20 Best Metal Albums Of 2017 (So Far)

We may be only a quarter of the way through, but overall, 2017 is shaping up to a far better year than 2016. Less beloved celebrities have kicked the bucket, and regardless of your political standpoints, the status quo is beginning to feel just a little less shattered.

A little.

In fact, one of the only good things about 2016 was its metal, and in hindsight, it may have been the best year for metal this decade, spearheaded primarily by the return of classic thrash, all thanks to massive albums like Testament's Brotherhood of the Snake, Death Angel's The Evil Divide, Megadeth's Dystopia, Anthrax's For All Kings, Suicidal Tendencies' World Gone Mad and, of course, Metallica's Hardwired... to Self-Destruct.

And while 2017 probably won't end up being quite as perfect as 2016 was for heavy music, it's still provided some extraordinary records during these first four months.

Before we begin, shoutouts must be dispensed to Ex Deo, Kepler Ten, The Voynich Code, Sepultura, Overkill, Ghost Iris, As Lions and Me and That Man. All of these bands and more made very good albums this year but, sadly, not quite great enough to make this list.

Kicking off the proceeds is Belgian djent/extreme metal outfit BEAR and their third album, /// (pronounced slash-slash-slash). Packed to the very brim with the most aggressive of riffs, the harshest of growls and a fair dose of muscular melodies, the record is as anarchic as the djent movement could ever hope to get.

With its guitars down-tuned to Hell and its songs short and punchy, /// is not a record for the faint of heart. Not only is it the best release BEAR has put out to date, it also marks a continued evolution of the "djent" moniker after its invention by the likes of Meshuggah in the early 2000s.