Jerry Cantrell is a rock and roll survivor. He’s got the weathered look of a seasoned gunslinger, and his music carries the raw power of a desert storm. The kind of guy who could write a song about a rattlesnake and make it sound like a love ballad, Cantrell’s got a unique blend of grit and melody that’s as instantly recognizable as it is intoxicating.
“There are times of self-doubt, but that’s part of the creative process. I push through it and come out with something I’m proud of.”
His new album, I Want Blood, the follow-up to 2021’s Brighten, is raw, heavy, hook-laden, and at times vulnerable — a welcome release from an artist who has spent a lifetime pushing the boundaries of rock n’ roll.
“This record is a serious piece of work. It’s a motherfucker,” Cantrell says. “It’s hard, no doubt, and completely unlike the last one. And that’s what you want, to end up in a different place.”
The album’s opener, “Vilified,” is a hell-raising anthem that sets the tone for what’s to come. “It travels a lot of places in just four and a half minutes,” Cantrell explains. “It’s got a ferocity and really aggressive vibe to it.”
Despite the album’s raw power, Cantrell hasn’t lost his touch for crafting melodic hooks. Tracks like “Afterglow” and “Echoes” showcase a more vulnerable side of the artist, while the title track is a relentless, driving force.
“There’s a confidence to this album,” Cantrell says. “I think it’s some of my best writing and playing and certainly some of my best singing. There are large chunks of this record where I felt like my face was pressed to the ceiling of my abilities, operating at the top of my capacity.”
From the early days in Alice in Chains to his solo career, Cantrell has always been a trailblazer. He’s collaborated with everyone from Metallica to Ozzy Osbourne, and his music has been featured in countless films and TV shows. Yet decades after he entered the spotlight, he still approaches music with the same hunger and passion as he did when he started.
“I don’t really know where I’m going or where it’s going to end up,” Cantrell says about the creative process. “I just have the intention to take the trip, hacking through the brambles, cutting a new path that I haven’t been down, to be surprised where I arrive ultimately.”
Cantrell’s debut solo effort, 1998’s Boggy Depot, featured the Billboard Award-nominated “Cut You In.” He composed most of the follow-up, 2002’s Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2, isolated in the Cascade Mountains with a four-track recorder, and recruited Ozzy Osbourne’s then-rhythm section of bassist Robert Trujillo (now in Metallica) and drummer Mike Bordin (Faith No More) to join him in the studio. The came 2021’s Brighten.
I Want Blood reunites Cantrell with past collaborators, including drummer Gil Sharone (Marilyn Manson, Dillinger Escape Plan), bassist Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver), Emmy-nominated piano/keyboard/strings player Vincent Jones (Dave Gahan, Morrissey), Dillinge Escape Plan vocalist Greg Puciato, background vocalist Lola Colette, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo, and Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin. One of the only musicians from Brighten who wasn’t as present for I Want Blood is Tyler Bates.
“[He] was my partner on Brighten, but he wasn’t as involved in I Want Blood as he’s busy with TV, movie, and musical projects all the time,” Cantrell explains. “He still helped me wrangle a bunch of stuff on this record. We did a co-write on ‘Echoes,’ which is a beautiful song.”
I Want Blood was co-produced by Cantrell and Joe Barresi (Tool, Queens of the Stone Age, Melvins) at JHOC Studio in Pasadena, California. “Joe mixed Brighten as well as [Alice in Chains’] Rainier Fog, but we’d never done a record soup-to-nuts from the beginning,” notes Jerry. “It was great working with him on a full project.”
Like most albums, creating I Want Blood was a challenging process filled with golden epiphanies, but also moments of insecurity. “There are times of self-doubt, but that’s part of the creative process. I push through it and come out with something I’m proud of. It’s about the desire to do it and the belief that you can.”
While he remains a forward thinking songwriter, combining strong vocals and gorgeous classic rock harmonies with scalding, ominous downtuned riffs, he’s humble enough to acknowledge that he’s largely motivated by his favorite albums through the ages.
“You start out emulating music that excites you,” he says. “I still hear tons of elements of all those people I’ve been inspired by coming out of my music. Like every record I make, this record is full of them. It might not be readily apparent to everyone. I’ve always approached music as if I was still that kid who loved music enough to want to make it.”
At the end of the process, there’s just one all-important concern: ‘Would this have been one of my favorite records?’”” This time around, it’s clearly a rhetorical question. The gutsy songwriting, yearning leads, and electrifying guest performances all combine to make I Want Blood one for the ages.
“I don’t say this to be morbid,” Cantrell says, “but the other criteria, on the other end of the spectrum of life, is this: ‘If this is my last record, is this a good one to go out on?’”
That’s another rhetorical question, and one that’s easy to answer: Abso-fuckin-lutely.
I Want Blood track list:
- Vilified
- Off The Rails
- Afterglow
- I Want Blood
- Echoes Of Laughter
- Throw Me A Line
- Let It Lie
- Held Your Tongue
- It Comes
Album pre-orders, which include CD, digital and multiple 2LP variants are available here: https://bio.to/JerryCantrell. Exclusive to the 2LP vinyl versions of I Want Blood are atmospheric, spoken word versions of each song on the album.
Jerry Cantrell Tour Dates (with Bush):
July 26 Bend, OR Hayden Homes Amphitheater
July 27 Airway Heights, WA BECU Live
July 31 West Valley Utah, UT Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 1 Greenwood Village, CO Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
August 3 La Crosse, WI Copeland Park
August 4 Indianapolis, IN Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
August 6 Cedar Rapids, IA McGrath Amphitheatre
August 7 Chicago, IL Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
August 9 Nashville, TN Nashville Municipal Auditorium
August 10 Maryland Heights, MO St. Louis Music Park
August 13 Cleveland, OH Jacobs Pavilion
August 14 Cincinnati, OH Riverbend Music Center
August 16 Sterling Heights, MI Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre at Freedom Hill
August 17 Lewiston, NY Artpark Amphitheater
August 19 Toronto, ON Budweiser Stage
August 21 Holmdel, NJ PNC Bank Arts Center
August 23 Atlantic City, NJ Hard Rock Live at Etess Arena
August 24 Boston, MA Leader Bank Pavilion
August 26 Charlotte, NC Skyla Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 27 Raleigh, NC Red Hat Amphitheatre
August 29 Jacksonville, FL Daily’s Place
August 30 Davie, FL Hard Rock Live (Seminole Hard Rock Hollywood)
September 1 Atlanta, GA Cadence Bank Amphitheatre at Chastain Park
September 4 San Antonio, TX Freeman Coliseum
September 5 Houston, TX 713 Music Hall
