Band:	Jerry Cantrell
Album:	I Want Blood
Style:	Grunge, Alternative metal
Release date:	October 18, 2024
A review by:	RaduP

01. Vilified
02. Off The Rails
03. Afterglow
04. I Want Blood
05. Echoes Of Laughter
06. Throw Me A Line
07. Let It Lie
08. Held Your Tongue
09. It Comes

The last time there was an Alice In Chains album, Jerry Cantrell hadn't revived his solo career with two consecutive albums.

I actually had to check how much time had passed since Rainier Fog, because I remembered reviewing that album and being somewhat lukewarm on it, despite appreciating the vocal harmonies and the guitar melodies that have became Alice In Chains' trademark. Because I had also reviewed Jerry Cantrell's solo album afterwards, and the fact that there's a three year difference between Rainier Fog and Brighten, and between Brighten and I Want Blood, with no new Alice In Chains album since, and with Jerry's solo albums sounding so much like Alice In Chains anyway, it does kinda feel like they're somewhat of a replacement. I had to check if Alice In Chains are still active, and yes, they've toured in 2023 and played a festival date this year. So how come uncle Jerry had time for two full albums since the last Alice one?

That is a question I cannot answer, but having time to sit with both Brighten and I Want Blood, I am pretty content with getting them instead of a new Alice In Chains album. Not that I'm not a fan of their new material, nor that I consider it better or worse than Jerry's solo stuff, but reading through my criticism of Rainier Fog, I find that it applies less so to these two records. While my biggest gripe with Brighten was how much it reminded me of Alice In Chains's sound but with the lack of the trademark vocal harmonies feeling uncanny, I've seen gotten used to the sound of Jerry's solo stuff and I no longer instinctively search for them. And that aside, I find that I remember more melodies from these two, and that there's more variety in sounds all the while the runtimes are shorter.

I've grouped Brighten and I Want Blood together quite arbitrarily to compare them to Rainier Fog in what is meant to be the review of only one of these albums. Part of that is to explain my shifting perspective in the years since I've reviewed each of them, but I Want Blood is a bit more than just Brighten II. The biggest difference that I could find is that I had some gripes with the relatively strong country influence on Brighten, and in the mean time I've grown accustomed to the sound, but I also find that I Want Blood makes it stick out less and, when it tackles it, it's more as integrated as part of the entire sound. I Want Blood, more than its predecessor, has more songs that sound close to an Alice In Chains song, but also differ enough in sound, whether through the country/southern rock injections, or through something punchier in the title track or doomier in "Let In Lie". As a whole, it is a heavier album, and also one where I found it much easier to feel familiar to the songs (both to the ones I heard as advance singles and to the deeper cuts).

I am curious whether any of what Jerry did in these two solo records will leave an imprint in a potential (and hopefully) upcoming Alice In Chains record. But for what they're worth, they're definitely more than appetizers to keep our Alice In Chains hunger sated.