucharis ...

but would remain as the band's manager. She is replaced by Alissa White-Gluz, former vocalist of

The Agonist The Agonist is a Canadian melodic death metal band from Montreal, Quebec, formed in 2004. The current line up consists of lead guitarist Danny Marino, bassist Chris Kells, drummer Simon Mckay, rhythm guitarist Pascal "Paco" Jobin and lead voca ...

. On the same day, The Agonist have announced they have parted ways with Alissa and that Vicky Psarakis had taken over as their new vocalist. * On March 31, Equilibrium announced that Andreas Völkl and Sandra Van Eldik, the founding members of their band, were leaving the band for unspecified reasons. * On April 17, Daniel Liljekvist quit

, and was temporarily replaced by JP Asplund and Daniel Moilanen (ex- Engel) respectively. * On April 25–26,

Jag Panzer Jag Panzer is an American power metal band from Colorado Springs, Colorado. History Jag Panzer came together in late 1981, being inspired by the onslaught of the new wave of British heavy metal. The original line-up consisted of Harry Conkl ...

reunited for this year's edition of Keep It True Festival in Germany. * On May 16,

As I Lay Dying ''As I Lay Dying'' is a 1930 Southern Gothic novel by American author William Faulkner. Faulkner's fifth novel, it is consistently ranked among the best novels of 20th-century literature.The New Lifetime Reading Plan: The Classical Guide to Wor ...

and Austrian Death Machine frontman

Tim Lambesis Timothy Peter Lambesis (born November 21, 1980) is an American musician and producer, best known as the founding member and lead vocalist of American metalcore band As I Lay Dying. He also had a solo/side thrash metal project in tribute to ac ...

was sentenced to six years in prison with a 48 days credit for custody already served for his role in a murder-for-hire plot to kill his wife. * On June 8, Exodus announced the departure of their singer

Rob Dukes Robert Dukes (born March 8, 1968) is an American vocalist, best known as the former lead singer for the thrash metal band Exodus and current vocalist for his crossover thrash project Generation Kill. Early life Dukes was born in Florida on M ...

. On the same day, they announced their reunion with Steve "Zetro" Souza, who was the singer of Exodus from 1986 to 1992, and again from 2002 to 2004. * On July 10, Voivod announced the departure of bassist Jean-Yves "Blacky" Thériault for the second time. * On August 19, Phil Anselmo announced that

Superjoint Ritual Superjoint, formerly known as Superjoint Ritual, was an American heavy metal band. History The band was formed by Phil Anselmo, Joe Fazzio, and Jimmy Bower in the early 1990s, later to be joined by Hank Williams III and Kevin Bond. They were ...

would reunite for this year's Housecore Horror Film Festival under the name Superjoint. * On November 17,

announced the departure of guitarist Nick Cordle and announced former

Nevermore Nevermore was an American heavy metal band from Seattle, Washington, formed in 1991. The band has been inactive since 2011, due to personal issues between the band members. In April 2015, lead singer Warrel Dane confirmed that Nevermore had n ...

guitarist

Jeff Loomis Jeff Loomis (born September 14, 1971) is an American musician, best known for his role as lead guitarist in the progressive metal band Nevermore during its existence from 1991 to 2011, as well as brief tenures in its precursor, Sanctuary. In ...

as his replacement. * On November 25, drummer Shawn Drover announced his departure from Megadeth citing a desire to pursue his own musical interests. * On November 26, guitarist

Chris Broderick Christopher Alan Broderick (born March 6, 1970) is an American musician, best known as a former guitarist of the heavy metal band Megadeth. He is also formerly the lead guitarist and keyboardist for Jag Panzer, appearing on four of Jag Panzer' ...

announced his departure from Megadeth due to musical differences. * On November 26, drummer Kelly David-Smith announced his departure from

Flotsam and Jetsam In maritime law, flotsam'','' jetsam'','' lagan'','' and derelict are specific kinds of shipwreck. The words have specific nautical meanings, with legal consequences in the law of admiralty and marine salvage. A shipwreck is defined as the r ...

to focus on his family. * On December 28, guitarist

Herman Frank Herman Frank (born 20 January 1959) is a German heavy metal guitarist best known for his work with Accept and Victory. In 2009, he released his first solo album called ''Loyal to None''. Frank has also recorded with Hazzard, Sinner, Moon'Do ...

announced his second departure from Accept. Later that day, Accept announced that drummer

Stefan Schwarzmann Stefan Schwarzmann (born 11 November 1965Larkin, Colin (2006). ''The Encyclopedia of Popular Music''. Oxford University Press. p. 189. .) is a German drummer who has recorded for Accept,Montgomery, James et al (2005)"Metal File: Korn, Motorhead, ...

also left the band. * In 2014, Mötley Crüe announced that they will embark on a farewell tour. However, according to singer Vince Neil, the band will not split up. * In 2014,

Vixen Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush''). Twelve sp ...

