Founding Alice In Chains guitarist and solo artist Jerry Cantrell brought his ‘I Want Blood’ tour to the House of Blues Anaheim on Aug. 17, and every minute was steeped in grit, grunge, and the excellence only a storied legend can provide.
From the raw, electric synergy of Alice in Chains to his extensive solo discography, Jerry Cantrell’s career has been a three-decade balancing act between shadow and light.
His work is weighted by the full range of human emotion, yet finds a way to uplift fans all the same – it’s evocative and stirring in the strangest, most bone-deep way. It’s hard to listen to any song Cantrell poured his soul into without pouring yours in with it.
On Aug. 17, Cantrell brought his latest solo record, I Want Blood, to life at the House of Blues Anaheim, and audiences were treated to a well-curated mix of instantly recognizable classics and a flurry of tracks from the new album. With a constant back-and-forth between decades and stylistic focuses, it proved a brilliant documentation of the musician’s career thus far.
“It just fills my f*in’ heart every time I stand up here in a full room and see people ready to rock,” Cantrell said, taking a quick pause to introduce bassist Eliot Lorango, guitarist Zach Throne, and drummer Roy Mayorga. “I appreciate you being here. I’m here for you. This is our night together. Let’s have fun all the way to the end.”
Opening track “Psychotic Break,” taken from Cantrell’s 2002 record Degradation Trip, eased fans in with edge and precision. “Adrift, I curse this gift / And hope you never know,” he sang, beginning the evening by delivering the track’s tantalizing main riff and looking out at the crowd under shade of sunglasses. Between the venue’s doors and stage stood thousands of fans eager to partake in the artistic deliverance Cantrell is known for, and “Psychotic Break” was the perfect prelude to an unforgettable night.
“I’d trade my dad for a pick?’ Is he that bad?” Cantrell said, reading a fan-made poster aloud and laughing. Nevertheless, he personally handed a pick to the fan in the front row: “Here, now you don’t have to trade your dad.”
Though the set’s inaugural track was a well-placed one, it was Alice In Chains’ famed 1992 single “Them Bones” that earned the first deafening roar of cheers. It’s no wonder Cantrell picked two album-openers as the songs best fit to kickstart this tour – both represented a massive evolution from previous albums. “Them Bones” arrived as the first song on the band’s sophomore record Dirt, and the combination of what Cantrell calls “jagged, abrasive” instrumentation with such straightforward lead vocals made for a clear show of the sonic upheaval they’d undergone since Facelift two years prior.
Guitarist Zach Throne provided lead vocals for select Alice In Chains songs, assisting Cantrell and allowing for his lead guitar parts to shine through. Yet, Cantrell’s voice was a key player throughout the night – he hit every note to a T when singing lead on his solo material, and weaved harmonies with Throne flawlessly when exploring the Alice In Chains catalogue.
Dust rise right on over my time
Empty fossil of the new scene
I feel so alone
Gonna end up a big ol’ pile of them bones
– “Them Bones,” Alice In Chains
In keeping with this energy, Cantrell ripped straight into I Want Blood lead single “Vilified,” which explores the darker side of artificial intelligence. “It’s like any tool – you can take a hammer and bash somebody’s head in, or you can build a house. It’s up to the user,” Cantrell told Kerrang! of the song’s lyrics last year. “There’s still a human element there, of intention and responsibility.” Coupled with the album’s second single, “Afterglow,” key tracks from I Want Blood made the set’s first half a memorable one.
Soon after came Alice In Chains classic “Man In The Box,” which garnered loud applause and a room full of fans who, unsurprisingly, knew and sang every word. Since its release as an integral part of the band’s 1990 debut record Facelift, the song has morphed into both a cult classic and a source of inspiration for countless grunge bands enlivened by Cantrell, frontman Layne Staley, bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney. “Man In The Box” is omnipresent now, a talk box-driven track that exemplifies rock as a whole, but it’s also living proof of Cantrell’s place amongst the greatest guitarists of all time.
“What it’s basically about is how government and media control the public’s perception of events in the world,” Cantrell said at the time of the song’s release, “and they build you into a box by feeding it to you in your home. And it’s just about breaking out of that box, and looking outside of that box that has been built for you.”
Feed my eyes, can you sew them shut?
Jesus Christ, deny your maker
He who tries, will be wasted
Feed my eyes, now you’ve sewn them shut
– “Man In The Box,” Alice In Chains
“Cut You In” acted as an electrifying addition to the set. Cantrell’s 1998 debut solo album Boggy Depot solidified his identity as an artist apart from his role in Alice In Chains, and its lead single was everything that made him so alluring as a songwriter – the lyrics faced disloyalty between friends head on, a necessary bluntness Cantrell has carried with him as a writer his entire life. It’s “directed at the type of folk who ride with you when shit is good, but when your situation turns south, they’re the first to bail,” he told Billboard.
