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Fifty albums and forty-eight videos from the year Metallica cut their hair, Sepultura went back to their roots, and death, gothic, symphonic and power metal all grew new branches. Open any record for its story, the facts, the best tracks and a video.
The full 1996 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 1996 Metallica cut their hair, released Load and headlined Lollapalooza, the original Kiss line-up came back together, and Ozzy Osbourne answered a rejection with a festival of his own. Below the arenas, Sepultura went back to their roots, Gothenburg's melodic death metal went on the road, black metal reached for orchestras, and gothic, doom and power metal laid the ground for the boom years ahead.
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 1996 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, Metal Music Archives, Loudwire, Louder (Metal Hammer, Classic Rock), Metal Injection, Spirit of Metal, Blabbermouth, IMVDb, Rolling Stone, Ultimate Classic Rock, Spin, Diffuser, Riffology, Invisible Oranges, Decibel, Sputnikmusic, 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.