Jerry Cantrell – "I Want Blood"
And I'd be happy to give you some of mine, Jerry
It didn't take the absence of Layne Staley (R.I.P.) for fans of Alice In Chains to realize that Jerry Cantrell was (i.e., always will be) a bigger creative driving force for the band than one might otherwise have concluded. The man's 1998 debut solo album "Boggy Depot" demonstrated an impressively versatile sense of instrumentation and songwriting. Like any other decent human being from my generation, I was digging on AIC in the '90s, and even though I got into "Boggy Depot" kinda late, it'd stood the test of time – probably still does.
Not that I followed JC's solo career after that, of course, being the lazy sumbitch that I am. Shit, I didn't even follow AIC after their otherwise awe-inspiring 2009 resurrection opus "Black Gives Way To Blue". Comeback of the fucking decade right there.
But anyway, JC's put out a fourth solo album. And it's damn good. And if you'd be happy with that conclusion up front, feel free to leave this review and bounce around the rest of my website. Otherwise...:
Opener and first single "Vilified" kicks off with a heavy Tool style riff in a jagged 6/8 time, interchanged with that signature JC howling wah-wah lead tone over an even more jagged 7/8 time. The verse melody is eerie, based on a Middle-Eastern scale and painstakingly traversing those unmistakable spooky half-note steps via that unmistakable nasal southern twang of his – two other JC signatures right there. Already at this point, "I Want Blood" sounds like what could turn out as a great AIC album, and that impression lingers. The chorus in follow-up "Off the Rails" is an interchange between more of those meticulously painful half-notes and a classic rock cadence – a mixture and balance of which JC is a master. And he hereby demonstrates it yet again.
The man does seem to have been getting seriously into Tool on this record. But goddammit, AIC easily sounded like Tool even during the '90s. Remember that '95 self-titled record of theirs? The one with that creepy three-legged dog on it? That album had darker stuff on it than any Tool album before or since.
To be fair, though, and perhaps not surprisingly, the similarities with JC's main outfit are as obvious as they are manifold. And sure, it might be an equally obvious comparison, and it might be a bit of a drag for the main character to see it in every damn review of every damn solo album of his. But coming from this signature, it should solely be taken as a huge compliment. And it does not take away from the quality of anything else that he's up to here. The chorus of "Afterglow", for example, is pure classic AIC, but it also sees JC making a simple four-chord progression sound as new and fresh as could be possible – a skill honed only by the finest of songwriters.
"I Want Blood" is all about cultivating that unique territorial overlap between classic hard rock music and depressive complexity that the man does so well.
The title track is a definite stand-out, its ultra-cool lead and uptempo drive echoing Queens of the Stone Age, sounding like aviator sunglasses, cut-off denim vest, and vintage convertible going through the desert, one hand on the wheel and the other flipping off the rest of the world. Perhaps it's no coincidence that the producer this time around is Tool- and QotSA-collaborator Joe Barresi – just like it should also be mentioned that other notable contributors here are Rob Trujillo, Duff McKagan, and Mike Bordin. Says a lot about the main man's reputation.
Admittedly, "uptempo" in JC country is midtempo in pretty much any other country than perhaps doom metal. Past midway here, things get s l o w. And, as on many another otherwise great album, less memorable. But memorability or not, you can't accuse the man of pandering, the sullen, dark, dragging atmosphere being intact all the way through. Even though "Held Your Tongue" goes back to being uptempo (well, midtempo), it maintains that distinct blend between hard rock and disturbing gloom that JC is so remarkably adept at establishing with only a few relatively simple means. He stands by his sonic expression, and it's much more consistent here than on "Boggy Depot" (just to make that one JC solo album reference that I can manage).
Having won relatively many awards for his playing, JC has nothing to prove here guitar-wise – and he doesn't go to any lengths to prove anything, either. But having gotten accolades from the likes of Dimebag Darrell (R.I.P.) and Kerry King through the years, he wouldn't need to. And egoic solo-sidetracking is not what this album is all about, either; "I Want Blood" is about cultivating that unique territorial overlap between classic hard rock music and depressive complexity that the man does so well, and adorning it with those unique guitar and vocal tones that he's long made his own and perfected in and by themselves.
It's called doing what you're best at.
Rating: 5 out of 6
Genre: Alternative hard rock
Release date: 18/10/2024
Label: Double J
Producer: Joe Barresi