I’d argue it’s this honesty that drew so many fans to his work in the first place. Never one to hide behind overly polished production or lyricism, the guitarist has continually used his spotlight to accurately portray humanity’s ebbs and flows, without making excuses for the pitfalls of either. “Cut You In” is relentless and truthful in equal measure, balanced out by its undeniable hooks. It goes back to shadow and light – Cantrell has always embodied both.
Whenever I’m stoned
We chew the skin, choke on the bones
You wonder when I’ll go away
If I could deal with it, I would have stayed
I cut you in, come on let’s go for a fall
I cut you in, and you ain’t leavin’ at all
I cut you in, don’t let it go to your head
I cut you in, part-time friend
– “Cut You In,” Jerry Cantrell
“I Want Blood” made an appearance around halfway through the set, and the brand new track was received with unfailing support from the Californian crowd. His latest effort’s title track features the dark charisma Cantrell’s known for, mixed with an added maturity and experience gained from decades of constant touring and writing. He’s a seasoned musician, no doubt about it, but “I Want Blood” is the sound of a man who hasn’t let up on the spontaneity of music, either.
You might land a shot or a shiver
Or find yourself in the sublime
I want your best, so you know
In my prime, takers and givers
Out and in trial by fire
Sharing the stage and blows
– “I Want Blood,” Jerry Cantrell
A slew of other Alice In Chains hits like “Down In A Hole” and “Would?” followed, providing fans with ample material from the band’s early days onward and keeping enthusiasm high for the duration of the two-hour set. Even when the lights went down and Cantrell momentarily left the stage, the audience was adamant about continuing the party, clapping and cheering louder than hell as the musician quickly returned for three more rousing encore songs.
“Rooster” was the last offering of the night, written by Cantrell about his father and the process he went through in bettering their relationship. “I started to think about putting myself in his shoes and what he’d been through in his life, multiple tours in ‘Nam – just where he came from, things he had to deal with,” he once said of the lyrical inspiration. “I started asking myself, ‘Would I have done any better? Could I have done any better?’ And I couldn’t say yes. (…) That was kind of the first thing in me, kind of putting myself in his shoes, trying to take the blame off of him, and trying to make peace, and have a relationship with my dad again.”
Walkin’ tall machine gun man
They spit on me in my home land
Gloria sent me pictures of my boy
Got my pills ‘gainst mosquito death
My buddy’s breathin’ his dyin’ breath
Oh God, please
Won’t you help me make it through
Here they come to snuff the rooster
Yeah, here come the rooster, yeah
You know he ain’t gonna die
No, no, no ya know he ain’t gonna die
– “Rooster,” Alice In Chains
Cantrell’s discography would easily allow for a full set of greatest hits, but he’s never been one to lean backward on previous successes to ensure future ones. I Want Blood is sonic proof of that. Though his work is threaded with a few emblematic styles and lyrical themes, no record has come close to mimicking, nor has been interested in mimicking, the last. Boggy Depot varies drastically from Brighten, as does Degradation Trip from I Want Blood, with each hosting its own life and collection of classics. He ups the ante every single time without fail, furthering the reach of his legacy in years to come.
There are Alice In Chains lyrics that feel like a shot through the heart – “Nutshell” is widely regarded as one of their greatest, most despondent tracks – but there are lyrics that feel capable of single-handedly mending hearts, too. “You, my friend / I will defend / And if we change / Well, I love you anyway,” Cantrell penned on “No Excuses,” and in my view, those lines summarize his genius better than most. He’s a conveyer of truth through and through. Messy truth, heartbreaking truth, and enlivening truth, sometimes all at once.
It’s okay
Had a bad day
Hands are bruised from
Breaking rocks all day
Drained and blue
I bleed for you
You think it’s funny, well
You’re drowning in it too
Everyday it’s something
Hits me all so cold
Find me sittin’ by myself
No excuses, then I know
– “No Excuses,” Alice In Chains
It’s one thing to hear a riff and let it entertain you for the length of a song. It’s another to hear a riff and have it bend the very fabric of your soul, and turn you into something new.
There were times when Staley and Cantrell would harmonize, and it was like they were inventing a new language. Their voices in unison could bring you to your knees. They could force you up off the ground and make you want more for yourself. To hear Cantrell live was to experience both of these at once, and to know that the alchemy of his voice has only strengthened as years have gone on.
Anaheim was an exhilarating start to the I Want Blood tour, but Cantrell is far from done. Tickets to the remaining dates can be found on his official website. Whether fans are just getting into Alice In Chains or have been following Cantrell’s career since the beginning, this tour is a testament to the power of live, unfiltered, unapologetic rock – it’s an all-killer, no-filler rager from start to finish, fit for lifelong and brand new crowds alike.
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