Hank Williams III, or Hank 3, as he bills himself on his latest releases, most definitely has the bloodline of the original. Not only does he embody the nasally voice and natural songwriting ability of Hank Williams, but he also embodies the take-no-crap, rebellious attitude for which the original Hank was famous.
Williams has taken that attitude to the extreme on his new trio of albums, “Ghost to A Ghost/Guttertown,” “Attention Deficit Domination,” and “3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin'.” The first is a double album, actually two separate albums in one package, and is a wildly diverse collection of hard country, rock ‘n’ roll, Americana and Folk.

“Ghost to A Ghost” is an amazing collection of original (and future classic) country songs and rock tunes which serves to prove that calling Hank 3 strictly a “country” artist does great disservice to his artistry. Its diversity is inspiring, and the quality of writing, both musically and lyrically, is rare in these days of genre-specific, formulaic writing practiced by many artists. “Guttertown,” the second CD of this double set, may be the most fascinating single-artist expressions of ethnic folk music ever put on one album, interspersed with experimental pieces I can only describe as modern classical, using sounds, both found and created, to elicit an emotional or intellectual reaction. Some are disturbing, some humorous, some curious, but all accomplish the desired result. The folk music covers so many terrains—Zydeco, Polka, Celtic and many others are represented and expressed with a deep understanding and obvious embrace.

“Attention Deficit Domination,” is a startling collection of Hank 3’s metal side. “ADD” is styled more after old-school metal like Black Sabbath, but using guitar tones and voice manipulation that rings with today's metal aficionados. He uses twisted, yet viable and discernible vocal melodies, and the actual musical structure is not only sound, but for the most part, satisfying.

“3 Bar Ranch Cattle Callin'” is by far the most experimental of the three albums. A startling, almost shocking, combination of recorded cattle auctioneers backed by hard rock/death-metal-ish guitar riffing that results in frighteningly interesting, and equally disturbing, soundscapes that can only be described as experimental music. The rhythm and tonality of the auctioneers paired with the frenetic thrash metal works surprisingly well, although I wouldn’t expect anything on here to hit the Top 40 Chart.

All in all, these three albums without a doubt illustrate Hank 3’s enviable talents and insanely diverse artistry.