1978 in heavy metal music

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This is a timeline documenting the events of heavy metal in the year 1978.

Bands formed

Vocalist Ozzy Osbourne had a change of heart and returned to Black Sabbath after leaving abruptly the year before.
Gary Moore embarked on his third and final stint as Thin Lizzy's guitarist, replacing Brian Robertson.
Paul Di'Anno took over as Iron Maiden's vocalist, succeeding Dennis Wilcock.
Original Def Leppard drummer Tony Kenning departed the band, making way for Rick Allen, who, at just 15 years old, became their permanent drummer.
Uli Jon Roth parted ways with Scorpions due to creative differences, leading to Matthias Jabs joining as his replacement.
Guitarist Michael Shenker left UFO and rejoined Scorpions.

January 23 – Terry Alan Kath, founder and guitarist of Chicago, died from an unintentional self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head at the age of 31.
September 7 – Keith John Moon, founding member and drummer of The Who, died from an overdose of clomethiazole at the age of 32.

Day	Artist	Album
2	Quiet Riot	Quiet Riot

Day	Artist	Album
10	Jethro Tull	Heavy Horses
14	Rainbow	Long Live Rock 'n' Roll^[2]

Day	Artist	Album
5	AC/DC	Powerage

Artist	Album
Golden Earring	Grab It for a Second
Lucifer's Friend	Good Time Warrior
Ram Jam	Portrait of the Artist as a Young Ram

Preceded by 1977	Heavy Metal Timeline 1978	Succeeded by 1979

^ "Anvil Bio". Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-04-25.
^ Popoff, Martin (2016). The Deep Purple Family (2nd ed.). Wymer Publishing. p. 234. ISBN 978-1-908724-42-7.
^ "RIAA certifications". Recording Industry Association of America.