1976 in heavy metal music
| By location |
|---|
| By genre |
| By topic |
| List of years in heavy metal music |
|---|
| (table) |
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
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 14 | Grand Funk Railroad | Born to Die |
| 30 | Bad Company | Run with the Pack |
| Black Sabbath | We Sold Our Soul for Rock 'n' Roll[2] | |
| Golden Earring | To the Hilt |
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
| Day | Artist | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 15 | Van der Graaf Generator | Still Life |
| 23 | Budgie | If I Were Britannia I'd Waive the Rules |
| Jethro Tull | Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll: Too Young to Die! | |
| Ramones | Ramones | |
| 29 | Krokus | Krokus |
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] |
| UFO | No Heavy Petting[12] | |
| Uriah Heep | High and Mighty |
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) |
References
- ^ "Diamond Head Bio". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-05-08.
- ^ "January LP Guide" (PDF). Music Week. 10 January 1976. p. 20. Retrieved 25 October 2022.
- ^ "Destroyer". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "Sad Wings of Destiny". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "Jailbreak". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "Presence". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "Mercury Releases Two," Record World, March 20, 1976, p. 61.
- ^ "Rocks". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "High Voltage". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ Popoff, Martin (2020). Sensitive to Light (second ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 305. ISBN 978-1-912782-40-6.
- ^ "Agents of Fortune". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "No Heavy Petting". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "Alice Cooper Goes to Hell". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ All time top HM albums
- ^ "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "Free-for-All". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "BPI certifications".
- ^ "Johnny the Fox". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "Rock and Roll Over". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "Virgin Killer". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
- ^ "A Day at the Races". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
