2026 in heavy metal music

2026 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2026.

Bands disbanded

2026 in heavy metal music

• The Crown • Exciter • Heavy Heavy Low Low • Sepultura • Svalbard

Bands reformed

2026 in heavy metal music

• Black Tide • Skrape

Events

2026 in heavy metal music

• On February 9, former Manowar guitarist Ross the Boss announced that he was diagnosed with ALS; he died of the disease less than two months later. • On February 26 and 27, Children of Bodom played their first shows in seven years at the Tavastia Club in Helsinki, titled "A Celebration of Music". Both shows were held as a tribute to their original vocalist and guitarist Alexi Laiho, who died in 2020, with Samy Elbanna of Lost Society filling in for him. • On April 22, Triumph will begin their first major tour in 38 years with all three of the original members (Rik Emmett, Mike Levine and Gil Moore) at the GFL Memorial Gardens. • On April 23, Megadeth is scheduled to perform the first show of what has been announced as the band's farewell tour, which is projected to span approximately three to five years. • On June 7, Rush will play their first show in eleven years as part of their "Fifty Something" reunion tour at the Kia Forum. • Sepultura is scheduled to conclude what was announced as a year-long farewell tour, titled "Celebrating Life Through Death". • Iron Maiden is scheduled to conclude their ongoing "Run for Your Lives World Tour" this year. • Twisted Sister had previously announced their first major tour in a decade to mark the band's 50th anniversary, titled "Twisted Forever, Forever Twisted". However, lead singer Dee Snider retired from the band in February after a series of health issues, leading to the tour's cancellation and the band's future unknown. On March 3, it was announced the band would play select shows later in the year with Sebastian Bach (formerly of Skid Row) as the vocalist.

Deaths

2026 in heavy metal music

• January 5 – Michael "M-Bro" Embro, former drummer of Razor, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 63. • January 22 – Francis Buchholz, former bassist of Scorpions and Michael Schenker's Temple of Rock, died from cancer at the age of 71. • January 31 – Jimmy Iversen, former guitarist of Jorn, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 66. • February 8 – Andrzej "Quack" Kułakowski, former guitarist of Hate, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 54. • February 9 – Ernesto Colon, former guitarist of Merauder, died from undisclosed reasons. • February 15 – Mark Sawickis, former guitarist of Impetigo, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 58. • March 13 – Phil Campbell, guitarist of Phil Campbell and the Bastard Sons and former guitarist of Motörhead, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 64. • March 26 – Ross the Boss, former guitarist of Manowar, died from ALS at the age of 72.

Albums expected

January

Day	Artist	Album
2	Paleface Swiss	The Wilted EP (EP)
7	Nanowar of Steel	The Genghis Khan EP to End All Genghis Khan EPs (EP)
9	Alter Bridge	Alter Bridge
Beyond the Black	Break the Silence
Bullet	Kickstarter
For My Pain...	Buried Blue
The Ruins of Beverast	Tempelschlaf
Uuhai	Human Herds
16	Edenbridge	Set the Dark on Fire
The Eternal	Celestial (EP)
Holy Dragons	Guardians of Time – Part I
Kreator	Krushers of the World
My Ruin	Declaration of Resistance
Ov Sulfur	Endless
Soen	Reliance
23	Coronatus	Dreadful Waters
Crystal Lake	The Weight of Sound
Helix	Scrap Metal
Megadeth	Megadeth
Melissa Bonny	Cherry Red Apocalypse
Pelican	Ascending (EP)
Poppy	Empty Hands
Textures	Genotype
28	Hanabie.	Hot Topic (EP)
30	Hällas	Panorama
Møl	Dreamcrush
Our Mirage	Fractured Minds
Therion	Con Orquesta (live album)

