2009 in heavy metal music

This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2009.

Reformed bands

Accept
Arcturus
Ark
Autopsy
Beherit
Beneath the Sky
Creed
The Crown
Decapitated
Faith No More
Gorguts
Saint Vitus (few shows only)
Steel Attack
To/Die/For
Unanimated
Year of Desolation

Disbandments

After Forever
Angelcorpse
Animosity
Battle of Mice
Burnt by the Sun
Burst
Divinity Destroyed
Falchion
God Seed
Gorefest
Grief
Lock Up
Lord Belial
Metal Church
Nothingface
The Old Dead Tree
Opiate for the Masses
Running Wild
Subzero
To/Die/For
Twilightning
xDEATHSTARx

Events

Iron Maiden complete their globe-trotting Somewhere Back in Time World Tour, playing 90 shows in 38 countries.
Iron Maiden become the first heavy metal band to win a Brit Award, winning the Best Live Act at the awards ceremony.
Former Arsis guitarist Ryan Knight joins The Black Dahlia Murder in late January, replacing John Kempainen.
Guitarist Doug Weber leaves Terror in January and is replaced by former No Warning guitarist Jordan Posner.
Metallica is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on 4 April.
Metallica's 2008 album Death Magnetic is nominated for four Grammy categories, winning Best Recording Package and Best Metal Performance for "My Apocalypse".
Cannibal Corpse wins "Greatest Death Metal Song" with "Hammer Smashed Face" in a poll on the Metal Hammer website. Arch Enemy places second with "We Will Rise", Death third with "Crystal Mountain".
Finnish metal band Norther parts ways with longtime singer/guitarist Petri Lindroos and announces Aleksi Sihvonen (Medicated, ex-Imperanon) as the replacement vocalist.
Varg Vikernes is released from prison after 16 years of incarceration for the murder of Øystein Aarseth (aka Euronymous).
The Gorgoroth name dispute concludes with a court verdict recognising Gorgoroth founding member Infernus as the legitimate user of the band name. Contestants Gaahl and King ov Hell form God Seed, but Gaahl retires from metal within a few months and King forms Ov Hell with Shagrath.
Susperia vocalist Athera suffers a heart attack, and is diagnosed with a rare genetic disorder that requires a triple heart bypass. Athera successfully undergoes open heart surgery at Rikshospitalet University Hospital in Oslo on 16 March 2009.
Dimmu Borgir's Dariusz "Daray" Brzozowski ranks No. 1 drummer in Poland's "Top Drummer" magazine.
Shadows Fall announces the formation of its own label in conjunction with Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group and Ferret Music.
Sonic Syndicate vocalist Roland Johansson quits the band.
Original Arsis drummer Michael VanDyne returns to the band full-time.
God Forbid confirms the departure of rhythm guitarist Dallas Coyle and announces former Darkest Hour guitarist Kris Norris as his replacement.
Former Sentenced guitarist Miika Tenkula is found dead in his home from a heart attack due to a genetic condition. His overall health was presumably worsened by his heavy drinking problem.
Satyricon bassist Victor Brandt quits the band in April.
Venom drummer Antton leaves the band to focus on his other musical projects.
Megadeth and Slayer co-headline "Canadian Carnage" with Machine Head and Suicide Silence.
Alexi Laiho of Children of Bodom breaks arm on tour.
Rigor Mortis guitarist Mike Scaccia is set to undergo emergency neck surgery. The MRI scan noticed Scaccia has a Cervical Herniated Disc in his lower neck, which could make him paralyzed without immediate surgery.
Dead to Fall announces farewell show.
Carpathian Forest guitarist/bassist Tchort leaves the band in May.
Kataklysm guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais is detained and arrested under the presumption of being on the FBI international most wanted list.
Every Time I Die parts ways with drummer Mike "Ratboy" Novak, who had been with the band for 11 years.
Deep Purple are issued a fine in Russia for "illegally" playing their own songs in Rostov-on-Don in October 2008.
Brainstorm sign with AFM Records.
Founding member and original Crimson Glory frontman Midnight dies on 8 July 2009.
Jørn Lande returns to Masterplan.
Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine undergoes neck surgery.
The Bled signs to Rise Records.
Sonic Syndicate announces new vocalist Nathan James Biggs.
ICS Vortex and Mustis leaves Dimmu Borgir.
Destruction guitarist Mike Sifringer breaks his ring finger in Belgium.
Former 3 Inches of Blood bassist Brian Redman dies on Saturday 27 September in a car crash near his home in Tacoma, Washington.
Evile bassist Mike Alexander falls ill and dies at the age of 32 on 5 October in Luleå, Sweden.
In a partnership between Earache Records and RapidShare, Irish thrash metal band Gama Bomb makes its third studio album, Tales from the Grave in Space, available for free download on 5 November 2009.
Steven Tyler is laid off from Aerosmith on 14 November 2009. The lay-off was due to multiple factors, namely redundancies in the singing-songwriting division and rising rehab fees that have cost the group millions.
Mercenary parts ways with drummer Mike Park, vocalist Mikke Sandager and keyboardist Morten Sandager.
Former Death and Control Denied guitarist Shannon Hamm suffers a heart attack at home on 1 October.
Ronnie James Dio is diagnosed with stomach cancer and is being treated at the Mayo Clinic.
The Rev, drummer of Avenged Sevenfold, is found dead at his home in Huntington Beach on 28 December.

