1976 in heavy metal music
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1976.
Bands formed
- Accept
- Angel Witch (as Lucifer)
- Black Flag
- Bronz
- Chrome
- Citron
- Crys
- Diamond Head[1]
- Ethel the Frog
- Foreigner
- Heavy Load
- Kick Axe
- Līvi
- Marseille
- McCoy
- Mentors
- The Obsessed
- Paice Ashton Lord
- Pat Travers
- Ratt
- Rose Tattoo
- Running Wild (as Granite Hearts)
- Sorcery
- Spider
- Sister
- The Clash
- The Godz
- Thor
- "Weird Al" Yankovic
- Zoetrope
Bands disbanded
- Deep Purple (reformed in 1984)
- New York Dolls (reformed in 2004)
- Steppenwolf (reformed in 1980)
Events
- "Fast" Eddie Clarke became the second guitarist for Motörhead. Shortly after his arrival, the original guitarist Larry Wallis departed, returning the band to a trio, which is now recognized as the "classic line-up".
- Uriah Heep parted ways with their original vocalist, David Byron, due to his struggles with heavy drinking.
- Guitarist Dave Murray joined Iron Maiden.
Deaths
- December 4 – Thomas Richard "Tommy" Bolin, former guitarist of Zephyr, James Gang, and Deep Purple, died from an overdose of heroin and other substances, including alcohol, cocaine and barbiturates at the age of 25.
Albums
January
February
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Lynyrd Skynyrd | Gimme Back My Bullets |
| 7 | James Gang | Jesse Come Home |
| 16 | Sweet | Give Us a Wink |
March
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | WIshbone Ash | Locked In |
| 15 | Kiss | Destroyer[3] |
| 26 | Judas Priest | Sad Wings of Destiny[4] |
| Thin Lizzy | Jailbreak[5] | |
| 28 | Nazareth | Close Enough for Rock 'n' Roll |
| 31 | Led Zeppelin | Presence[6] |
| Buffalo | Mother's Choice | |
| Rush | 2112[7] |
April
May
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Aerosmith | Rocks[8] |
| 14 | AC/DC | High Voltage (international version)[9] |
| 17 | Rainbow | Rising[10] |
| 21 | Blue Öyster Cult | Agents of Fortune[11] |
| Uriah Heep | High and Mighty | |
| UFO | No Heavy Petting[12] |
June
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | Alice Cooper | Alice Cooper Goes to Hell[13] |
August
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Grand Funk Railroad | Good Singin', Good Playin' |
| 25 | Boston | Boston[14] |
| 27 | Hawkwind | Astounding Sounds, Amazing Music |
| Taste | Tickle Your Fancy |
September
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 20 | AC/DC | Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap[15] |
| 29 | Rush | All the World's a Stage |
| Montrose | Jump on It | |
| Ted Nugent | Free-for-All[16] |
October
November
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Kiss | Rock and Roll Over[19] |
| 13 | Nazareth | Play 'n' the Game |
| 22 | Scorpions | Virgin Killer[20] |
| Deep Purple | Made in Europe (live album) |
December
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Queen | A Day at the Races[21] |
| Bow Wow | 吼えろ! バウワウ (Hoero! Bow Wow) |