Shelton Hank Williams III continues his reign as the ultimate death-defying Nashville bad ass/head case. The antithesis of pop country acts such as Tim McGraw, the hellbilly renegade's fourth album proper finds him melodiously yelping about fighting, fucking, drinking, suicide, broken hearts, Satanism and snorting coke over hopped-up honk tonk and the occasional spooky sound effect. A serious rarity among Music City releases, Damn Right, Rebel Proud earned the singer/songwriter a Parental Advisory badge of honor for the second album in a row, making faux outlaws such as Toby Keith look like pussies in comparison.
This article appears in Oct 22-28, 2008.