Jerry Cantrell
“Vilified”
release date: 7/26/24
by Scott Deckman
Jerry Cantrell just dropped single “Vilified,” a four-and-half-minute slab of chugachugchug guitar, Alice in Chains-type metal. The eerie thing is he sounds like former bandmate Layne Staley. Makes you wonder where Staley’s voice ended and Cantrell’s began in the old days. “Vilified” sports grungy, twisting rhythms and mean riffs. The song is deceptively funky and quite heavy, featuring (somewhat unclear) dystopian lyrics about artificial intelligence. Cantrell is accompanied by bassist Robert Trujillo – you may have heard of him – and former Dillinger Escape Plan drummer Gil Sharone, who adds some mathcore beats in the song’s opening. The single will appear on Cantrell’s forthcoming solo record, I Want Blood, scheduled for release on October 18th. It will be Cantrell’s fourth proper full-length.
