2007

In 2007 the Iraq surge dominated the news, Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End topped the box office, and the final Harry Potter novel sold more than anything else on the shelves. Halo 3 and Call of Duty 4 ate up evenings, while the subprime mortgage crisis began to rattle the global economy as the year ended.

Rock spent the year looking for new directions. Linkin Park traded their rap-metal template for something more restrained on Minutes to Midnight, and Korn went the other way, releasing an unplugged set and then an untitled album within five months. Nine Inch Nails delivered the dystopian concept of Year Zero and a remix follow-up before the year was out. Radiohead's In Rainbows arrived in October, and Foo Fighters' Echoes, Silence, Patience & Grace and The Smashing Pumpkins' Zeitgeist kept the alternative generation busy. Ozzy Osbourne put out Black Rain, Megadeth followed United Abominations with the Warchest box set, and Led Zeppelin's Mothership and two Black Sabbath reissues showed that the back catalogues were still earning their keep. Dimmu Borgir's In Sorte Diaboli reached number one in Norway, an extreme metal first.

The drama was mostly about reunions and departures. Led Zeppelin played a single London concert, Rage Against the Machine and Carcass re-formed, and Extreme got back together once more. Chris Cornell left Audioslave, Strapping Young Lad called it a day, and Nightwish found Anette Olzon as a new singer. Kevin DuBrow of Quiet Riot died in November, and Decapitated drummer Witold Kiełtyka was killed in a car crash in October.