The inaugural Headbangers Ball Tour started in April 1989 with Helloween joining San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal band Exodus in support of headlining act Anthrax . The band was slotted in the prestigious second spot, right before Anthrax’s set. On the heels of this exposure to U.S. audiences, the…
Read More
Sepultura’s third studio album, Beneath the Remains , was released in April 1989.
Black Sabbath released Headless Cross in April 1989, and it was also ignored by contemporary reviewers, although AllMusic contributor Eduardo Rivadavia gave the album four stars and called it “the finest non-Ozzy or Dio Black Sabbath album”. Anchored by the number 62 charting single “Headless Cross”, the album reached number…
Read More
including the March 16 show at Shibuya Public Hall
X’s sold out Blue Blood Tour started on March 13
During the March 1989 auditions for a new lead guitarist, Mustaine was arrested for driving under the influence and possession of narcotics after crashing into a parked vehicle occupied by an off-duty police officer.
In 1989, Metallica received its first Grammy Award nomination for …And Justice for All in the new Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance Vocal or Instrument category. Metallica was the favorite to win, but the award was given to Jethro Tull for the album Crest of a Knave . The award was…
Read More
Keenan and Jones met through a mutual friend in 1989. After Keenan played Jones a tape recording of his previous band project, Jones was so impressed by his voice that he eventually talked his friend into forming a new band. They started jamming together while searching for a drummer and…
Read More
which spawned their first ever live album, released the year after, titled Live in the U.K. recorded during their show in Scotland. The same record was also released as Keepers Live in Japan and I Want Out Live in the US.
At the end of 1989, Seikima-II became the first heavy metal band to perform at Kōhaku Uta Gassen .