2002 in heavy metal music

Newly formed bands

• All Shall Perish
• The Black Dahlia Murder
• Despised Icon
• DevilDriver
• Eluveitie
• Iron Mask
• Massacration
• The Saddest Landscape
• Senses Fail
• Spawn of Possession
• Sturmgeist
• Suicide Silence
• Symphony in Peril
• Teräsbetoni
• Theocracy
• Velvet Revolver
• Welicoruss
• Wolfmother

  Reformed bands

• Down
• Prong
• Trouble
• Whitesnake

  Albums

• 3 Inches of Blood - Battlecry Under a Winter Sun
• 36 Crazyfists - Bitterness the Star
• The Acacia Strain - ...And Life Is Very Long
• Agalloch - The Mantle
• All That Remains - Behind Silence and Solitude
• Amon Amarth - Versus the World
• Atreyu - Suicide Notes and Butterfly Kisses
• Avantasia - The Metal Opera Part II
• Bathory - Nordland I
• Behemoth - Zos Kia Cultus
• Beseech - Souls Highway
• Between the Buried and Me – Between the Buried and Me
• Black Label Society - 1919 Eternal
• Black Sabbath - Past Lives
• Blind Guardian - A Night at the Opera
• Bloodbath - Resurrection Through Carnage
• Bolt Thrower – Honour – Valour – Pride
• Bon Jovi - Bounce
• Breaking Benjamin - Saturate
• Cathedral - The VIIth Coming
• Cannibal Corpse - Gore Obsessed
• Chevelle - Wonder What's Next
• Cog - Just Visiting Part One
• Cog - Just Visiting Part Two
• Crazy Town - Darkhorse
• Danzig – Danzig 777: I Luciferi
• Dark Tranquillity - Damage Done
• Decapitated – Nihility
• Demon Hunter – Demon Hunter
• Despised Icon - Consumed by Your Poison
• Def Leppard - X
• The Dillinger Escape Plan - Irony Is a Dead Scene
• Dio - Killing the Dragon
• Disturbed - Believe
• Down - '
• Dream Evil - Dragonslayer
• Dream Theater - Six Degrees of Inner Turbulence
• Electric Wizard – Let Us Prey
• Fear Factory - Concrete
• Firewind – Between Heaven and Hell
• Freak Kitchen - Move
• HammerFall - Crimson Thunder
• Hardline - II
• Hatebreed - Perseverance
• Hate Eternal - King of All Kings
• Heaven Shall Burn – Whatever It May Take
• High on Fire – Surrounded by Thieves
• Immortal - Sons of Northern Darkness
• In Flames - Reroute to Remain
• Iron Savior - Condition Red
• Isis - Oceanic
• Kataklysm - Shadows & Dust
• Killswitch Engage - Alive or Just Breathing
• King Diamond - '
• Korn - Untouchables
• Lacuna Coil - Comalies
• Lordi - Get Heavy
• Luca Turilli - Prophet of the Last Eclipse
• Manowar - Warriors of the World
• Mastodon - Remission
• Megadeth - Rude Awakening
• Megadeth - Still Alive... and Well?
• Mercenary - Everblack
• Meshuggah - Nothing
• Motörhead - Hammered
• Nightwish - Century Child
• Nine Inch Nails - And All That Could Have Been
• Norma Jean - Bless the Martyr and Kiss the Child
• Opeth - Deliverance
• Origin – Informis Infinitas Inhumanitas
• Otep - Sevas Tra
• Pagan's Mind - Celestial Entrance
• Pain - Nothing Remains the Same
• Papa Roach - Lovehatetragedy
• Pitchshifter - PSI
• Power Quest - Wings of Forever
• Primal Fear - Black Sun
• Pro-Pain – Shreds of Dignity
• Protest the Hero - A Calculated Use of Sound
• QueenAdreena - Drink Me
• Raunchy - Velvet Noise
• The Red Chord – Fused Together in Revolving Doors
• Rhapsody - Power of the Dragonflame
• Rotting Christ - Genesis
• Rush - Vapor Trails
• Sacrificium – Cold Black Piece of Flesh
• Satyricon - Volcano
• Saxon - Heavy Metal Thunder
• Sentenced - The Cold White Light
• Seven Witches – Xiled to Infinity and One
• Shadows Fall - The Art of Balance
• Sinergy - Suicide by My Side
• Slechtvalk - The War That Plagues the Lands
• Soilwork - Natural Born Chaos
• Sonata Arctica - Songs of Silence - Live in Tokyo
• Soulfly - 3
• Spectre Dragon - Under Hell's Command
• Star One - Space Metal
• Stone Sour - Stone Sour
• SugarComa - Becoming Something Else
• Symphony X - The Odyssey
• System of a Down - Steal This Album!
• Theory of a Deadman - Theory of a Deadman
• Threshold - Critical Mass
• Trapt - Trapt
• Týr - How Far to Asgaard
• Underoath – The Changing of Times
• Vader – Revelations
• Vanden Plas - Beyond Daylight
• Vintersorg - Visions from the Spiral Generator
• Visions of Atlantis - Eternal Endless Infinity
• WarCry - WarCry
• WarCry - El Sello de los Tiempos
• Winds - Reflections of the I
• Whispering Gallery – Lost as One

  Disbandments

• Alice in Chains
• Fear Factory
• Godflesh
• Lifer
• Megadeth

  Events

• Alice in Chains singer Layne Staley is found dead from an overdose of heroin.
• HIV-stricken former Ratt guitarist Robbin Crosby dies from a heroin overdose.
• Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine disbands the band after severely injuring his arm leaving him unable to play.
• Ex-Iron Maiden drummer Clive Burr is diagnosed with multiple sclerosis.
• Drowning Pool singer Dave Williams dies on Wednesday August 14, 2002. He was found inside his tour bus, dead of cardiomyopathy.
• Dave Lombardo rejoins Slayer.
• Tarot bassist Marco Hietala leaves Sinergy and joins Nightwish as their new bassist.
• Guitarist Jeff Phillips joins Kittie as a session member, replacing Fallon Bowman. Bassist Talena Atfield quits and is replaced by Jennifer Arroyo.
• Mötley Crüe drummer Randy Castillo dies of cancer.