's surviving members resurrected the band in honor of the fallen Jan Kuehnemund, guitarist and founder of the band. They will perform at select festivals and showcase dates.

Deaths

* March 23 –

Dave Brockie David Murray Brockie (August 30, 1963 – March 23, 2014) was a Canadian-American musician, who was the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Gwar, in which he performed as Oderus Urungus. He performed as a bassist and lead singer in the b ...

(a.k.a. Oderus Urungus), vocalist of

GWAR Gwar, often stylized as GWAR, is an American heavy metal band formed in Richmond, Virginia in 1984, composed of and operated by a frequently rotating line-up of musicians, artists and filmmakers collectively known as Slave Pit Inc. After th ...

, died from accidental

opioid overdose An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to respiratory depression, a lethal condition that ca ...

at the age of 50. * March 24 –

Paulo Schroeber Paulo Schroeber (August 18, 1973 – March 24, 2014) was a Brazilian guitarist, most known for his work with Almah. He was also in the bands Astafix, Hammer 67, Burning in Hell and Fear Ritual. Early years Paulo was born in Caxias do Sul, Braz ...

, former guitarist of

Almah ''Almah'' ( ''‘almā'', plural: ''‘ălāmōṯ''), from a root implying the vigour of puberty, is a Hebrew word meaning a young woman ripe for marriage; despite its importance to the account of the virgin birth of Jesus in the Gospel of Ma ...

, died from heart failure at the age of 40. * April 5 – Jason McCash, former bassist of

The Gates of Slumber The Gates of Slumber is an American doom metal band from Indianapolis, Indiana. The group is better known in Germany and England than in their native United States.Shane Gibson, former touring guitarist of

KoЯn Korn (stylized as KoЯn, or occasionally KoRn) is an American nu metal band from Bakersfield, California, formed in 1993. The band is notable for pioneering the nu metal genre and bringing it into the mainstream. Originally formed in 1993 by ...

, died from result of complications from a blood clotting disorder at the age of 35. * May 11 -

Ed Gagliardi Edward John Gagliardi (February 13, 1952 – May 11, 2014) was an American bass guitarist, best known as the original bass player for the 1970s rock band Foreigner. He was a member of Foreigner from the beginning in 1976. Gagliardi, most notably ...

, former bassist of Foreigner, died from cancer at the age of 62. * May 12 –

H. R. Giger Hans Ruedi Giger ( ; ; 5 February 1940 – 12 May 2014) was a Swiss artist best known for his airbrushed images that blended human physiques with machines, an art style known as " biomechanical". Giger later abandoned airbrush for pastels, mark ...

, Swiss artist who provided artwork for numerous rock and metal bands such as

, Celtic Frost,

Emerson, Lake & Palmer Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Dead Kennedys' lyrics were usually political in nature, satirizing p ...

, Danzig and

Atrocity Atrocity or ''Atrocities'' or ''Atrocious'' may refer to: * Atrocity (band), a German metal band * ''Atrocities'' (album), the fourth album by Christian Death * Mass atrocity crimes, international crimes of genocide, war crimes, and crimes agains ...

, died after being hospitalized for injuries sustained after he tripped and fell down stairs in his home at the age of 74. * May 13 – Akihiro Yokoyama, bassist of

United United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 49. * May 20 – Randy Coven, bassist for

Ark Ark or ARK may refer to: Biblical narratives and religion Hebrew word ''teva'' * Noah's Ark, a massive vessel said to have been built to save the world's animals from a flood * Ark of bulrushes, the boat of the infant Moses Hebrew ''aron'' * ...

Steve Vai Steven Siro Vai (; born June 6, 1960) is an American guitarist, composer, songwriter, and producer. A three-time Grammy Award winner and fifteen-time nominee, Vai started his music career in 1978 at the age of eighteen as a transcriptionist f ...

and

Yngwie Malmsteen Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...

