It certainly has been an eventful year providing plenty of surprises, but we want to know which story caught you most off guard when it broke. We've got five nominees that all came as a shock to us when they occurred, making for some of the more interesting stories of the year.

Death is always a surprise, especially when it's a larger than life figure that is seemingly gone before their time. The passing of Slayer guitar great Jeff Hanneman came as a shock to many and the timing with the Golden Gods Awards happening hours after the news went public made it so the metal community could mourn as a whole.

There were also a pair of high profile legal proceedings that took the music world by surprise. Lostprophets frontman Ian Watkins spent the year behind bars, accused of sexual assault charges against an infant child. The singer's guilty plea and subsequent sentencing to 35 years in prison was definitely a shocker. So was the arrest of As I Lay Dying singer Tim Lambesis, who was charged with allegedly trying to hire a hitman to bump off his estranged wife. Unfortunately that hitman was an undercover police officer tipped to Lambesis' solicitation.

And finally, there were a couple of lineup changes that surely shocked everyone. The year began with Three Days Grace frontman Adam Gontier exiting his popular rock band. The timing was curious as the group had booked major tours and was still in the early stages of promoting a new album. Things got a little messy publicly, but the band fulfilled their tour obligations and beyond with My Darkest Days' frontman Matt Walst stepping in to help out. The other lineup change came as a big surprise as Slipknot revealed they had split with longtime drummer Joey Jordison. The move came late in the year and the band has yet to announce his replacement. Jordison continually commented in recent years about his desire to do another Slipknot record and coming up with ideas for new music, which made his exit all the more puzzling.

So, with all those options, it's up to you to let us know which was the most shocking story of 2013. Vote in our Readers Poll below.

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