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Fifty-two albums and fifty-one videos from the year Opeth made Still Life, melodic death metal grew up, Sonata Arctica and Nightwish took power and symphonic metal across Europe, and nu metal hit its peak. Open any record for its story, the facts, the best tracks and a video.
The full 1999 Vault – every album with its story, facts, best tracks and official video – is part of Premium Membership. €44.99 one-time, no subscription.
Become a Premium MemberAlready a member? Log inIn 1999 Opeth made Still Life, the album of the year, while the doom and gothic pioneers around them turned to melancholic rock and synths. Gothenburg and Finland gave melodic death metal the line-ups and sounds of the next decade, Nightwish and a new band from Kemi carried Finnish power metal into Europe, and nu metal reached its commercial peak with Limp Bizkit, Slipknot and Korn. Iron Maiden got their classic singer back, and Black Sabbath played what was billed as their farewell.
Facts checked against at least two independent sources. Videos are official uploads from the bands' and labels' channels and load only when you press play.
Every metalhead has a year that changed everything. Tell us what 1999 meant to you – three quick questions about the year and two about this journey. One tap each, and you see the results straight away.
Researched, compiled and written by Erki Laurits for WeMetalheads, with help and suggestions from WeMetalheads members. AI tools were used to assist with research, drafting and fact-checking; every fact was checked against at least two independent sources and reviewed by the author.
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Wikipedia, Discogs, Spirit of Metal, Metal Music Archives, Loudwire, Louder (Metal Hammer, Classic Rock), Metal Injection, Metal Storm, AllMusic, Blabbermouth, Metal Reviews, Ultimate Classic Rock, Ghost Cult, uDiscover Music, Kerrang!, Decibel, Prog Archives, Songfacts, and other music publications, label and band websites.
Album, demo and EP covers: artwork © the respective artists, labels and designers, shown for identification and commentary (images via Spotify and Discogs).
Band photos: Wikimedia Commons, used under the licence named in each caption (Creative Commons or public domain), with the photographer credited.
Videos: official uploads by the artists, their labels or YouTube's auto-generated artist channels, embedded in YouTube's privacy-enhanced mode and loaded only when you press play.
© 2026 Erki Laurits / WeMetalheads. Text may not be republished without permission.