2001

Twenty-first-century nerves arrived early in 2001. The September 11 attacks reshaped the year's politics, with the invasion of Afghanistan following, while foot-and-mouth disease swept through British livestock and Enron collapsed. On a lighter note, Wikipedia launched, Windows XP appeared, and Apple unveiled the iPod in October, quietly rearranging how everyone would carry their record collections.

Heavy music was in a restless, slightly bruised mood. Nu metal still sold, but the heavier edge was winning the argument: Slipknot's Iowa landed in August, Slayer's God Hates Us All turned up on 11 September, and Sepultura's Nation and Megadeth's The World Needs a Hero kept the old guard busy. Tool's Lateralus rewarded patient listeners in May, Rammstein's Mutter brought German-language industrial metal to a wider crowd in April, and Ozzy Osbourne's Down to Earth closed the autumn. Beyond the metal aisle, Radiohead's Amnesiac sounded nothing like a follow-up should, and Weezer's self-titled album arrived the same day as Tool's. Meanwhile, Audioslave, My Chemical Romance and Volbeat all formed, and Rush and Celtic Frost were back in action.

Trouble came too. Jason Newsted left Metallica after fourteen years and joined Voivod. At Sydney's Big Day Out, a crowd crush during Limp Bizkit's set killed Jessica Michalik, and Wes Borland later left the band. Emperor and Death disbanded, and Chuck Schuldiner of Death died on 13 December, aged 34.