"IT'S COOL TO HEAR YOUR INFLUENCES COMING OUT ORGANICALLY"
Total Guitar|November 2024
Jerry Cantrell shaped the sound of alternative rock with Alice In Chains, but on his new solo album he’s taking inspiration from the heroes of his youth: for tone, Jeff Beck and blues-rock master Robin Trower, and for guitar harmonies, Iron Maiden and Thin Lizzy
Amit Sharma
"IT'S COOL TO HEAR YOUR INFLUENCES COMING OUT ORGANICALLY"

Jerry Fulton Cantrell Jr. is a master storyteller. If you’ve listened to any of his recordings with Alice In Chains or as a solo artist, you’ll know he has a panache for getting to the heart of the emotion behind the music, embedding the listener deep within the sonic world he’s created. The pictures he paints using his guitar and voice feel inexplicably vivid, attacking the human senses from all mediums, with melodies and harmonies you can almost touch, see and taste.

In the early ’90s, Cantrell’s powerful chemistry with singer Layne Staley made Alice In Chains one of the most influential bands in an era when Seattle was the crucible of alternative rock.

There was an intense emotional darkness in their music – not only in heavy, riff-driven songs such as Man In The Box, We Die Young, Would? and Rooster from the albums Facelift and Dirt – but also in the beautiful acoustic tracks laid down on the EPs Sap and Jar Of Flies. But even without Staley, who died in 2002, Cantrell has steered Alice In Chains through a second phase with frontman William DuVall alongside the classic-era rhythm section of bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney on three acclaimed studio albums.

And while the band has kept Cantrell busy since 2005, recent years have seen him working again as a solo artist.

His 2021 album Brighten was his first solo release in almost two decades since 2002’s Degradation Trip. And now comes I Want Blood, a more up-tempo and hard-hitting record than the acoustic-focused Brighten. It proves that Jerry Cantrell’s creative remit is one that’s unusually broad for an artist working within the confines of rock. The sky really is the limit for this guitar hero…

This album has more distorted electrics and less acoustics that your last one. What made you want to take off the cowboy hat and get heavy?

Esta historia es de la edición November 2024 de Total Guitar.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición November 2024 de Total Guitar.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE TOTAL GUITARVer todo
POSITIVE GRID SPARK 2
Total Guitar

POSITIVE GRID SPARK 2

The sequel to the world's most popular smart guitar amp is here

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
JACKSON PRO PLUS XT SOLOIST SLAT HT6 BARITONE
Total Guitar

JACKSON PRO PLUS XT SOLOIST SLAT HT6 BARITONE

We get low with this fast-playing, all-black modern metal machine

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
GUILD POLARA DELUXE
Total Guitar

GUILD POLARA DELUXE

A’70s staple gets a bit of are-jig, o4 years after it was introduced

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
NEURAL DSP NANO CORTEX
Total Guitar

NEURAL DSP NANO CORTEX

Neural DSP's second pedal might be the ultimate compact all-in-one rig

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
EPIPHONE JIMI HENDRIX LOVE DROPS FLYING V
Total Guitar

EPIPHONE JIMI HENDRIX LOVE DROPS FLYING V

Prepare to kiss the sky with Epiphone's latest 'Inspired By...' model

time-read
4 minutos  |
November 2024
JIMMY PAGE
Total Guitar

JIMMY PAGE

\"I was using what was really meaty!\"

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
EDDIE VAN HALEN
Total Guitar

EDDIE VAN HALEN

“You either capture the vibe or you don't!”

time-read
2 minutos  |
November 2024
MYTH BUSTERS: THE CABLE DESTRUCTION TEST
Total Guitar

MYTH BUSTERS: THE CABLE DESTRUCTION TEST

Need to know whether gear is worth your cash? Who you gonna call...

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 2024
JOHN FRUSCIANTE'S LETTER FROM AMERICA
Total Guitar

JOHN FRUSCIANTE'S LETTER FROM AMERICA

Our July 2006 issue featured none other than John Frusciante of the Red Hot Chili Peppers on the cover, with a line of text promising discussion of meditation, drugs, Hendrix and some chat about the band’s then-latest album, Stadium Arcadium.

time-read
3 minutos  |
November 2024
CHALLENGE CHARLIE
Total Guitar

CHALLENGE CHARLIE

Ata time when TC's staff were getting, frankly, rather silly, one man stood up to take on the daftest of all our challenges...

time-read
1 min  |
November 2024