50 Best Hard Rock & Heavy Metal Albums Of 2017

It feels somewhat poignant to have a deathcore album be the midpoint of our stroll through the best metal of 2017, as the year was, on the whole, actually pretty unkind to the subgenre. So many deathcore bands attempted to experiment beyond their tried and true approach in recent months only to have their sound diluted and weakened because of it. Names like Suicide Silence and Veil of Maya instantly spring to mind.

However, back in March, the American juggernauts Within the Ruins showed the world how you can be deathcore and incorporate some variety into your music and do it well.

Fusing extreme metal, hardcore and progressive music into one brutal, groove-dispensing package, Halfway Human is a disc that adds to the immense Within the Ruins style by sticking to the crushing growls and tight, “djent”-inspired guitar chops that the band is adored for, while also adding in clean backing vocals and stronger choruses in general.

Singles like “Beautiful Agony” and “Objective Reality” perfectly exemplify the new, pummelling-yet-harmonic style that Within the Ruins have wholeheartedly nailed on their very first attempt. New bassist Paolo Galang busts out his melodic singing readily but not excessively, punctuating the weighty wails of Tim Goergen and the record’s equally heavy-hitting rhythms.

Thus, as far as deathcore goes, Halfway Human is easily the best record that the style has given this year. It may be versatile, but its technical inclinations and upped melodies never take away from Within the Ruins’ bread and butter: meaty guitars, growls and drumming.