Band:	Hell (USA)
Album:	Hell III
Style:	Drone doom metal, Sludge metal
Release date:	2012

01. Mourn
02. Decedre

Making hell one's home is quite a strange thing to do, trying to see the beautiful in all the ugliness that hell is, trying to find enjoyment in what others see as ugly or perverse. To some extent that is what listeners of extreme metal are trying to do. There is no better place to start than with Hell (USA)'s third full-length, entitled Hell III.

The opening tones of the album, which are just a solitary, beautiful guitar melody, are already a classic just six years after its release. But looking back at Hell (USA)'s discography, the opening tones must have been a surprise, as it's a very calm start to the album. The band's earlier albums were heavier, characterized by uncompromising sludge, noisy drone parts, and black metal. But it's that blend of calmness and the heavy sludge that makes this album so elegant, keeping the abrasive sounds from their earlier albums but making them much more beautiful.

The album has two songs, and I always thought it was a bit too short despite it being almost 40 minutes as each song is almost 20 minutes in length. With time I have come to the conclusion that it is what is and that's what makes it such a special album. Both songs are categorized by the melancholic, solitary guitar and its execution is strong in combination with the samples that are used. The sludgy parts are perfectly weighted against the doomier parts, they reduced the presence of black parts and drone, but the winding drones here sound better than ever. This is a doomier album that some would view as funeral.

Hell (USA) has three other full-lengths, all of them a bit more experimental in their own way than Hell III. Despite not having more than four full-lengths, the band's discography is massive, as their music is experimental and demanding and takes a while to get into. For any listeners who haven't listened to Hell (USA) yet, this is the album to start with. Not only is this their easiest album to get into, it's also a classic and maybe their best. As with most experimental bands, this won't appeal to everyone, but some have been called upon to venture the black paths of metal trying to make hell their home. A few of them will listen to this and realize the beauty of it; they will spend their eternity in hell.