On January 9, it was announced that
Black Sabbath guitarist
Tony Iommi has been diagnosed with
lymphoma. However, the band have stated that they will continue recording their new album.[37] Within a month, the band announced that drummer
Bill Ward has decided to leave the band.[38][39]
Singaporeangrindcore act
Wormrot were detained in
Malaysia by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department. The reasoning for their arrest was "it is wrong for unmarried Muslim men and women to be in [the same] room."[40]
Death metal band
Suffocation parted ways with founding drummer
Mike Smith due to musical differences.[49]
Christopher Amott, founding guitarist/vocalist leaves
Arch Enemy because "Christopher simply isn't into playing extreme metal anymore."[50]
Brazilian
Metal Open Air festival takes place, but is cancelled after severe logistical and financial problems.[51]
Michael Keene of technical death metal band
The Faceless announced through Twitter that founding guitarist Steve Jones has departed from the band. This leaves Keene as the only original member left. Wes Hauch will be filling Steve's spot as the newest member.[52]
Slayer have announced that
Jeff Hanneman will me taking more time off from the band to concentrate on his rehabilitation. Back in 2011, Jeff contracted
necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease) on his right arm from a spider bite, and has been struggling in recovery since then.
Gary Holt (
Exodus) will continue to fill Jeff's spot until he is well enough to return. Slayer said "How long will that be? The best and most honest answer we can give you is 'as long as it takes.'"[56]
Drummer Patrice Hamelin of Canadian death metal band
Martyr has quit the band. "
Martyr is on hold for now."[58]
Marduk were banned from Minsk, Belarus. "Pavel Radzivonaw, a departmental head at the Prosecutor General's Office, told reporters on Monday that Marduk's concert, scheduled for May 22, would not take place. 'The band preaches Satanism, which has nothing to do with art,' he says. 'This is an affront to Christian values, they preach the ideas of death, of the Third Reich.'"[59]
Sonic Syndicate's founding member/guitarist Roger Sjunnesson quits the band.[62]
Queensrÿche parts ways with founding member/vocalist
Geoff Tate. The band also announced
Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre hired as his replacement.[63]
Lamb of God vocalist
Randy Blythe was arrested on June 28, 2012, by Czech Police
for causing a fan's death by pushing him off stage in Prague, Czech Republic. The band's publicists, have stated that Blythe is "wrongfully accused".[68] Blythe was released on bail for 4,000,000 Czech Koruna (US$200,000), and has been held in the country because he was "considered a flight risk by the judge".[69] Blythe posted bail, but due to the prosecutor's complaint, his bail was doubled to 8,000,000 Czech Koruna (US$400,000).[70] Due to his jail-time being longer than expected, Lamb of God's tour with
Dethklok and
Gojira was cancelled.[71] On August 3 Randy was released from prison after 5 weeks, Lamb of God was confirmed for
Knotfest.[72]
Frontman/guitarist
Alexi Laiho of
Children of Bodom was rushed to the hospital with stomach pains. He was released July 11 to continue the rest of the tour.[73]
The frontman/guitarist Josef "Humanoid" Vesely of
death metal band !T.O.O.H.! was diagnosed with
Schizophrenia.[74]
Blood Stain Child parts ways with female vocalist Sophia Aslanidou. In December she is replaced by Kiki, "What makes her so unique and talented is to be able to handle both clean voice and scream voice."[75][76]
Dagoba guitarist Izakar leaves the band due to "musical differences" and to focus on his other project Blazing War Machine.[77]
Ministry front-man
Al Jourgensen collapsed on stage during a live performance. The doctors said, "he was examined by numerous physicians and diagnosed to have had a full-system collapse due to extreme dehydration and heat exhaustion intensified by the lack of ventilation on stage at the venue. Doctors confirm via blood tests conducted that Jourgensen's alcohol blood levels were well below normal and no narcotics were found in his system." The remainder of the weeks tour dates were canceled, until Al was feeling well enough to continue the "DeFiBriLlaTouR European tour".[79]
Baroness were caught in a terrible bus accident, where the bus fell 30 feet from a viaduct near
Bath. A Facebook page statement was released as follows, "The band members of
Baroness and their crew are recovering from injuries sustained after their tour bus crashed outside of
BathEngland early on Wednesday morning.
