Now Playing #16

Jerry Cantrell - I Want Blood

I'm just as much of a Jerry Cantrell freak as I am an Alice in Chains freak.  His first two solo albums are some of my favorite pieces of music ever recorded by man.  2021's Brighten proved to be an interesting digression, though I was expecting 2024 to be an Alice year.  Sadly, it is not.  Does the release of I Want Blood mean that AIC is currently kaput or out of commission, you may ask?  Jesus, I hope not.  Don't scare me like that.  I'm just grateful that Jerry recorded something, even if I consider this set to be a "grower."  Yeah, I wasn't crazy about this album at first.  The songs came across as Devil Put Dinosaurs Here b-sides.  The more I listened to them, however, the more I realized that I shouldn't complain about hearing Jerry's leftovers.  That's if they are leftovers (to be fair, they don't seem to be...from what I've read anyway).

The driving title track is stuck in my head.  "Off the Rails" has a sick guitar solo (of course, most of the tunes have a sick guitar solo).  "Echoes of Laughter" recalls the rustic grain of Brighten, while "Let it Lie" wields one of those note-bending riffs.  You know the kind (see "It Ain't Like That" off of Facelift).  Does I Want Blood come anywhere near the majesty of Boggy Depot or Degradation Trip?  Nope.  Will it tide me over until Alice's triumphant return?  Yep.  I hope I don't have to wait three years.

Vuur - In This Moment We Are Free (Cities)

Former Gathering throat Anneke van Giersbergen is one of my favorite female vocalists in metal.  "But Dom, she hasn't been in a metal band since the 90's."  Ah, you haven't heard Vuur!  Granted, the project is listed as "on hold" over at The Metal Archives, but they did release a banger of an album in 2017.  I remember that autumn very well.  I listened to Cities, like, a lot.  So what made me listen to it this past week?  Dude, I have no idea, but I'm totally glad that I rediscovered it.  If I had to drop it in a subgenre bucket, I would go with "progressive djent."  Don't run away.  Normally, I'm not into djent, but I would be if every djent band was fronted by Anneke.  If you need convincing, listen to "My Champion" or "The Martyr and the Saint."  I could listen to her angelic melodies over bluegrass.  Something about her phrasing, I don't know...I heart her.

I don't know why I started another paragraph.  I was going to make a point, but it left me.  Check out Vuur (not to be confused with the post-metal stylings of Vuur & Zijde).