, died from arrest cardiac at the age of 55. * June 1 – Victor Agnello, former drummer of

Lȧȧz Rockit Lȧȧz Rockit was an American thrash metal band formed in San Francisco, California, in 1981. They are most notable for their association with the Bay Area thrash metal scene of the 1980s, and they are considered to be one of the scene's so ca ...

died of

leukemia Leukemia ( also spelled leukaemia and pronounced ) is a group of blood cancers that usually begin in the bone marrow and result in high numbers of abnormal blood cells. These blood cells are not fully developed and are called ''blasts'' or ...

at the age of 50. * June 4 –

Doc Neeson Bernard Patrick "Doc" Neeson OAM (4 January 1947 – 4 June 2014) was an Australian singer-songwriter and musician. He was the front man for the hard rock band The Angels from its formation in February 1976 through to 1999. The band then split ...

, former vocalist and bassist of The Angels, died from a brain tumor at the age of 67. * July 30 –

Fausto Fanti Fausto Fanti Jasmin (October 20, 1978 – July 30, 2014) was a Brazilian actor, humorist and musician. He was one of the founding members of the comedy troupe Hermes & Renato and the original guitarist of parodic heavy metal band Massacration u ...

(a.k.a. Blondie Hammett) former guitarist and humorist of

Massacration Massacration is a fictional American heavy metal band created by Brazilian humorists and musicians Bruno Sutter (as vocalist Detonator), Fausto Fanti (as lead guitarist Blondie Hammett), Marco Antônio Alves (as bassist Metal Avenger), Adriano ...

, died from committing suicide due to depression at the age of 35. * July 30 –

Dick Wagner Richard Allen Wagner (December 14, 1942 – July 30, 2014) was an American rock guitarist, songwriter and author best known for his work with Alice Cooper, Lou Reed, and Kiss. He also fronted his own Michigan-based bands, the Frost and the Bo ...

, former guitarist for

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guillot ...

, died from respiratory failure at the age of 71. * August 10 – Maria Kolokouri (a.k.a. Tristessa), vocalist of all-female band

Astarte Astarte (; , ) is the Hellenized form of the Ancient Near Eastern goddess Ashtart or Athtart ( Northwest Semitic), a deity closely related to Ishtar ( East Semitic), who was worshipped from the Bronze Age through classical antiquity. The name ...

, died from complications from

at the age of 37. * August 27 – Tim Williams (a.k.a. Rawbiz), bassist of

Suicidal Tendencies Suicidal Tendencies is an American crossover thrash band formed in 1980 in Venice in Los Angeles, California by vocalist Mike Muir. Muir is the only remaining original member of the band. Along with D.R.I., Corrosion of Conformity, and Stor ...

, died from seizure at the age of 31. * October 25 –

Jack Bruce John Symon Asher Bruce (14 May 1943 – 25 October 2014) was a Scottish bassist, singer-songwriter, musician and composer. He gained popularity as the primary lead vocalist and ‍bassist ‍of British rock band Cream. After the group disband ...

, bassist of

Cream Cream is a dairy product composed of the higher-fat layer skimmed from the top of milk before homogenization. In un-homogenized milk, the fat, which is less dense, eventually rises to the top. In the industrial production of cream, this process ...

, died from peacefully at home at the age of 71. * November 1 –

Wayne Static Wayne Richard Wells (November 4, 1965 – November 1, 2014), known professionally as Wayne Static, was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, guitarist, keyboardist, and primary lyricist for metal band Static-X. He released his ...

, vocalist and guitarist of Static-X, died from combined drug intoxication at the age of 48. * November 9 – Jonathan Athon, bassist and vocalist of Black Tusk, died due to injuries sustained from a motorcycle accident at the age of 32. * November 19 - Riff West, former bassist of

Molly Hatchet Molly Hatchet is an American rock band formed in 1971 by guitarist Dave Hlubek in Jacksonville, Florida. They were a popular band during the late 1970s and early-to-mid 1980s among the southern rock and hard rock communities. The band released ...

, died from lengthy illness caused by severe injuries suffered in a car accident at the age of 64.

Albums released

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

References

External links

Top metal albums of 2014
at

Rate Your Music Rate Your Music (often abbreviated to RYM) is an online collaborative database of music releases and films. Users can catalog items from their personal collection, review them, and assign ratings in a five-star rating system. The site also fea ...

{{Heavymetal 2010s in heavy metal music

Metal A metal (from Greek μέταλλον ''métallon'', "mine, quarry, metal") is a material that, when freshly prepared, polished, or fractured, shows a lustrous appearance, and conducts electricity and heat relatively well. Metals are typicall ...