It was a dark fucking year, but dark times usually equate to great heavy music (see our 20 Best Albums of 2017 list). Such was the case this year, 12 harrowing months that were never at a loss for a good, cathartic song to soundtrack its twists and turns, and provide release. Here are our favorite cuts from a challenging year — from an alt-metal juggernaut's apocalyptic return, to a hardcore band's post-grunge anthem, to a goth-rock outfit's twisted love song, to death-metal vets' new statements of intent and much more.
50 Best Songs of 2017
Our playlist of the finest cuts heavy music had to offer this year
A Perfect Circle's Maynard James Keenan
photograph by Barry Brecheisen/WireImage
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Hail to the Kings: M. Shadows Interviews Hetfield and Ulrich
Avenged Sevenfold singer gains audience with Metallica's founding duo in classic story
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How Lamb of God Came Back After Randy Blythe's Arrest and Imprisonment
From Prague's Pankrác Prison to LOG's 'VII: Sturm und Drang'
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Florida Death Metal's Gory Rise, Groundbreaking Reign: The Definitive Oral History
Deicide, Death, Morbid Angel and more tell the story of one of heavy music's most game-changing movements
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Injuries, Pressure, Ciphers: Inside Alice in Chains' 'The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here'
How Seattle rock giants proved the comeback was real with one of their heaviest records
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Slipknot's '.5: The Gray Chapter': How Death, Trauma Shaped Comeback LP
Corey Taylor: "This album is about making peace with the loss that we've suffered"
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Drugs, Death, Chaos, Contradiction: Inside Dillinger's 'One of Us Is the Killer'
How Greg Puciato and Ben Weinman's complex relationship has shaped one of heavy music's most insane bands
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Killswitch Engage: Inside Jesse Leach's Return, Making of 'Disarm the Descent'
Leach: "Being in Killswitch today is worlds apart from what it was 10 years ago"
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Killswitch Engage 'Incarnate': Metalcore Rebels Face Dark Side, Fight Inner War
Singer Jesse Leach: "This album literally drove me crazy"