The Most Shocking Rock + Metal Moments of the 1970s – 1990s

Rock and metal still have their wild moments, but these days have nothing on the 20th century.

The 1970s, ’80s and ’90s were full of chaos and decadence. Heavy metal was essentially born in 1970, which was when we saw rock and metal start to splinter off in different directions. New subgenres seemingly became popular every couple of years, which meant a slew of new artists and bands entered the spotlight. And most of them came with their own sets of stories.

We lost almost as many talented musicians as we gained during those 30 years. Jimi Hendrix, several members of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Bon Scott, John Bonham, Randy Rhoads, Cliff Burton, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Freddie Mercury and Kurt Cobain were just a few rockers whose lives were cut too short. There were a lot of tragedies, such as the deaths of some fans at a few different concerts and the Columbine High School massacre at the end of the millennium.

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Guns N’ Roses started a few riots. Twisted Sister‘s Dee Snider spoke at the 1985 Parents Music Resource Center/Senate Hearing. Ozzy Osbourne bit the head off a bat and peed on the Cenotaph in the Alamo plaza.

The list goes on, so we compiled a gallery of the most shocking rock and metal moments that took place between 1970 and 1999. Scroll below to travel back and time and relive what it was like to be a rock and metal fan in the 20th century.