JERRY CANTRELL On ALICE IN CHAINS: 'There's Nothing That We Couldn't Do' Musically

In a new interview with The Vinyl Guide podcast, Jerry Cantrell was asked when a piece of music he is writing becomes an ALICE IN CHAINS song and when it becomes a Jerry Cantrell solo song. The ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist/vocalist responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Basically, it's just who I record the song with. I mean, ALICE can do pretty much anything, as we proved doing 'Facelift', 'Sap', 'Dirt' and 'Jar Of Flies' and so on, many albums that have a mix of all different kinds of music that the band played. And people accepted that we took those chances musically and it's become part of our identity. So there's nothing that we couldn't do. So if I'm recording a song with ALICE IN CHAINS and all the other guys dig it and we wanna record it, then it becomes an ALICE IN CHAINS song. If I'm writing a song that I've recorded with other musicians, it's obviously not going to be an ALICE IN CHAINS song because ALICE didn't record it."

Asked if he stockpiles riffs and then pulls them together for a future project, Jerry said: "I'm always just sketching. I don't really have an intention for what I'm writing or what I'm gonna use it for. I just write, collect cool ideas, little phrases, melodies, riffs. I don't write all the time. Writing, to me, is a cyclic process. There's a writing period, a recording period and then a touring period. And that really takes up about two or three years, if you put all that together. So that's a good chunk of time, to be able to complete the process, to be able to try to do it well and capitalize on the work that you've done and take it around the world and play it for everybody. So when that's over, I generally don't wanna just jump right into another three-year cycle. I wanna take a little bit of time to reflect and to heal up and just rest a little bit, 'cause it's a hell of an effort and a commitment. I think it's very healthy for me to walk away from music once in a while, to take a break from it, And then when you pick it back up, it's new and it's fresh again. And then once you feel that creative urge again, then you start, 'Okay, let's whip out the tapes. Let's start going through all this stuff.' And you're, like, 'Hey, that's cool. That's really fucking cool. Holy shit. I forgot about that.' And then you just start getting into the demo process and go. And then once you get into the creative process of actually sketching up some of these ideas, you'll stumble across other things or things will happen in the moment, new songs will arise and you're off to the races again."

Jerry's new solo album, "I Want Blood", is due on October 18 via Double J Music. The LP, co-produced by Cantrell and Joe Barresi (TOOL, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, MELVINS),was recorded at Barresi's JHOC Studio in Pasadena, California. The album features contributions from bass heavyweights Duff McKagan (GUNS N' ROSES) and Robert Trujillo (METALLICA),drummers Gil Sharone (TEAM SLEEP, STOLEN BABIES) and Mike Bordin (FAITH NO MORE),and backing vocals from Lola Colette and Greg Puciato (BETTER LOVERS, ex-THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN).

Cantrell's tour with BUSH concluded last month, with the North American outing wrapping up at the iconic Greek Theatre in Los Angeles on September 15.

"I Want Blood" is the follow-up to "Brighten" which came out in October 2021. That LP was Jerry's first project without ALICE IN CHAINS in 19 years.

Jerry's career outside of ALICE IN CHAINS has consisted of two other solo albums and contributions to major film soundtracks. Cantrell's first solo album, "Boggy Depot", was released in 1998, followed by his second album, "Degradation Trip". In addition to his solo artist work, Jerry has released music on soundtracks for several films, including "Spider-Man", "The Cable Guy", "John Wick 2", "Last Action Hero" and "The Punisher".

ALICE IN CHAINS regrouped in 2006 with William DuVall joining the band, and released its third LP with DuVall in the lineup, "Rainier Fog", in August 2018.