10. The Battle For Queensryche

There have been plenty of ugly splits in metal. However, Geoff Tate’s depature from Queensryche might have been the ugliest of 2012. Tension within the group was high even before Tate got the boot. So though it wasn’t too surprising when Queensryche officially kicked him out, it was shocking to see how ugly it got in court between Tate and his former bandmates. But then, when a judge allowed Michael Wilton, Eddie Jackson and Scott Rockenfield to continue performing under the moniker, Tate did something that startled many fans: formed his own version of Queensryche. Who would have thought that one of the things we have to look forward to in 2013 are two versions of Queensryche?

9. Cattle Decapitation Show What A “Forced Gender Reassignment” Looks Like

Songs that are explicitly about blood and gore are nothing new. “Forced Gender Reassignment” by Cattle Decapitation doesn’t really break the formula too much either. And then we got a music video that literally depicts the lyrics. And we mean literally. Both YouTube and Vimeo rejected the video that makes some snuff films look like an episode of Yo Gabba Gabba! We were all squeamish when we watched the video, and some of us can’t even feel feelings. Regarding the music video, frontman Travis Ryan said that he wanted “something mean and cruel and flat out disturbing.” Well, congrats Travis. We’ll never look at drills the same way again.