1978 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1978.

Bands formed

• Amebix
• Ampage
• Anvil ^[1] (as Lips)
• Blind Illusion
• Bodine
• Cockney Rejects
• E.F. Band
• Earthshaker
• Electric Sun
• Exciter
• Fist
• Fortune
• Gamma
• Gillan
• Girlschool
• Grand Prix
• Hades
• Leño
• London
• Mama's Boys
• Messiah Prophet
• Mystery Blue
• New England
• Nightwing
• Pagan Altar
• Pendragon
• Plasmatics
• Riblja Čorba
• Savage
• Survivor
• Trespass
• The Exploited
• The Next Band
• Tygers of Pan Tang
• Vanexa
• Venom
• Whitesnake
• Wild Horses
• Wrathchild America
• Yngwie Malmsteen

Bands disbanded

• Ian Gillan Band
• Lone Star
• Ram Jam
• Sex Pistols

Events

• Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne had a change of heart and returned to Black Sabbath after leaving abruptly the year before.
• Gary Moore embarked on his third and final stint as Thin Lizzy's guitarist, replacing Brian Robertson.
• Paul Di'Anno took over as Iron Maiden's vocalist, succeeding Dennis Wilcock.
• Original Def Leppard drummer Tony Kenning departed the band, making way for Rick Allen, who, at just 15 years old, became their permanent drummer.
• Uli Jon Roth parted ways with Scorpions due to creative differences, leading to Matthias Jabs joining as his replacement.
• Guitarist Michael Shenker left UFO and rejoined Scorpions.

Deaths

• January 23 – Terry Alan Kath, founder and guitarist of Chicago, died from an unintentional self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at the age of 31.
• September 7 – Keith John Moon, founding member and drummer of The Who, died from an overdose of clomethiazole at the age of 32.

Albums

February

Day	Artist	Album
10	Judas Priest	Stained Class
	Van Halen	Van Halen
17	Budgie	Impeckable

March

Day	Artist	Album
2	Quiet Riot	Quiet Riot

April

Day	Artist	Album
10	Jethro Tull	Heavy Horses
14	Rainbow	Long Live Rock 'n' Roll [2]

May

Day	Artist	Album
5	AC/DC	Powerage

June

Day	Artist	Album
2	Thin Lizzy	Live and Dangerous
	Whitesnake	Snakebite (EP)
23	UFO	Obsession
	Yesterday and Today	Struck Down

August

Day	Artist	Album
15	Boston	Don't Look Back [3]
	Scorpions	Tokyo Tapes (live album)
18	The Who	Who Are You
	Magnum	Kingdom of Madness

September

Day	Artist	Album
1	Molly Hatchet	Molly Hatchet
13	Blue Öyster Cult	Some Enchanted Evening
18	Ace Frehley	Ace Frehley
	Gene Simmons	Gene Simmons
	Paul Stanley	Paul Stanley
	Peter Criss	Peter Criss
22	Jethro Tull	Bursting Out
	Ramones	Road to Ruin
29	Black Sabbath	Never Say Die!
	Styx	Pieces of Eight
	Uriah Heep	Fallen Angel

October

Day	Artist	Album
6	Wishbone Ash	No Smoke Without Fire
13	AC/DC	If You Want Blood You've Got It
	Whitesnake	Trouble
24	Rush	Hemispheres
30	Krokus	Pain Killer

November

Day	Artist	Album
3	Judas Priest	Killing Machine
10	Queen	Jazz
	The Clash	Give 'Em Enough Rope
	Heavy Load	Full Speed at High Level
	Rose Tattoo	Rose Tattoo

December

Day	Artist	Album
2	Quiet Riot	Quiet Riot II
20	Bow Wow	Guarantee
	Alice Cooper	From the Inside

Unknown release date

Artist	Album
Golden Earring	Grab It for a Second
Lucifer's Friend	Good Time Warrior
Ram Jam	Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram

Preceded by 1977

Heavy Metal Timeline 1978

Succeeded by 1979

References

1. "Anvil Bio". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
2. Popoff, Martin (2016). The Deep Purple Family (2nd ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 234. ISBN   978-1-908724-42-7.
3. "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America .