This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 2006.

Newly formed bands

• Bruxers
• Dethklok
• The Devil Wears Prada
• Divine Heresy
• Menacer

Reformed bands

• Alice in Chains
• Atheist
• Carnivore
• Extreme (for a few shows)
• Immortal
• Pitchshifter

Albums

• 24-7 Spyz - Face the Day
• The Acacia Strain - The Dead Walk
• Agalloch - Ashes Against the Grain
• Agoraphobic Nosebleed - PCP Torpedo/ANbRX
• Alice in Chains - The Essential Alice in Chains
• All That Remains - The Fall of Ideals
• Amon Amarth - With Oden on our Side
• Angra - Aurora Consurgens
• Arsis - United in Regret
• Atreyu - A Death Grip On Yesterday
• A Band Called Pain - Broken Dreams
• Beto Vázquez Infinity - Flying Towards the New Horizon
• Behemoth - Demonica
• Beyond Fear - Beyond Fear
• Black Label Society - Shot to Hell
• Blind Guardian - A Twist in the Myth
• Body Count - Murder 4 Hire
• Borknagar - Origin
• Bring Me The Horizon - Count Your Blessings
• Cannibal Corpse - Kill
• Carpathian Forest - Fuck You All!!!!
• Catamenia - Location:COLD
• Cattle Decapitation - Karma.Bloody.Karma.
• Celestiial - Desolate North
• Cellador - Enter Deception
• Celtic Frost - Monotheist
• Chrome Division - Doomsday Rock 'N' Roll
• Cradle of Filth - Thornography
• Darkthrone - The Cult Is Alive
• Decapitated - Organic Hallucinosis
• Def Leppard - Yeah!
• Deftones - Saturday Night Wrist
• Deicide - The Stench of Redemption
• Dismember - The God That Never Was
• Dissection (band) - Reinkaos
• DragonForce - Inhuman Rampage
• Dream Theater - Score
• Edguy - Rocket Ride
• Rob Zombie - Educated Horses
• Ensiferum - Dragonheads
• Enslaved - Ruun
• Europe - Secret Society
• Evergrey - Monday Morning Apocalypse
• Fear Before the March of Flames - The Always Open Mouth
• Frightmare - Bringing Back the Bloodshed
• From a Second Story Window - Delenda
• Ghoul - Splatterthrash
• Godsmack - IV
• Grave - As Rapture Comes
• HammerFall - Threshold
• Heaven Shall Burn - Deaf to Our Prayers
• Himsa - Hail Horror
• In Flames - Come Clarity
• Iron Maiden - A Matter of Life and Death
• Kataklysm - In the Arms of Devastation
• Killswitch Engage - As Daylight Dies
• Krisiun - AssassiNation
• Krux - II
• Lacuna Coil - Karmacode
• Lamb of God - Sacrament
• Lordi - The Arockalypse
• Mastodon - Call of the Mastodon, Blood Mountain
• Mercenary - The Hours that Remain
• Misery Index - Discordia
• Misery Signals - Mirrors
• Moonspell - Memorial
• Motörhead - Kiss of Death
• Mushroomhead - Savior Sorrow
• My Dying Bride - A Line of Deathless Kings
• Napalm Death - Smear Campaign
• Necrophobic - Hrimthursum
• Nightwish - Highest Hopes
• No Big Silence - War In Wonderland
• Outworld (band)-Outworld
• Paul Stanley, (Kiss) - Live to Win
• Phobia - Cruel
• P.O.D. - Testify
• Pitchshifter - None for All and All for OneEP
• Queensrÿche - Operation: Mindcrime II
• Rammstein - Völkerball
• Raunchy - Death Pop Romance
• Rhapsody of Fire - Triumph or Agony
• Rob Zombie - Educated Horses
• Rotten Sound - Consume to Contaminate
• Runemagick - Invocation of Magick
• Sabaton - Attero Dominatus
• Sadus - Out for Blood
• Sepultura - Dante XXI
• Shadows Fall - Fallout From the War
• Sigma - "Violence Speaks Louder Than Words"
• Skid Row - Revolutions Per Minute
• Skinless - Trample the Weak, Hurdle the Dead
• Slayer - Christ Illusion
• Sleep Terror - Probing Tranquility
• Sodom - Sodom
• Solefald - Black For Death: An Icelandic Odyssey Part 2
• Solitude Aeturnus - Alone
• Sonata Arctica - For the Sake of Revenge
• Stone Sour - Come What(ever) May
• Spawn of Possession - Noctambulant
• Strapping Young Lad - The New Black
• Sturmgeist - Über
• Suffocation - Suffocation
• Summoning - Oath Bound'
• Terrorizer - Darker Days Ahead
• Theatre of Tragedy - Storm
• The Sword - Age of Winters
• Threat Signal - Under Reprisal
• Trivium - The Crusade
• Týr - Eric the Red (re-release)
• Týr - Ragnarok
• Underoath - Define the Great Line
• Unearth - III: In the Eyes of Fire
• uneXpect - In a Flesh Aquarium
• Vader - Impressions In Blood
• Voivod - Katorz
• Wicked Wisdom - Wicked Wisdom
• Witchery - Don't Fear the Reaper
• Wolfmother - Wolfmother
• Zyklon - Disintegrate

Disbandments

• Beseech
• Dissection
• Lord Gore
• Peccatum
• Terrorizer

Events

• Slipknot goes on hiatus until 2008 while members work on their "side projects".
• Queen, Judas Priest, Def Leppard, and Kiss are the first bands inducted into the VH1 Rock Honors.
• Alice in Chains reunite with the Jar of Flies line-up and singer William DuVall replaces the late Layne Staley.
• Body Count releases their first album in nine years, Murder 4 Hire. The album features the band's new line-up: Bendrix (rhythm guitar), Vincent Price (bass), and O.T. (drums).
• Extreme reunite for a second time – now with their "classic" original line-up – to do a small three-show reunion tour in New England.
• Lordi wins Eurovision Song Contest 2006.
• System of a Down goes on a long-term hiatus.
• Jesse Pintado of Terrorizer and formerly of Napalm Death passes away.
• Opeth drummer Martin Lopez officially and permanently leaves Opeth on May 12th, 2006, due to illness and is replaced by Martin Axenrot.
• Metalocalypse airs on the Adult Swim network.
• Mercenary bassist/vocalist Henrik "Kral" Andersen leaves in March and is replaced by René Pedersen.
• Visions of Atlantis keyboardist Miro Holly quits and is replaced by Martin Harb
• Chimaira drummer Andols Herrick rejoins the band (after leaving in 2003), forcing the departure of Kevin Talley.
• Tapio Wilska was fired from Finntroll due to personal differences.

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