Hank Williams III - "Take as Needed for Pain"

[StevePulaski]

Take as Needed for Pain (2015)
By: Hank Williams III

Rating: ★★

Take as Needed for Pain marks the fourth Hank Williams III compilation album Curb Records has released since the man's departure from the label in 2010. When Curb signed the artist in the late 1990's, expecting him to be the ghost of his grandfather, they were evidently more than a little surprised when Hank demanded to forge his own path, singing a fair share of traditional country, but also branching out into heavy metal and rockabilly music as well. This unique mix caused for more than one controversial episode between Hank and the suits, where Curb demanded not to release various songs and projects of his (most notably, the famously-bootlegged album This Ain't Country, which was repackaged later as Hillbilly Joker in 2011).

Since Hank's departure, Curb has been scrambling to find and release all of Hank's songs previously found on other compilation albums, tribute albums, or bootlegged/live tracks to compile albums together under the singer's name. Being that Hank is now an independent artist, the easiest way to tell if a new Hank CD is his own or a collection of rereleases by Curb Records is by looking at the album artist: "Hank 3" is an official release by Hank himself and "Hank Williams III" is a release by Curb.

With that, Hank fans have had five years of conflicted purchases or illegal downloads whenever Curb compilations rolled around, assuming the hardcore fans weren't at least aware or in possession of this material beforehand. Take as Needed for Pain, however, even by the standards of these Curb releases, is far from Hank's best work in general. It's an uncommonly short eight tracks, either alluding to the idea that Curb is almost out of material to salvage or they've started making what could more or less be considered an EP and are trying to release as many as possible.

Despite Hank's ventures into speed and thrash metal, Hank is a country artist at heart, with a voice that can be as low as Johnny Cash's or as high as his grandfather's depending on what the song calls for. His metal ventures have never been among my favorites of his work, but, as always, I admire his desire to go where the puck isn't with a lot of these songs, creating a sound all his own. We open with the speedy romp "Get Outta My Life," assisted by David Allan Coe and Rebel Meets Rebel, setting the tune for this album fairly well. Following it are "Ruby, Get Back to the Hills," which would be a great song if it didn't descend into raucous speed metal after following an alternative country blueprint for most of the song, "No Values," a Black Flag cover that has been among one of my favorite Hank songs for years (I even used it in my short film with my friend years back), thanks to its blend of audible vocals through intense instrumentation, and the ten minute titular track, which is a tribute to the metal band Eyehategod.

Other songs like "Torn Between Suicide & Breakfast" (which is an amazing title to say the least) take on a dreary, emotional layer, with Hank boasting some of the most haunting vocals he's ever done in a way that's mesmerizing and truly dark. The first four tracks of the album set up something very different than what we're ultimately given in the end. By the end of the release, Hank's music becomes nothing more than incomprehensible chaos, with "White Trash" and "King Cartel" being thoroughly unlistenable, and the fact that they push the boundaries of being five minutes long wore on me unlike any other Hank song in the past.

Hardcore Hank fans will likely continue to appreciate their savior's material, but the more casual fan of Hank's country side will again be baffled and thoroughly aggravated by the amount of mixing and subversive heavy metal that makes up most of this album. When it comes to the possibility of listening to Take as Needed for Pain again later down the line, I think I'll settle for admiration from a distance.

Recommended tracks (in order): "No Values," "Torn Between Suicide & Breakfast," and "Ruby, Get Back to the Hills."