1980 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1980.

Newly formed bands

• Anthem
• Barón Rojo
• Battleaxe
• Bitch
• Black Rose
• Blitzkrieg
• Bulldozer
• Exodus
• Grave Digger
• Heaven
• Holy Moses
• King's X
• Lionheart
• Los Suaves
• Loudness
• Malice
• Manowar
• Metal Church
• More
• Ozzy Osbourne (solo career)
• Overkill
• Rok Mašina
• Sacred Rite
• Saint
• Salem
• Sound Barrier
• Tank
• Turbo
• Vixen
• Warning
• White Sister
• Wrathchild

Albums & EPs

Disbandments

• Led Zeppelin

Events

• Bon Scott, lead singer of AC/DC, dies at 33 on February 19 after a binge of heavy drinking.
• October: Iron Maiden comp guitarist Dennis Stratton leaves and is replaced by Adrian Smith.
• John Bonham, drummer for Led Zeppelin, dies at 32 on September 25, after a binge of heavy drinking. His death was similar to Bon Scott's, and caused Led Zeppelin to disband.
• April: Brian Johnson joins AC/DC replacing Bon Scott as lead singer.
• May 18: Peter Criss, drummer of Kiss, leaves the band. Eric Carr takes his place.
• Sounds Music Paper Editor Dave Lewis, invents the term New Wave Of British Heavy Metal to accompany a article Geoff Barton wrote on three young British Heavy Metal bands touring together, namely Samson, Iron Maiden and Angelwitch.