Jerry Cantrell Celebrates Solo Album, Discusses Alice In Chains

On Tuesday (Sept. 10), Jerry Cantrell joined Loudwire Nights to celebrate the upcoming release of his latest solo record, I Want Blood.

“It’s an interesting work,” Cantrell told host Chuck Armstrong about the new album. “One song is not going to really give you the complete picture of a record, but it gives you a pretty good sneak preview of some of the places that might be explored on this.”

The “one song” Cantrell mentioned was the lead single, “Vilified,” a song he lovingly referred to as a “psychotic sprint.”

“There’s definitely an intensity,” he said about I Want Blood.

“It’s much more aggressive. Some of the landscapes you might recognize because of how I would kind of go about doing things and how I construct and compose…but it’s a brand-new record and it’s nine amazing songs…as a piece of work, it’s a complete record and it’s really good.”

What’s on the Horizon For Alice In Chains

As Cantrell gears up for the release of I Want Blood, he continues touring in anticipation of it alongside Bush and Candlebox. For anyone who has caught Cantrell’s solo show, it’s obvious that he celebrates his work with Alice In Chains almost as much as his solo work.

“I carry myself and go about things with the same ethos,” he says about where he’s at today compared to the early days of Alice In Chains.

“We don’t know where we’re going, we’re making this up as we go along and we’re not going to guide this thing. We’re just going to go with it and see what happens, you know, and it’s always fun to see an album take shape when you don’t have a clear, defined goal. It’s really satisfying when you get out on the other side.”

As for the future of Alice In Chains, Cantrell hinted at what’s to come, but he admitted he’s committed to celebrating and promoting I Want Blood right now.

“There’s a couple of things that we’re working on, like non-album related,” Cantrell revealed.

“We’re going to jump on a call [soon], we’ve got a few creative irons in the fire, but I’m at the very beginning of this cycle that I’ve committed to so I pretty much kind of keep my focus on this.”

What Else Did Jerry Cantrell Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

What it was like being on the road with Tim Montana: “Tim is really talented…I love that song, ‘Devil You Know,’ that is awesome.”
Who his biggest and earliest songwriting influence was: “I had a holy shit kind of moment [with] Elton John when I was really young.”
What it’s like performing “Vilified” live onstage: “It’s a very challenging song and every night when we finish that song, the band collectively takes a big exhale.”