2013

In 2013 a meteor exploded over Chelyabinsk and injured well over a thousand people. Benedict XVI resigned, the first pope to do so in six centuries, and Francis was elected within weeks. In April the Boston Marathon bombing shook the world, and in June Edward Snowden's surveillance disclosures dominated the news.

Rock spent the year looking backwards, mostly with good grace. Black Sabbath's 13 arrived in June and was the vault's most popular record of the year, with a live set, Live… Gathered in Their Masses, following in November. Megadeth put out Super Collider, then Countdown to Extinction: Live, while Iron Maiden revisited their tour with Maiden England '88. Pearl Jam's Lightning Bolt and Alice in Chains' The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here kept the grunge generation busy, and Nine Inch Nails returned with Hesitation Marks. Korn's The Paradigm Shift brought Brian "Head" Welch back after eight years away. Motörhead delivered Aftershock, Sepultura issued The Mediator Between Head and Hands Must Be the Heart, and Linkin Park offered the remix set Recharged. Metallica went to the cinema with Through the Never.

It was also a year of loss and upheaval. Slayer's Jeff Hanneman died in May, and Dave Lombardo was replaced by Paul Bostaph. Clive Burr, once of Iron Maiden, and Deftones bassist Chi Cheng also died. Lamb of God's Randy Blythe was acquitted of manslaughter in Prague, though the legal bill bankrupted the band. As I Lay Dying's Tim Lambesis was arrested, and Static-X called it a day.