Austin Snell Opens Up About Home Sweet Hell and the Stories That Shape Him [Exclusive]

Country riser Austin Snell isn’t afraid of the dark corners of life. In fact, he’s built an entire project around them. His new EP, Home Sweet Hell, is raw, unflinching, and deeply personal, tying together seven tracks that blur the line between pain and pride. Sitting down with All Country News the Georgia native opened up about his latest project.

Credit: Maddie Ormond

For Snell, the title itself carries weight far beyond its sharp wordplay. “It means that things aren’t always what they seem,” he explains. “It’s easy to look at someone’s pretty little house in a small town and assume that person had a pretty little childhood. But were you there? Did you hear their mom crying in the bathroom at 3am? Or did you just see the smiles when she dropped them off at school?”

That unfiltered honesty runs through every song. Snell doesn’t present his upbringing as picture-perfect, but he doesn’t write it off either. “There were positive things about my childhood. It wasn’t all bad. I’m still proud to have grown up the way I did. But everyone has a story. And I think that’s what I’m trying to say in this project.”

A New Chapter of Growth

Snell sees this collection as a turning point in his artistry. Compared to earlier releases, he hears a more grounded version of himself. “I see a more mature Austin,” he says. “I’ve reflected on a lot of feelings I never dealt with at a young age and a lot of questions that never got answered. I don’t think I’ll ever have it figured out—and I don’t want to. When I stop growing, I won’t have any more songs to write.”

The result is an EP that doesn’t chase trends or approval but leans into his own headspace. “This EP is a reflection of what I’m feeling. Just as scrambled and chaotic as my mind is.”

Rock Edge Meets Country Truth

Snell’s sound has always lived on the edge of genres, fusing heavy, rock-leaning energy with country’s storytelling heart. On Home Sweet Hell, that balance feels sharper than ever. “It’s intentional but not forced,” he says. “If a song ends up feeling more rock or more country, I never want to fight that. As soon as you put your creativity in a box, it’s hard to be truly creative.”

That refusal to fit neatly into one lane is what excites him about the future. “To say my music will always be a certain way would be the same as saying a quarter is gonna land on tails. I think that’s why I continue to be so excited to make music.”

Building Songs and Building Family

Some of the EP’s most powerful moments come from collaborations with writers like Nicolette Hayford and Riley Thomas, two creatives Snell describes as rare gems in the business. “It’s hard to find people in this town that don’t make music with money in mind. But those two are there for the SONG every single time,” he says. “They bring such a feeling of comfort to a writing room. And when you have three minds working together to make the song that gives you goosebumps, that’s hard to beat. They’re some of my best friends in the world.”

Finding Connection Through Music

At the heart of Home Sweet Hell is a sense of community. Snell isn’t chasing streams or chart positions, he’s chasing connection. “I don’t do this music thing for the numbers. I do it because there are people in this world that just need family. That’s what I’m building. A place where people can go to feel heard.”

Whether listeners carry childhood scars, relationship struggles, or the everyday weight of mental health, Snell wants them to know they aren’t alone. “If fans listen to Home Sweet Hell from start to finish, I hope they walk away with a sense of community. Whether it’s trauma or just needing a good time, I want people to feel heard.”

The Bigger Picture

With Home Sweet Hell, Austin Snell is doing more than sharing his story, he’s rewriting what it means to make country music in a world that craves honesty. His songs may be bruised and jagged at the edges, but they carry a beating heart at the center. In turning his own chaos into connection, Snell has created a project that reminds us all that behind every smile and every song, there’s a story worth telling.