I Want Blood

Alice In ChainsのJerry CantrellがMetallica、Guns N' Roses、Faith No Moreのメンバーをフィーチャーしたニュー・アルバムをリリース

メタルの重鎮たちが参加。CantrellとJoe Barresi (Tool、Queens of the Stone Age、Melvins)が共同プロデュースし、カリフォルニア州パサデナにあるBarresiのスタジオで録音された。

Jerry Cantrell launched his 2021 comeback album Brighten with the formidable "Atone," a powerful rumination on regret and redemption that marked the triumphant return of one of modern rocks most distinctive voices. While the rest of the album was superb, its windswept blend of dark Southern rock and outlaw Americana never matched the intensity of that opening salvo. The aptly named I Want Blood remedies that with a bold and bruising nine-song set befitting an architect of grunge and alternative hard rock. Assured opener "Vilified" lurches out of the gate with gusto, its cavernous metallic groove propelling Cantrells sinewy leads and serpentine vocals through the miasma of the information age -- "Heya schadenfreude crescendo/A.I. skew the innuendo." The punchy "Off the Rails" follows suit, making the most of Cantrell and Joe Barresis beefy production and seasoned backing band, which includes Duff McKagan, Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Greg Puciato (Better Lovers), and Gil Sharone (Team Sleep). Fused to a more metal-leaning foundation, Cantrells signature minor-key harmonies, doomy melodic turns, and snarling guitar work echo his best work with Alice in Chains, and that heavier approach adds gravitas to nearly every moment on whats already an emotionally hefty record. Whether its the punitive title cut, the lush horror of "Afterglow," or the brooding but amenable Tyler Bates co-written "Echoes of Laughter," I Want Blood is never overtly political, but Cantrell parses societys fraying fabric with judiciously applied cynicism, tough love, and the earned wisdom of a rock & roll survivor. ~ James Christopher Monger

1曲目"Vilified"から鳥肌が立った。アリス・イン・チェインズのギタリストによるソロ4作目はバンドの傑作『Dirt』を彷彿とさせる激重グルーヴが渦巻き、妖艶なる美メロの洪水にただただ溺れるのみ。ダフ・マッケイガンやロバート・トゥルヒーヨらゲスト陣の参加も曲を骨太にしている要因だろう。躍動感溢れる表題曲は文句ナシのかっこ良さで、全編で抗えない魅力を放っている。
bounce (C)荒金良介