JERRY CANTRELL On ALICE IN CHAINS: 'We Planned On Doing Much More This Year, But It Just Didn't Work Out'

In a new interview with Cleveland.com, Jerry Cantrell was asked about ALICE IN CHAINS' plans for the coming months. "We're just wrapping the 'I Want Blood' chapter," he replied, referencing his latest solo album, "then I'll take the winter off and see where we're at. [ALICE IN CHAINS] intended to work but had a little bit of a health scare with Sean [Kinney, drummer], so we had to cancel some shows. We also had a tour planned for, like, right now that kind of fell through. So we had some bad luck; we planned on doing much more this year, but it just didn't work out. We'll take a look at it again probably early next year and figure out what we're gonna do, whether go in and make another record or do some shows — or both."

This past May, ALICE IN CHAINS canceled all of its previously announced concerts due to Sean's health. The decision came after a previous gig was called off on May 8 because Kinney experienced medical complications.

ALICE IN CHAINS was scheduled to appear at a few festivals in May, including the MMRBQ in Camden, New Jersey, Sonic Temple in Columbus, Ohio and Welcome To Rockville in Daytona Beach, Florida. They had also lined up several other headlining shows, in Nashville, Tennessee and Dothan, Alabama.

Kinney had recovered enough in time to join his ALICE IN CHAINS bandmates at the final BLACK SABBATH/Ozzy Osbourne show on July 5 in Birmingham, United Kingdom.

In the last four years, Cantrell has released two solo albums, 2021's "Brighten" and 2024's "I Want Blood", and has toured extensively in support of both efforts, performing material spanning his solo career and ALICE IN CHAINS.

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

Prior to joining ALICE IN CHAINS, DuVall was a member of punk rock bands AWARENESS VOID OF CHAOS, NEON CHRIST, BL'AST! and FINAL OFFERING. DuVall's long musical history also includes COMES WITH THE FALL and Cantrell's solo work.

Cantrell befriended the members of COMES WITH THE FALL in the early 2000s, playing shows with the band on the West Coast, then enlisting the musicians to tour with him as both opening act and backing group in support of his album "Degradation Trip".

DuVall appears on the last three ALICE IN CHAINS albums: 2009's "Black Gives Way To Blue", 2013's "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" and the aforementioned "Rainier Fog".