Jerry Cantrellâs new solo album, I Want Blood, has an impressive cast of contributing guest musicians - Guns Nâ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo and Faith No More drummer Mike Bordin among them - but from the moment you hear the driving riffs and eerie harmonies of opening track and lead-off single Vilified it could be only be the work of Alice In Chainsâ redoubtable leader Cantrell.
Pre-release, we caught up with the 58-year-old during the opening week of his summer tour with Bush, and found the grunge veteran âpumped and ready to goâ.
I Want Blood takes its title from the most aggressive song on the record, which seems like a statement of intent. What does the title track mean to you?
The title is very potent, so I get that reaction. To me, the whole record has a lot of weight to it, and Iâm still taking it in myself. You can take that title a lot of ways, like âI want to fightâ or âI want to killâ, but itâs not really about that. Iâll leave it open to interpretation, but to me itâs kind of a celebration, an embrace of life, and the feeling of being alive, wanting to experience all you can.
Thereâs a punk-rock energy to that track. People know that you grew up on Zeppelin and Sabbath and Pink Floyd, but did punk mean much to you as a kid?
I was always more aligned with hard rock, metal and classic rock, but yeah, I like a lot of punk too, the energy of that, and the rawness, and I think thereâs elements of that in my music as well. But youâre right, thatâs about as clear a strike on that bell as Iâve made in a while. It never hurts when youâve got Duff McKagan playing bass to set that tone.
You mentioned Duff McKagan. You two have been playing on one anotherâs records for more than thirty years now, since you guested on Believe In Me, his first solo record, back in 1993. How did you first meet?
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