February

<table><thead><tr><th>Day</th><th>Artist</th><th>Album</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>3</td><td>Stephen Brodsky</td><td>Cut to the Core Vol. 2 (covers album)</td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td>Paganizer</td><td>As Mankind Rots</td></tr><tr><td>6</td><td>Demonic Resurrection</td><td>Apocalyptic Dawn (EP)</td></tr><tr><td>Karnivool</td><td>In Verses</td></tr><tr><td>KMFDM</td><td>Enemy</td></tr><tr><td>Mayhem</td><td>Liturgy of Death</td></tr><tr><td>Tailgunner</td><td>Midnight Blitz</td></tr><tr><td>Wolverine</td><td>Anomalies</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>Converge</td><td>Love Is Not Enough</td></tr><tr><td>Powerwolf</td><td>Wildlive (Live at Olympiahalle) (live album)</td></tr><tr><td>Saille</td><td>Forebode</td></tr><tr><td>18</td><td>Lovebites</td><td>Outstanding Power</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Clawfinger</td><td>Before We All Die</td></tr><tr><td>Exhumed</td><td>Red Asphalt</td></tr><tr><td>Michael Monroe</td><td>Outerstellar</td></tr><tr><td>Stam1na</td><td>Apnea</td></tr><tr><td>Sylosis</td><td>The New Flesh</td></tr><tr><td>Worm Shepherd</td><td>Dawn of the Iconoclast (EP)</td></tr><tr><td>27</td><td>Cryptic Shift</td><td>Overspace & Supertime</td></tr><tr><td>Rob Zombie</td><td>The Great Satan</td></tr><tr><td>Varials</td><td>Where the Light Leaves</td></tr></tbody></table>

March

<table><thead><tr><th>Day</th><th>Artist</th><th>Album</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>6</td><td>Blackbraid</td><td>Nocturnal Womb (EP)</td></tr><tr><td>Bosse-de-Nage</td><td>Hidden Fires Burn Hottest</td></tr><tr><td>Erra</td><td>Silence Outlives the Earth</td></tr><tr><td>Leaves' Eyes</td><td>Song of Darkness (EP)</td></tr><tr><td>Lost Society</td><td>Hell Is a State of Mind</td></tr><tr><td>More</td><td>Destructor</td></tr><tr><td>Prong</td><td>Live and Uncleansed (live album)</td></tr><tr><td>Vreid</td><td>The Skies Turn Black</td></tr><tr><td>Whiplash</td><td>Thrashquake</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Eternal Champion</td><td>Friend of War (EP)</td></tr><tr><td>13</td><td>Angus McSix</td><td>Angus McSix and the All-Seeing Astral Eye</td></tr><tr><td>Lamb of God</td><td>Into Oblivion</td></tr><tr><td>Monstrosity</td><td>Screams from Beneath the Surface</td></tr><tr><td>Nili Brosh</td><td>Eventide</td></tr><tr><td>The Scratch</td><td>Pull Like a Dog</td></tr><tr><td>UnityTX</td><td>Somewhere, in Between...</td></tr><tr><td>Vicious Rain</td><td>The Anatomy of Surviving</td></tr><tr><td>Witchcraft</td><td>A Sinner's Child (EP)</td></tr><tr><td>20</td><td>Attila</td><td>Concrete Throne</td></tr><tr><td>Axel Rudi Pell</td><td>Ghost Town</td></tr><tr><td>Dawn of Ashes</td><td>Anatomy of Suffering</td></tr><tr><td>Exodus</td><td>Goliath</td></tr><tr><td>King 810</td><td>Rustbelt Nu Metal 3</td></tr><tr><td>Lost in Hollywood</td><td>Lost in Hollywood</td></tr><tr><td>Neurosis</td><td>An Undying Love for a Burning World</td></tr><tr><td>Poison the Well</td><td>Peace in Place</td></tr><tr><td>Tyketto</td><td>Closer to the Sun</td></tr><tr><td>27</td><td>Black Label Society</td><td>Engines of Demolition</td></tr><tr><td>Carnivore A.D.</td><td>Transmutation (EP)</td></tr><tr><td>Chamber</td><td>This Is Goodbye...</td></tr><tr><td>Defacing God</td><td>Darkness Is My Crown</td></tr><tr><td>Godsticks</td><td>Void</td></tr><tr><td>Hellripper</td><td>Coronach</td></tr><tr><td>Iron Savior</td><td>Awesome Anthems of the Galaxy (covers album)</td></tr><tr><td>Lion's Share</td><td>Inferno</td></tr><tr><td>Mallavora</td><td>What If Better Never Comes?</td></tr><tr><td>Myrath</td><td>Wilderness of Mirrors</td></tr><tr><td>Ram-Zet</td><td>Sapien</td></tr><tr><td>Threat Signal</td><td>Revelations</td></tr><tr><td>Winterfylleth</td><td>The Unyielding Season</td></tr></tbody></table>

