1982 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1982.

Newly formed bands

• Artillery
• Armored Saint
• Carnivore
• Corrosion of Conformity (not originally a metal band)
• Death Angel
• Destruction
• Dio
• Dirty Rotten Imbeciles
• Kreator
• Napalm Death
• Possessed
• Spinal Tap
• Steve Vai
• Suicidal Tendencies (not originally as a metal band)
• Voivod
• W.A.S.P.
• Warlock
• Warriors
• Watchtower
• X (later known as X Japan)

Albums

• Lee Aaron - The Lee Aaron Project
• Accept - Restless and Wild
• Aerosmith - Rock in a Hard Place
• Alice Cooper - Zipper Catches Skin
• Anvil - Metal on Metal
• Billy Idol - Billy Idol
• Blackfoot - Highway Song Live
• Black Sabbath - Live Evil
• Budgie - Deliver Us From Evil
• Cloven Hoof - The Opening Ritual (EP)
• Coney Hatch - Coney Hatch
• Demon - The Unexpected Guest
• Diamond Head - Borrowed Time
• Fist - Back With A Vengeance
• Fortnox - Fortnox
• Gamma - Gamma 3
• Gaskin - No Way Out
• Gillan - Magic
• Girl - Wasted Youth
• Girlschool - Screaming Blue Murder
• Hanoi Rocks - Oriental Beat
• Headpins - Turn It Loud
• Heritage - Remorse Code
• Hughes/Thrall - Hughes/Thrall
• Iron Maiden - The Number of the Beast
• Judas Priest - Screaming for Vengeance
• Kiss - Creatures of the Night
• Krokus - One Vice at a Time
• Led Zeppelin - Coda (contained unreleased recordings before Bonham's death)
• Loudness - Devil Soldier
• Magnum - Chase the Dragon
• Mama's Boys - Plug It In
• Manowar - Battle Hymns
• Frank Marino - Juggernaut
• Mercyful Fate - Nuns Have No Fun
• Gary Moore - Corridors of Power
• More - Blood & Thunder
• Motörhead - Iron Fist
• Night Ranger - Dawn Patrol
• Aldo Nova - Aldo Nova
• Rainbow - Straight Between the Eyes
• Rapid Tears - Honestly
• Raven - Wiped Out
• Riot - Restless Breed
• Riot - Riot Live EP
• The Rods - Wild Dogs
• Rush - Signals
• Sammy Hagar - Three Lock Box
• Samson - Before the Storm
• Santers - Mayday (EP)
• Santers - Racing Time
• Saxon - The Eagle Has Landed
• Scorpions - Blackout
• Shiva - Firedance
• Sound Barrier - Total Control
• Tank - Filth Hounds of Hades
• 38 Special - Special Forces
• Twisted Sister - Under the Blade
• Tygers Of Pan Tang - The Cage
• UFO - Mechanix
• Van Halen - Diver Down
• Vardis - Quo Vardis
• Vendetta - Vendetta
• Venom - Black Metal
• Virgin Steele - Virgin Steele
• Whitesnake - Saints & Sinners
• Witchfinder General - Death Penalty
• Y&T - Black Tiger

Events

• Iron Maiden's first album with Bruce Dickinson, The Number of the Beast, reaches No.1 in the U.K. music charts.
• Motörhead's Guitarist "Fast" Eddie Clarke leaves the band and is replaced by ex-Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson.
• Judas Priest's single You've Got Another Thing Comin' is released. It will go on to become the band's best selling single.
• Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist Randy Rhoads dies in an airplane accident on March 19.
• Late that year Iron Maiden's drummer Clive Burr is fired from Maiden because of personal and tour-schedule problems and Nicko McBrain from Trust is hired to replace him.
• Ace Frehley, Space Ace and lead guitarist of Kiss, leaves the band. Vinnie Vincent takes his place.
• Queen departs from their hard rock legacy with the ill-received funk/disco album Hot Space
• December: Former Deep Purple vocalist Ian Gillan replaces Ronnie James Dio in Black Sabbath
• The band Metallica leaves Los Angeles and relocates to the San Francisco Bay Area.