Books

ECW Press released a book looking at the work of producer Rick Rubin, entitled Rick Rubin: In the Studio, written by biographer Jake Brown on 11 August.
Former Stratovarius member Timo Tolkki published his autobiography, Hymn to Life – Entr'acte, on 2 November, through Goldenworks Ltd./Blacksmith Ltd.
At the End of the Day, a book charting the career of Blaze Bayley, was released on 25 September.
All That Matters, a Metallica biography written by Paul Stenning, was released in October via Plexus Publishing.
Led Zeppelin: Good Times, Bad Times: A Visual Biography, a book examining the public and private lives of the members of Led Zeppelin, was released on 1 October, via Abrams Publishing.
Rock photographer Neil Zlozower releases Mötley Crüe: A Visual History, 1983–2005 via Chronicle Books.
A limited-edition book, Vintage Kiss Photos: 1974–1981, compiled by Marc Scallatino, was released, charting Kiss's early days.
Cradle of Filth frontman Dani Filth and Gavin Baddeley release The Gospel of Filth, a book exploring the history of the band and more general topics of the dark side of humanity, on 31 October.
New book announced on the history of metal titled Louder Than Hell: The Unflinching Oral History of Metal.
Rudolf Schenker of the Scorpions released his autobiography, entitled Rock Your Life, in Germany on 14 October.
Heavy metal magazine Decibel released Precious Metal: The Stories Behind 25 Extreme Metal Masterpieces in July. The book pays tribute to the 25 most influential extreme metal albums of all time. Some of the albums listed include Slayer's Reign in Blood, Cannibal Corpse's Tomb of the Mutilated, Converge's Jane Doe and Meshuggah's Destroy Erase Improve.
All Pens Blazing, a heavy metal writer's handbook containing interviews and a history of heavy metal publications, is released on 16 August.
Ozzy Osbourne released his autobiography, I Am Ozzy, on 1 October.
Bazillion Points Books released Only Death Is Real: An Illustrated History of Hellhammer and Early Celtic Frost, a book exploring the bands Hellhammer and Celtic Frost written by band members Tom Fischer and Martin Eric Ain, in November 2009.
Two books came from author Joel McIver, the first called The 100 Greatest Metal Guitarists with a foreword by Glen Benton of Deicide and the second titled To Live Is to Die: The Life and Death of Metallica's Cliff Burton, with a foreword by Kirk Hammett.