# 2004 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2004.

## Newly formed bands

* A Dozen Furies
* A Hero A Fake
* Abigail Williams
* Adept
* After The Burial
* Age of Silence
* The Agonist (as The Tempest)
* Ahab
* Alestorm
* Alter Bridge
* Amaseffer
* Amesoeurs
* Architects
* Art of Dying
* Baptized In Blood
* Be'lakor
* Beneath The Massacre
* Beneath the Sky
* Big Business
* Binary Code
* Black Tide
* Black Mountain
* Blackthorn
* Blood Tsunami
* Bloodbound
* Bring Me the Horizon
* Catalepsy
* Celestiial
* Cellador
* Chrome Division
* Claim the Throne
* Coldseed
* Cor Scorpii
* Dark Empire
* Dead Congregation
* Devil Sold His Soul
* Enforcer
* Escape the Fate
* The Faceless
* Finsterforst
* Genghis Tron
* Gnaw Their Tongues
* Havok
* The Human Abstract
* Intronaut
* Kayser
* Lich King
* Massacration
* myGRAIN
* Royal Thunder
* Russian Circles
* Savage Circus
* Saving Abel
* Scale the Summit
* Scar Symmetry
* Skiltron
* Sturm und Drang
* To-Mera
* Torche
* Tribulation
* Triosphere
* Veil of Maya
* Vreid
* Warbringer
* Wolfmother

## Reformed bands

* Extreme (for a few shows)
* Glyder
* Megadeth
* Mötley Crüe

## Albums

* 3 Inches of Blood – Advance and Vanquish
* 36 Crazyfists – A Snow Capped Romance
* The Acacia Strain – 3750
* Aerosmith – Honkin' on Bobo
* After Forever – Invisible Circles
* Age of Silence – Acceleration
* Alabama Thunderpussy – Fulton Hill
* All That Remains – This Darkened Heart
* Alter Bridge – One Day Remains
* Amon Amarth – Fate of Norns
* Angra – Temple of Shadows
* Annihilator – All for You
* Anvil – Back to Basics
* Atreyu – The Curse
* Ayreon – The Human Equation
* Behemoth – Demigod
* Beseech – Drama
* Black Label Society – Hangover Music Vol. VI
* Bon Jovi – 100,000,000 Bon Jovi Fans Can't Be Wrong (box set)
* Breaking Benjamin – We Are Not Alone
* Cannibal Corpse – The Wretched Spawn
* The Chariot – Everything Is Alive, Everything Is Breathing, Nothing Is Dead, and Nothing Is Bleeding
* Chevelle – This Type of Thinking (Could Do Us In)
* Cradle of Filth – Nymphetamine
* Damageplan – New Found Power
* Danzig – Circle of Snakes
* Dead Poetic - New Medicines
* Decapitated – The Negation
* Def Leppard – Best of Def Leppard (compilation)
* Deicide – Scars of the Crucifix
* Demon Hunter – Summer of Darkness
* The Dillinger Escape Plan – Miss Machine
* Dio – Master of the Moon
* Dokken – Hell to Pay
* Downset. – Universal
* DragonForce – Sonic Firestorm
* Dream Evil – The Book of Heavy Metal
* Dream Theater – Live at Budokan (live)
* Drowning Pool – Desensitized
* Edguy – Hellfire Club
* Electric Wizard – We Live
* Elis – Dark Clouds in a Perfect Sky
* Enslaved – Isa
* Exodus – Tempo of the Damned
* Fall of the Leafe – Volvere
* Fates Warning – FWX
* Fear Factory – Archetype
* Finntroll – Nattfödd
* God Forbid – Gone Forever
* Grip Inc. – Incorporated
* Gwar – War Party
* Haste the Day - Burning Bridges (Haste the Day album)
* Heaven Shall Burn – Antigone
* Helmet – Size Matters
* Helmet – Unsung: The Best of Helmet (1991–1997) (compilation)
* Hirax – The New Age of Terror
* Hypocrisy – The Arrival
* Iced Earth – The Glorious Burden
* In Flames – Soundtrack to Your Escape
* Isis – Panopticon
* Jag Panzer – Casting the Stones
* Killswitch Engage – The End of Heartache
* Kittie – Until the End
* Kill the Noize – Play with the Devil
* Kronos – Colossal Titan Strife
* Lamb of God – Ashes of the Wake
* Lordi – The Monsterican Dream
* Leaves Eyes – Lovelorn
* Marilyn Manson – Lest We Forget: The Best Of (compilation)
* Marduk – Plague Angel
* Mastodon – Leviathan
* Mayhem – Chimera
* Megadeth – The System Has Failed
* Mercenary – 11 Dreams
* Meshuggah – I
* Metal Church – The Weight of the World
* Metalium – As One – Chapter Four
* Ministry – Houses of the Molé
* Misanthrope – Misanthro-Thérapie (15 Années d'Analyse) (compilation)
* Mnemic – The Audio Injected Soul
* Monster Magnet – Monolithic Baby!
* Motörhead – Inferno
* My Dying Bride – Songs of Darkness, Words of Light
* Necrophagist – Epitaph
* Neurosis – The Eye of Every Storm
* Nightwish – Once
* No-Big-Silence – Kuidas kuningas kuu peale kippus
* Oomph! – Wahrheit oder Pflicht
* Orange Goblin – Thieving from the House of God
* Otep – House of Secrets
* Papa Roach – Getting Away with Murder
* Pentagram – Show 'Em How
* Pig Destroyer – Painter of Dead Girls (compilation)
* Pig Destroyer – Terrifyer
* Power Quest – Neverworld
* Primal Fear – Devil's Ground
* Pro-Pain – Fistful of Hate
* Probot – Probot
* Rammstein – Reise, Reise
* Raunchy – Confusion Bay
* Rhapsody – Symphony of Enchanted Lands II – The Dark Secret
* Rotting Christ – Sanctus Diavolos
* Saxon – Lionheart
* Senses Fail – Let It Enfold You
* Scarve – Irradiant
* Scorpions – Unbreakable
* Shadows Fall – The War Within
* Slipknot – Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)
* Sonata Arctica – Reckoning Night
* Soulfly – Prophecy
* Static-X – Beneath... Between... Beyond... (compilation)
* Stryper – 7 Weeks: Live in America, 2003 (live)
* Suffocation – Souls to Deny
* Terror – One with the Underdogs
* The Crest – Vain City Chronicles
* The Haunted – Revolver
* Therion – Lemuria
* Therion – Sirius B
* U.D.O. – Thunderball
* Underoath – They're Only Chasing Safety
* Unearth – The Oncoming Storm
* Vader – The Beast
* Van Halen – The Best of Both Worlds (compilation)
* Velvet Revolver – Contraband
* Vintersorg – The Focusing Blur
* Visions of Atlantis – Cast Away
* WarCry – Alea Jacta Est
* Winds – The Imaginary Direction of Time
* Wintersun – Wintersun
* Within Temptation – The Silent Force
* Xandria – Ravenheart

