1984 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1984.

Newly formed bands

• Agent Steel
• Annihilator
• Atheist
• Blind Guardian (under the name "Lucifer's Heritage")
• Candlemass
• Celtic Frost
• Death
• Eudoxis
• Iced Earth
• King Kobra
• Nepal
• Nuclear Assault
• Razor
• Sadus
• Sepultura
• Soundgarden
• Stratovarius
• Tesla
• The Cult
• Tony MacAlpine
• Uncle Slam (known as The Brood until 1987)
• Warrant
• Whiplash
• Yngwie Malmsteen

Albums

• AC/DC - '74 Jailbreak
• The Angels - Two Minute Warning
• Anthrax - Fistful of Metal
• Armored Saint - March of the Saint
• Bathory - Bathory
• Billy Idol - Rebel Yell
• Bon Jovi - Bon Jovi
• Celtic Frost - Morbid Tales
• Cirith Ungol - King of the Dead
• The Cult - Dreamtime
• Deep Purple - Perfect Strangers
• Destruction - Sentence of Death
• Dio - The Last in Line
• Dokken - Tooth And Nail
• Europe - Wings of Tomorrow
• Exciter- Long Live the Loud
• Fastway - All Fired Up
• Fates Warning - Night on Bröcken
• Grim Reaper (band) - See You in Hell (album)
• Hanoi Rocks - All Those Waisted Years
• Hanoi Rocks - Two Steps From The Move
• Helix - Walkin' the Razor's Edge
• Hellhammer - Apocalyptic Raids
• Icon (band) - Icon (Icon album)
• Iron Maiden - Powerslave
• Judas Priest - Defenders of the Faith
• Keel - Lay Down The Law
• KISS - Animalize
• Krokus - The Blitz
• Lizzy Borden - Give 'em the Axe
• Loudness - Disillusion
• Manowar - Hail to England, Sign of the Hammer
• Mercyful Fate - Don't Break The Oath
• Metal Church - Metal Church
• Metallica - Ride the Lightning
• Motörhead - No Remorse
• Overkill - Power in Black, Overkill (EP)
• Omen - Battle Cry
• Pantera - Projects in the Jungle
• Queensrÿche - The Warning
• Quiet Riot - Condition Critical
• Razor - Escape The Fire, Armed & Dangerous
• Ratt - Out of the Cellar
• Running Wild - Gates to Purgatory
• Rush - Grace Under Pressure
• Saint Vitus - Saint Vitus
• Sammy Hagar - VOA
• Samson - Don't Get Mad, Get Even
• Savatage - The Dungeons Are Calling
• Saxon - Crusader
• Scorpions - Love at First Sting
• Slayer - Haunting the Chapel
• Sodom - In the Sign of Evil
• Spinal Tap - This Is Spinal Tap
• Steve Vai - Flex-Able
• Stryper - The Yellow and Black Attack
• Tank - Honour And Blood
• Trouble - Psalm 9
• Twisted Sister - Stay Hungry
• Van Halen - 1984
• Venom - At War with Satan
• Voivod - War and Pain
• W.A.S.P. - W.A.S.P.
• Warlock - Burning the Witches
• Whitesnake - Slide It In
• Witchfynde - Lords of Sin
• Y&T - In Rock We Trust
• Yngwie J. Malmsteen - Rising Force

Events

• Def Leppard's drummer Rick Allen loses his left arm in a car accident on December 31.
• Deep Purple reunite.
• Hanoi Rocks drummer Razzle is killed in an automobile accident in early December. The driver of the car is Vince Neil of Mötley Crüe.
• The debut albums of both Saint Vitus (Saint Vitus) and Trouble (Psalm 9) are released.