April

Day	Artist	Album
3	Corrosion of Conformity	Good God / Baad Man
Green Carnation	A Dark Poem, Part II: Sanguis
Michael Sweet	The Master Plan
Nervosa	Slave Machine
Sunn O)))	Sunn O)))
10	Archspire	Too Fast to Die
Bodysnatcher	Hell Is Here, Hell Is Home
Immolation	Descent
Lord of the Lost	Opvs Noir Vol. 3
Melechesh	Sentinels of Shamash (EP)
The Melvins and Napalm Death	Savage Imperial Death March (collaborative album)
Metal Church	Dead to Rights
Vomitory	In Death Throes
17	Crimson Glory	Chasing the Hydra
From Ashes to New	Reflections
The Last Ten Seconds of Life	The Dead Ones
Nekrogoblikon	The Boiling Sea (EP)
Skindred	You Got This
Victorius	World War Dinosaur
Wage War	It Calls Me by Name (EP)
18	Corey Taylor, Jim Root, Shawn Crahan and Sid Wilson	Look Outside Your Window
24	The Amity Affliction	House of Cards
At the Gates	The Ghost of a Future Dead
Atreyu	The End Is Not the End
Drudkh	Thaw (EP)
Gus G	Steel Burner
John Corabi	New Day
Portrayal of Guilt	...Beginning of the End
Sepultura	The Cloud of Unknowing (EP)
Six Feet Under	Next to Die

May

Day	Artist	Album
1	-(16)-	Forgeries (72–84) (covers album)
Cognizance	In Light, No Shape
Godsmack	Live at Mohegan Sun (live album)
Haste the Day	Dissenter
Sevendust	One
Venom	Into Oblivion
3	Geoff Tate	Operation: Mindcrime III
8	Black Veil Brides	Vindicate
Crashdïet	Art of Chaos
Darkthrone	Pre-Historic Metal
Draconian	In Somnolent Ruin
Frozen Soul	No Place of Warmth
Ingested	Denigration
The Quill	Master of the Skies
Rexoria	Fallen Dimension
15	Acid Reign	Daze of the Week
Artillery	Made in Hell (EP)
Jungle Rot	Cruel Face of War
Periphery	A Pale White Dot
Pro-Pain	Stone Cold Anger
22	Armored Saint	Emotion Factory Reset
Ayreon	30th Anniversary – An Amazing Flight Through Time (live album)
Dimmu Borgir	Grand Serpent Rising
Erik Grönwall	Bad Bones
Varg	Live at Wolfszeit Festival 2024 (live album)
29	Devin Townsend	The Moth
Hecate Enthroned	The Corpse of a Titan, a Lament Long Buried
Narnia	X
Shinedown	Ei8ht

June

<table><thead><tr><th>Day</th><th>Artist</th><th>Album</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>5</td><td>August Burns Red</td><td>Season of Surrender</td></tr><tr><td>Converge</td><td>Hum of Hurt</td></tr><tr><td>Evergrey</td><td>Architects of a New Weave</td></tr><tr><td>Shane Embury</td><td>Bridge to Resolution</td></tr><tr><td>12</td><td>Bolan</td><td>Gargoyle of the Garden State</td></tr><tr><td>Spread Eagle</td><td>The Brutal Divine</td></tr><tr><td>Stitched Up Heart</td><td>Medusa</td></tr><tr><td>Tarja</td><td>Frisson Noir</td></tr><tr><td>Vanden Plas</td><td>AcCult II</td></tr><tr><td>26</td><td>Amberian Dawn</td><td>Temptation's Gates</td></tr><tr><td>Masterplan</td><td>Metalmorphosis</td></tr></tbody></table>

July

Day	Artist	Album
3	Dominum	Night Is Calling
Moonspell	Far from God