## Bands disbanded

* Bathory
* Creed
* Damageplan
* Nothingface (reformed in 2005)
* Prayer for Cleansing
* SugarComa
* Windir

## Events

* Brian "Head" Welch announced his departure from Korn after converting to Christianity.
* Bassist Tim Gaines announced his departure from Stryper after 10 complete years. He was replaced by Tracy Ferrie.
* Jason Jones was announced as Drowning Pool's new lead singer and joined them on the album Desensitized.
* Supergroup Velvet Revolver releases their debut album Contraband which debuts at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and goes double platinum.
* After an eight-year hiatus, Extreme briefly returns for a short tour and a few concerts in Japan.
* Van Halen reunites with Sammy Hagar for a summer tour.
* Anal Cunt vocalist Seth Putnam slips into a coma after consuming a large amount of drugs.
* Aerosmith returns to a raw hard rock sound with their blues cover album Honkin' on Bobo
* Terry Balsamo leaves Cold and joins Evanescence as their new guitarist.
* Guitarist Lisa Marx joins Kittie as a session member, replacing Jeff Phillips.
* Maniac leaves Mayhem and is replaced by the band's former singer, Attila Csihar.
* Dave Mustaine reforms Megadeth with 3 session musicians, former and original Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland, bassist Jimmie Lee Sloas and drummer Vinnie Colaiuta to record The System Has Failed, then tour the album with full-time members Glen Drover on guitar, James MacDonough on bass and Shawn Drover on drums.
* Ex-Judas Priest drummer Dave Holland is sentenced to eight years in prison for attempted rape against a then 17-year-old boy.

## Deaths

* January 14 – Terje "Valfar" Bakken, founder, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of Windir, died from hypothermia after being caught in a snow storm. He was 25.
* June 3 – Thomas Börje "Quorthon" Forsberg, founder, vocalist and multi-instrumentalist of Bathory, died from heart failure at the age of 38.
* August 17 – Dennis "D-Roc" Miles, guitarist of Body Count, died from lymphoma complications at the age of 44.
* October 20 – Flowing Tears founding members, former drummer Cristian Zimmer and former guitarist Björn Lorson, died in a car accident.
* December 8 – "Dimebag" Darrell Lance Abbott, founding member and former guitarist of Pantera and guitarist of Damageplan, was killed on stage, along with three other people, while performing with Damageplan at a nightclub in Ohio. He was 38.
* December 26 – Mieszko Andrzej Talarczyk, vocalist and guitarist of Nasum, died in the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake at the age of 30. His body was identified on February 16, 2005.
* Piero "Sanctis Ghoram" Gori, former Death SS vocalist, died from cancer.
| Preceded by2003 | Heavy Metal Timeline 2004 | Succeeded by2005 |