Hank Williams III: Attention Deficit Domination (2011)

Review

The other day I was watching TV and pro bull riding came on. I don't really go out of my way to watch that sport, but when it's on I will watch it. That's the only real extreme sport, skateboarding and snowboarding be damned.

I feel the same way about Hank Williams III as I do about PBR. Occasionally, he's awesome. I’ve mentioned the eclectic country heir a handful of times on this blog. He plays country music that I actually want to listen to (which is pretty damn rare). He’s also played some pretty decent metal/punk in the past, with Assjack earning a fairly decent rating from me. Now, Attention Deficit Domination is his attempt at creating stoner doom.


The music is extremely straight-forward doom metal. It’s not ground-breaking in the least, but this style of doom isn’t meant to break ground; it’s supposed to be about the riffs. The riffs here are pretty good, likely to induce toe-tapping or head-bobbing, but probably not suitable for square dancing. Although that would be pretty awesome to see. There are some solos and a handful of unusual and interesting elements, like the stomping riff of “Livin Beyond Doom”, but for the most part it sounds like what you’d expect from something on The Church Within.

Even though it seems to be a pretty safe bet from those features, it’s probably one you’ll want to pass up. Hank’s vocals, being high-pitched and nasally, should be a perfect fit for doom. (See Ozzy-era Sabbath.) And sometimes the vocals here are good, too. But other times, they tend to grate. He can definitely do what he needs to do, but sometimes he doesn’t. The production isn’t doing the album any favors either, as it just sounds so straight-forward. It doesn’t have any extra punch, or heaviness, or anything. It just sounds like a really well-recorded demo.



The Verdict: Well, it's good for more than eight seconds at a time, but not the whole way. This reminds me of Danzig's fifth through eighth albums, because Hank III could do with an outside producer to tell him what’s not working and give it that extra something sonically. I give ADD 2 out of 5 stars.