John Baizley has broken his left arm and left leg. Allen Blickle and Matt Maggioni each suffered fractured vertebrae. All three remain in the hospital as of this writing. Pete Adams has been treated and released from the hospital. Three of the five crew members who were on the bus have also been treated and released. One member is still undergoing testing."[80]
Anthrax's song "Got The Time" was the first heavy metal song played on the planet
Mars. The song "was one of several songs on NASA's wake-up playlist for the
Mars Rover,
Curiosity, that touched down on the Red Planet August 5th."[81]
Decapitated drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner quits the band due to "personal differences".[82]
Eluveitie lead guitarist Simeon Koch leaves the band after 8 years. Rafael Salzmann will be his replacement for live performances.[83]
On November 9, 2012,
Amberian Dawn announced on their official site, that they are parting ways with singer Heidi Parviainen, along with drummer Heikki Saari and guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen. The replacement members are new vocalist Päivi "Capri" Virkkunen, and ex-members Joonas Pykälä-aho (drums) and Emil "Emppu" Pohjalainen (guitar). Parviainen explained via Facebook, "Early this year we noticed that we had reached the point where we didn't have much to offer to each other any more, and my own ambitions and Amberian Dawn's goals weren't coinciding any longer."
Deaths
January 3 – Joseph G. "Joey "Fingers" Lombard, former bassist of
Incantation, died by suicide at the age of 42.[89]
January 5 – Nicole Bogner, former vocalist of
Visions of Atlantis, died from an undisclosed disease at the age of 27.[90]
April 10 – Richie Teeter, drummer of
the Dictators and former drummer of
Twisted Sister, died from esophageal cancer at the age of 61.[97]
April 21 – Rob Cranny (a.k.a. Balfabar Nosugref the Almighty), owner of Canadian Northern Storm Records and vocalist of Detsörgsekälf, died from a heart attack at the age of 27.[98]
May 4 – Rob Doherty, former guitarist and vocalist of
Into Eternity, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 41.[99]
May 13 –
Trond "Trondr Nefas" Bråthen, also known as "Alastor Nefas" and "Nefas", founder, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter of
Urgehal, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 34.[100]
May 20 – Steeve Hurdle, former guitarist of
Gorguts, died of post-surgical complications at the age of 41.[101]
May 31 – Michael Grant, singer of Crescent Shield, Onward, Legend Maker and Cypher Seer, died of unidentified illness at the age of 39.[102]
June 29 – Teddy Mueller, former drummer of
AXE, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 57.
July 16 –
John Douglas "Jon" Lord, composer, founding member and former keyboardist of
Deep Purple and former keyboardist of
Whitesnake, died from a pulmonary embolism after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 71.[104]
On January 9, it was announced that
Black Sabbath guitarist
Tony Iommi has been diagnosed with
lymphoma. However, the band have stated that they will continue recording their new album.[37] Within a month, the band announced that drummer
Bill Ward has decided to leave the band.[38][39]
Singaporeangrindcore act
Wormrot were detained in
Malaysia by the Selangor Islamic Religious Department. The reasoning for their arrest was "it is wrong for unmarried Muslim men and women to be in [the same] room."[40]
Death metal band
Suffocation parted ways with founding drummer
Mike Smith due to musical differences.[49]
Christopher Amott, founding guitarist/vocalist leaves
Arch Enemy because "Christopher simply isn't into playing extreme metal anymore."[50]
Brazilian
Metal Open Air festival takes place, but is cancelled after severe logistical and financial problems.[51]
Michael Keene of technical death metal band
The Faceless announced through Twitter that founding guitarist Steve Jones has departed from the band. This leaves Keene as the only original member left. Wes Hauch will be filling Steve's spot as the newest member.[52]
Slayer have announced that
Jeff Hanneman will me taking more time off from the band to concentrate on his rehabilitation. Back in 2011, Jeff contracted
necrotizing fasciitis (flesh-eating disease) on his right arm from a spider bite, and has been struggling in recovery since then.
