He’s a modern troubadour with an Old West gunslinger’s swagger and the knowing grin of a recovering antihero best known as the guitarist in the band Alice in Chains. Jerry Cantrell makes music as diverse as the multigenerational hellraisers who love it. Equal parts trailblazer and traditional old-school rocker, Cantrell creates compositions that deeply connect with outsiders and outlaws, whether in the throes of sorrow or the triumph of victory.
His vocals, melodies, and riffs are as instantly recognizable as they are powerful, nuanced, and eclectic. Both a disciple of the hard rock tradition and a massive influence on subsequent generations of artists, Cantrell straddles the line between earnest salt-of-the-earth songwriter and beloved living legend.
I Want Blood arrives with all the aggression and heavy, inexhaustible stomp its title suggests. The follow-up to the best-reviewed solo album of Cantrell’s career (2021’s Brighten) further expands his musical palette without sacrificing any of his inescapably infectious melodic hooks.
“This record is a serious piece of work. It’s a motherfucker,” he 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.
