2010 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2010.

Bands formed

Bands disbanded

Bands reformed

Books

Cult of Luna released a book explaining the full story behind their Eternal Kingdom album. The book is written in Swedish and translated into English, and the hardcover includes an audiobook.

Events

Slayer front-man/bassist Tom Araya underwent back surgery.
Emperor Magus Caligula, B-Force and Dominator all quit Dark Funeral.
Rush was inducted into the Canadian Songwriters Hall of Fame.
Mayhem Festival 2010 toured through North America from July through August. The third annual tour was co-headlined by Korn and Rob Zombie.
Guitarist Jani Stefanovic quit Solution.45.
Scorpions announced that they will retire after touring in support of final album Sting in the Tail.
AC/DC headlined Download Festival, marking their return to Donington for the first time in 19 years, since 1991's Monsters of Rock. Rage Against the Machine and Aerosmith also headlined.
In Flames founding member Jesper Strömblad quit the band in February after 17 years due to personal problems.
Original Megadeth bassist Dave Ellefson rejoined the band after departing in 2002.
Mike Portnoy of Dream Theater joined Avenged Sevenfold after the death of The Rev to record their fifth studio album, Nightmare. The results of The Rev's toxicology reports were released in June 2010, which revealed the cause of death as an accidental overdose from prescription drugs.
Belarusian officials banned Rammstein from the country due to their "violence, masochism, homosexuality and other abnormalities".
US death metal band The Famine's studio burnt down, along with their gear and recorded material for what would be their 2011 album, The Architects of Guilt.
Behemoth front-man Adam "Nergal" Darski went to court over a Bible ripping incident in 2007, and was found not guilty on the basis that "the defendant's behaviour wasn't recognised as a crime."
Richard Rietdijk, a keyboardist for the band Textures, left the band as he wanted to pursue other musical interests.
Type O Negative front-man Peter Steele died at age 48 on April 14, 2010.
The Human Abstract replaced former lead singer Nathan Ells with Travis Richter and founding guitarist A. J. Minette returned.
Judas Priest won the 2010 Grammy Award for Best Metal Performance of "Dissident Aggressor."
Debauchery front-man Thomas "The Bloodbeast" Gurrath was fired from his job as a philosophy trainee teacher at a high school in Stuttgart, Germany, for being in a death metal band.
Anthrax reunited with former singer Joey Belladonna after his previous departure in 2007.
The first ever Sri Lankan metal documentary, Arise - The Sri Lankan Metal Music Documentary, was officially screened on 15 May 2010 at Alliance Française de Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Ronnie James Dio died of stomach cancer at the age of 67 on May 16, 2010.
Bay Area Metal legend Debbie Abono died of cancer at age 80, also on May 16, 2010.
Ozzfest returned with bands such as Ozzy Osbourne, Mötley Crüe, Rob Halford and DevilDriver on the bill.
Former bassist Noah Martin rejoined Arsis.
The Westboro Baptist Church planned to picket the Ronnie James Dio Memorial Service at The Hall of Liberty in Forest Lawn Hollywood Hills.
Slipknot bassist Paul Gray died at age 38 on May, 25, 2010.
Ratt were forced to cancel their European tour due to Stephen Pearcy having to undergo emergency hernia surgery.
On June 16, "The Big Four of Thrash Metal", Anthrax, Megadeth, Slayer and Metallica, played together for the first time at the Sonisphere Festival at Bemowo Airport in Warsaw, Poland.
The second event of Heavy MTL was held in Montreal on July 24 and 25, with bands such as Slayer, Testament, Megadeth, Halford, Alice Cooper, and Avenged Sevenfold.
Early Graves vocalist Makh Daniels died in an automobile accident on August 1, 2010. The Funeral Pyre guitarist Justin Garcia fell asleep behind the wheel, and was taken with guitarist Tyler Jensen to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.
Fear Factory members narrowly avoided a bus fire caused by the rear-wheel catching fire. Their trailer was left unscathed.
Death of Desire vocalist Dawn Desirée was kidnapped by unknown members of a promotion agency, and guitarist Morbid was assaulted.
Reunited Byzantine returned without Tony Rohrbough, and introduced Brian Henderson as their new lead-guitarist.
Behemoth front-man Adam "Nergal" Darski was hospitalized due to advanced stage leukemia. Behemoth subsequently cancelled all remaining summer festivals, and their Russian, Baltic States, and US tour. Adam "Nergal" Darski underwent a bone marrow transplant surgery.
Acid Reign announced that producer Bill Metoyer will be re-mastering and re-issuing their albums.
X Japan planned a North American tour after both Otakon and Lollapalooza, visiting Canada and the United States.
After 25 years, Mike Portnoy leaves Dream Theater on September 8, 2010.
Ari Nissilä, Toni Kansanoja, Kari Vähäkuopus, and Mikko Nevanlahti all leave Catamenia on October 4, 2010.
2000s supergroup Murderdolls re-formed and release their 2nd and final studio album Women and Children Last.
Sweet Savage founding guitarist Trevor Fleming died on October 2, 2010.
Gotthard singer Steve Lee died on October 5, 2010.
Guitarist Tommy Church left The Autumn Offering on November 1, 2010.
Queensrÿche survived a bomb attack in Iraq while playing to the American troops.
Armando Acosta, the ex-drummer of Saint Vitus, died on November 25, 2010.
King Diamond underwent a successful triple-bypass surgery on November 29, 2010.
Former Dream Theater drummer Mike Portnoy left Avenged Sevenfold.

Films

MVD Visual and Sexy Intellectual released a documentary DVD about Rage Against the Machine on February 23. The film is titled Revolution in the Head: Rage Against the Machine and the Art of Protest.
Industrial metal act Ministry released their film Fix: The Ministry Movie in 2010.
Mathawaada Chithrapata released the first Sri Lankan metal music documentary titled Arise – The Sri Lankan Metal Music Documentary showcasing the lives and the reasons behind the Sri Lankan metal music scene.
Metallica, Anthrax, Slayer, and Megadeth released The Big 4 DVD Box Set on November 2, featuring footage of all the bands' live sets from the Big 4 tour.

Albums released

All releases are studio albums unless otherwise noted. The most successful metal album released in 2010 was Iron Maiden's The Final Frontier, topping the charts in 28 countries. It was also No. 1 in Metal Hammer's list of '50 Greatest albums of 2010'.