10 Best Hard Rock Ballads

With the band's unrelenting blast of metallic ferocity, Slipknot was probably the last band people expected to bring things down a bit. As the band went through some of the heaviest material of the 2000's on Iowa, the band started exploring styles that didn't necessarily have to be non-stop headbangers. In a scene dominated by its maniacal riffs, "Snuff" showed that there were vulnerable human beings underneath those masks.

As the opening notes swirl in, the tempo is slower than anything Slipknot had ever touched, with just a few simple chord hits as the basis of the song. The true power is in the vocal, as Corey Taylor lets out his internal demons about losing the most important person in his life. The lyrics detail Taylor's state of mind as he wrestles with the idea of hating the person in question while also being able to express his affection towards them.

While Taylor bears his soul, the band stand right behind him as the drums enter, building the song to a climax of torturous heartache. The song concludes with the protagonist's love shattered and leaving him a shell of the person he once was. A perfect bittersweet ending for a slowburn from one of metal's most savage bands.