Gary Holt (
Exodus) will continue to fill Jeff's spot until he is well enough to return. Slayer said "How long will that be? The best and most honest answer we can give you is 'as long as it takes.'"[56]
Drummer Patrice Hamelin of Canadian death metal band
Martyr has quit the band. "
Martyr is on hold for now."[58]
Marduk were banned from Minsk, Belarus. "Pavel Radzivonaw, a departmental head at the Prosecutor General's Office, told reporters on Monday that Marduk's concert, scheduled for May 22, would not take place. 'The band preaches Satanism, which has nothing to do with art,' he says. 'This is an affront to Christian values, they preach the ideas of death, of the Third Reich.'"[59]
Sonic Syndicate's founding member/guitarist Roger Sjunnesson quits the band.[62]
Queensrÿche parts ways with founding member/vocalist
Geoff Tate. The band also announced
Crimson Glory singer Todd La Torre hired as his replacement.[63]
Lamb of God vocalist
Randy Blythe was arrested on June 28, 2012, by Czech Police
for causing a fan's death by pushing him off stage in Prague, Czech Republic. The band's publicists, have stated that Blythe is "wrongfully accused".[68] Blythe was released on bail for 4,000,000 Czech Koruna (US$200,000), and has been held in the country because he was "considered a flight risk by the judge".[69] Blythe posted bail, but due to the prosecutor's complaint, his bail was doubled to 8,000,000 Czech Koruna (US$400,000).[70] Due to his jail-time being longer than expected, Lamb of God's tour with
Dethklok and
Gojira was cancelled.[71] On August 3 Randy was released from prison after 5 weeks, Lamb of God was confirmed for
Knotfest.[72]
Frontman/guitarist
Alexi Laiho of
Children of Bodom was rushed to the hospital with stomach pains. He was released July 11 to continue the rest of the tour.[73]
The frontman/guitarist Josef "Humanoid" Vesely of
death metal band !T.O.O.H.! was diagnosed with
Schizophrenia.[74]
Blood Stain Child parts ways with female vocalist Sophia Aslanidou. In December she is replaced by Kiki, "What makes her so unique and talented is to be able to handle both clean voice and scream voice."[75][76]
Dagoba guitarist Izakar leaves the band due to "musical differences" and to focus on his other project Blazing War Machine.[77]
Ministry front-man
Al Jourgensen collapsed on stage during a live performance. The doctors said, "he was examined by numerous physicians and diagnosed to have had a full-system collapse due to extreme dehydration and heat exhaustion intensified by the lack of ventilation on stage at the venue. Doctors confirm via blood tests conducted that Jourgensen's alcohol blood levels were well below normal and no narcotics were found in his system." The remainder of the weeks tour dates were canceled, until Al was feeling well enough to continue the "DeFiBriLlaTouR European tour".[79]
Baroness were caught in a terrible bus accident, where the bus fell 30 feet from a viaduct near
Bath. A Facebook page statement was released as follows, "The band members of
Baroness and their crew are recovering from injuries sustained after their tour bus crashed outside of
BathEngland early on Wednesday morning.
John Baizley has broken his left arm and left leg. Allen Blickle and Matt Maggioni each suffered fractured vertebrae. All three remain in the hospital as of this writing. Pete Adams has been treated and released from the hospital. Three of the five crew members who were on the bus have also been treated and released. One member is still undergoing testing."[80]
Anthrax's song "Got The Time" was the first heavy metal song played on the planet
Mars. The song "was one of several songs on NASA's wake-up playlist for the
Mars Rover,
Curiosity, that touched down on the Red Planet August 5th."[81]
Decapitated drummer Kerim "Krimh" Lechner quits the band due to "personal differences".[82]
Eluveitie lead guitarist Simeon Koch leaves the band after 8 years. Rafael Salzmann will be his replacement for live performances.[83]
On November 9, 2012,
Amberian Dawn announced on their official site, that they are parting ways with singer Heidi Parviainen, along with drummer Heikki Saari and guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen. The replacement members are new vocalist Päivi "Capri" Virkkunen, and ex-members Joonas Pykälä-aho (drums) and Emil "Emppu" Pohjalainen (guitar). Parviainen explained via Facebook, "Early this year we noticed that we had reached the point where we didn't have much to offer to each other any more, and my own ambitions and Amberian Dawn's goals weren't coinciding any longer."
Deaths
January 3 – Joseph G. "Joey "Fingers" Lombard, former bassist of
Incantation, died by suicide at the age of 42.[89]
January 5 – Nicole Bogner, former vocalist of
Visions of Atlantis, died from an undisclosed disease at the age of 27.[90]
April 10 – Richie Teeter, drummer of
the Dictators and former drummer of
Twisted Sister, died from esophageal cancer at the age of 61.[97]
April 21 – Rob Cranny (a.k.a. Balfabar Nosugref the Almighty), owner of Canadian Northern Storm Records and vocalist of Detsörgsekälf, died from a heart attack at the age of 27.[98]
May 4 – Rob Doherty, former guitarist and vocalist of
Into Eternity, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 41.[99]
May 13 –
Trond "Trondr Nefas" Bråthen, also known as "Alastor Nefas" and "Nefas", founder, vocalist, multi-instrumentalist and songwriter of
Urgehal, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 34.[100]
May 20 – Steeve Hurdle, former guitarist of
Gorguts, died of post-surgical complications at the age of 41.[101]
May 31 – Michael Grant, singer of Crescent Shield, Onward, Legend Maker and Cypher Seer, died of unidentified illness at the age of 39.[102]
June 29 – Teddy Mueller, former drummer of
AXE, died from undisclosed reasons at the age of 57.
July 16 –
John Douglas "Jon" Lord, composer, founding member and former keyboardist of
Deep Purple and former keyboardist of
Whitesnake, died from a pulmonary embolism after a battle with pancreatic cancer at the age of 71.[104]