This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1981. “Heavy metal” redirects here. ... 1981 (MCMLXXXI) was a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Newly formed bands

• Anthrax
• Dark Angel
• Metallica
• Mötley Crüe
• Pantera
• Slayer

This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... Metallica is an American heavy metal band, formed on October 28, 1981. ... Mötley Crüe (IPA pronunciation: ) is a popular American Hard rock band from Los Angeles, California. ... Pantera was an American heavy metal band from Arlington, Texas, that formed in 1981. ... Slayer is an American thrash metal band, formed in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. ...

Albums

• AC/DC - For Those About to Rock We Salute You
• Accept - Breaker
• Alice Cooper - Special Forces
• Black Sabbath - Mob Rules
• Blue Öyster Cult - Fire of Unknown Origin
• Def Leppard - High 'n' Dry
• Iron Maiden - Killers
• Judas Priest - Point of Entry
• KISS - Music from "The Elder"
• Mercyful Fate - Nuns Have No Fun
• Mötley Crüe - Too Fast For Love
• Motörhead - No Sleep 'til Hammersmith (live)
• Rush - Moving Pictures
• Venom - Welcome to Hell
• Ozzy Osbourne - Diary of a Madman
• Saxon - Denim and Leather
• Whitesnake - Come An' Get It

This article is about the band. ... For Those About to Rock We Salute You is a hard rock album by Australian band AC/DC, released in 1981. ... Accept is a German heavy metal band from the town of Solingen, originally assembled in the early 1970s by Udo Dirkschneider. ... A circuit breaker is a piece of equipment which is designed to protect an electrical apparatus from damage caused by overload or short circuit. ... Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948), is a rock singer, songwriter and musician whose career spans four decades. ... Special Forces is an album by Alice Cooper, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music). ... For other uses, see Black Sabbath (disambiguation). ... Mob Rules is Black Sabbaths tenth studio album, released in 1981 following the success of Heaven and Hell. ... Blue Öyster Cult is an American rock band formed in 1967 and still active in 2007. ... Fire of Unknown Origin is an album by Blue Öyster Cult, released in 1981. ... Def Leppard are a hard rock band from Sheffield, England, who formed in 1977 at the time of the New Wave of British Heavy Metal. ... High N Dry is the second album by British hard rock band Def Leppard, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music). ... Iron Maiden are an English heavy metal band from east London. ... Killers, released in March of 1981 on EMI in the UK, was the second album by Iron Maiden. ... Judas Priest are a heavy metal band formed in 1968 in the northwest midlands of England, near Birmingham. ... Point of Entry is a heavy metal album from the band Judas Priest. ... Kiss (sometimes typeset KISS, to fit the official logo) is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973. ... Music from The Elder is a 1981 concept album released by the American hard rock band Kiss. ... Mercyful Fate is an influential Danish heavy metal group that helped inspire the black metal, thrash metal and prog metal genres. ... Nuns Have No Fun is the first album of Mercyful Fate. ... Mötley Crüe (IPA pronunciation: ) is a popular American Hard rock band from Los Angeles, California. ... Too Fast For Love is the debut record of American glam metal band Mötley Crüe. ... The title of this article contains the following characters: ö. Where they are unavailable or not desired, the name may be given as Motorhead. ... No Sleep til Hammersmith was Motörheads first live album. ... Rush is a Canadian rock band comprising bassist, keyboardist, and vocalist Geddy Lee, guitarist Alex Lifeson, and drummer and lyricist Neil Peart. ... Neil Pearts drum kit, Moving Pictures tour Moving Pictures is the eighth studio album by Canadian rock band Rush, released in 1981 (see 1981 in music). ... Venom is an early black metal band, formed in late 1978, in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. ... Welcome To Hell is the 1981 debut album by the black metal band Venom. ... Ozzy redirects here. ... Diary of a Madman is an album by Ozzy Osbourne. ... Saxon are a British heavy metal band, formed in 1976 in Barnsley, Yorkshire. ... Denim and Leather is the fourth studio album by heavy metal band Saxon released in 1981 (see 1981 in music). ... This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources. ...

Events

• April: AC/DC's album "Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap" is finally released in the United States.
• Iron Maiden comp guitarist Dennis Stratton leaves and is replaced by Adrian Smith
• Eric Carr joins KISS on drums and makes his songwriting debut with "Under the Rose".