I Want Blood [2 LP]

by Jerry Cantrell

Overview

Jerry Cantrell launched his 2021 comeback album Brighten with the formidable "Atone," a powerful rumination on regret and redemption that marked the triumphant return of one of modern rock's most distinctive voices. While the rest of the album was superb, its windswept blend of dark Southern rock and outlaw Americana never matched the intensity of that opening salvo. The aptly named I Want Blood remedies that with a bold and bruising nine-song set befitting an architect of grunge and alternative hard rock. Assured opener "Vilified" lurches out of the gate with gusto, its cavernous metallic groove propelling Cantrell's sinewy leads and serpentine vocals through the miasma of the information age -- "Heya schadenfreude crescendo/A.I. skew the innuendo." The punchy "Off the Rails" follows suit, making the most of Cantrell and Joe Barresi's beefy production and seasoned backing band, which includes Duff McKagan, Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Greg Puciato (Better Lovers), and Gil Sharone (Team Sleep). Fused to a more metal-leaning foundation, Cantrell's signature minor-key harmonies, doomy melodic turns, and snarling guitar work echo his best work with Alice in Chains, and that heavier approach adds gravitas to nearly every moment on what's already an emotionally hefty record. Whether it's the punitive title cut, the lush horror of "Afterglow," or the brooding but amenable Tyler Bates co-written "Echoes of Laughter," I Want Blood is never overtly political, but Cantrell parses society's fraying fabric with judiciously applied cynicism, tough love, and the earned wisdom of a rock & roll survivor. ~ James Christopher Monger

Product Details

Release Date:	10/18/2024
Label:	Double J
UPC:	0711574960217

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Vilified
2. Off The Rails
3. Afterglow
4. I Want Blood
5. Echoes Of Laughter
6. Throw Me A Line

Disc 2

7. Let It Lie
8. Held Your Tongue
9. It Comes
10. Vilified [Spoken Word]
11. Off The Rails [Spoken Word]
12. Afterglow [Spoken Word]
13. I Want Blood [Spoken Word]
14. Echoes Of Laughter [Spoken Word]
15. Throw Me A Line [Spoken Word]
16. Let It Lie [Spoken Word]
17. Held Your Tongue [Spoken Word]
18. It Comes [Spoken Word]

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Jerry Cantrell   Primary Artist