1983 in heavy metal music

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

Newly formed bands

• Alcatrazz
• Atrocity
• Autograph
• Bathory
• Bon Jovi
• Death
• Excel (known as Chaotic Noise until 1985)
• Fastway
• Fates Warning
• Hagar Schon Aaronson Shrieve
• Helloween
• Keel
• Living Colour
• Lizzy Borden
• Master
• Mayhem
• Megadeth
• Morbid Angel
• Onslaught
• Poison
• Possessed
• Rigor Mortis
• Sabbat
• Sacrifice
• Stryper
• Testament (known as Legacy until 1986)
• Tokyo Blade
• Vader
• White Lion

Albums & EPs

• AC/DC – Flick of the Switch
• Accept – Balls to the Wall
• Acid – Maniac
• Alcatrazz – No Parole from Rock N' Roll
• Alice Cooper – DaDa
• Alien – Cosmic Fantasy EP
• Anvil – Forged in Fire
• Armored Saint – Armored Saint EP
• Baron Rojo – Metalmorfosis
• Battleaxe – Burn This Town
• Bitch – Be My Slave
• Blackfoot – Siogo
• Black Sabbath – Born Again
• Blue Öyster Cult – The Revölution by Night
• Bodine – Three Times Running
• Chateaux – Chained and Desperate
• Coney Hatch – Outta Hand
• Culprit – Guilty As Charged
• Cutty Sark – Hardrock Power EP
• Dedringer – Second Arising
• Def Leppard – Pyromania
• Demon – The Plague
• Diamond Head – Canterbury
• Dio – Holy Diver
• Dokken – Breaking the Chains
• Earthshaker – Earthshaker
• Europe – Europe
• Exciter – Heavy Metal Maniac
• Fastway – Fastway
• Fist (Can) – In the Red
• Lita Ford – Out for Blood
• Girlschool – Play Dirty
• Great White – Out of the Night
• Grim Reaper – See You In Hell
• HSAS – Through the Fire
• Hanoi Rocks – Back to Mystery City
• Hawaii – One Nation Underground
• H-Bomb – Coup de Metal EP
• Headpins – Line of Fire
• Heavy Load – Stronger Than Evil
• Hellanbach – Now Hear This
• High Power – High Power
• Highway Chile – Storybook Heroes; Fever EP
• Helix – No Rest for the Wicked
• Hellion – Hellion EP
• Holocaust – Live (Hot Curry & Wine)
• Iron Maiden – Piece of Mind
• Jag Panzer – Tyrants EP
• Joshua – The Hand is Quicker than the Eye EP
• Killer Dwarfs – Killer Dwarfs
• KISS – Lick It Up
• Kix – Cool Kids
• Krokus – Headhunter
• Lady Killer – Lady Killer
• Leather Angel – We Came To Kill EP
• Le Griffe – Fast Bikes EP
• Le Mans – On the Streets
• Loudness – The Law of Devil's Land
• Loudness – Live-Loud-Alive: Loudness in Tokyo
• Magnum – The Eleventh Hour
• Mama's Boys – Turn It Up
• Manilla Road – Crystal Logic
• Manowar – Into Glory Ride
• Mindless Sinner – Master of Evil EP
• Max Havoc – Max Havoc
• Mercyful Fate – Melissa
• Metallica – Kill 'Em All
• Molly Hatchet – No Guts...No Glory
• Gary Moore – Dirty Fingers
• Gary Moore – Victims of the Future

• Gary Moore – Rockin' Every Night – Live in Japan
• Gary Moore – Live at the Marquee
• Mötley Crüe – Shout at the Devil
• Motörhead – Another Perfect Day
• MSG – Built to Destroy
• Night Ranger – Midnight Madness
• No Bros – Our Own Way
• Aldo Nova – Subject
• Ostrogoth – Full Moon's Eyes EP
• Overdrive – Metal Attack
• Oz – Fire in the Brain
• Ozzy Osbourne – Bark at the Moon
• Pandemonium – Heavy Metal Soldiers
• Pantera – Metal Magic
• Picture – Eternal Dark
• Pretty Maids – Pretty Maids EP
• Quartz – Against All Odds
• Queensrÿche – Queensrÿche EP
• Quiet Riot – Metal Health
• Rage (UK) – Run for the Night
• Ratt – Ratt EP
• Riff Raff – Give the Dead Man Some Water
• Riot – Born in America
• Rock Goddess – Rock Goddess; Hell Hath No Fury
• The Rods – In The Raw; Live
• Satan – Court in the Act
• Satan Jokers – Les Fils du Métal
• Savage – Loose 'N Lethal
• Savage Grace – The Dominatress EP
• Savatage – Sirens
• Saxon – Power & the Glory
• Shy – Once Bitten... Twice...
• Silver Mountain – Shakin' Brains
• Sinner – Fast Decision
• Six Feet Under (Swe) – Six Feet Under
• Slayer – Prepare to Die EP
• Slayer – Show No Mercy
• Sledgehammer – Blood On Their Hands
• Sortilège – Sortilège EP
• Sound Barrier – Total Control
• Spartan Warrior – Steel n' Chains
• Stampede – Hurricane Town
• Starfighters – In-Flight Movie
• Steeler – Steeler
• Suicidal Tendencies – Suicidal Tendencies
• Takashi – Kamikaze Killers EP
• Talas – Live Speed On Ice
• Thin Lizzy – Thunder and Lightning
• Tokyo Blade – Tokyo Blade
• Torch – Torch
• Trance – Power Infusion
• Triumph – Never Surrender
• Twisted Sister – You Can't Stop Rock 'n' Roll
• 220 Volt – 220 Volt
• UFO – Making Contact
• Vanadium – A Race with the Devil
• Vandenberg – Heading for a Storm
• Vardis – The Lion's Share
• Victim – Power Hungry
• Virgin Steele – Guardians of the Flame; Wait for the Night EP
• Vixen – Made In Hawaii EP
• Warlord – Deliver Us EP
• Warriors – Warriors
• Wild Dogs – Wild Dogs
• Wildfire – Brute Force and Ignorance
• Witchfinder General – Friends of Hell
• Xcursion – Xcursion EP
• Y&T – Mean Streak
• Zebra – Zebra

Events

• Yngwie Malmsteen started performing in the band Steeler. Also in that band was vocalist Ron Keel (later on Keel) and former W.A.S.P. bassist Rik Fox. The band produced 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 metal band Megadeth.
• KISS ended the use of makeup in their act.
• November 19: the single by Quiet Riot "Cum on Feel the Noize" is No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100.
• April 17: Mountain bassist, and Cream producer, Felix Pappalardi was shot and killed by his wife Gail Collins Pappalardi.
• Metallica and Slayer releases their Debuts : Kill Em´All and Show No Mercy.

References

Preceded by 1982

Heavy Metal Timeline 1983

Succeeded by 1984