Jerry Cantrell kicks ass. Most people my age are probably more than well versed with his contributions to Layne Staley era Alice In Chains. It’s likely far fewer know Cantrell has released 4 solo albums (with a 5th forthcoming) and that Alice in Chains has released an additional 3 albums without Staley. “Voices” is the standout track from 2013’s The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is probably the most uneven of the post-Staley efforts and the most curiously named. But “Voices” rivals the best moments on Jar of Flies or the Sap EP.
It’s a bit disconcerting to see Cantrell with short hair in this video. I imagine my reaction to this image must be what it was like for my daughter when I shaved my beard off back in 2020. Thankfully, Cantrell has grown his hair back and my beard is also back and scragglier than ever.
Cantrell’s simply one of the best songwriters and guitarists to emerge from the punk era. I don’t really like to rank the grunge masters but if you force me too I’d probably go with the following: 1) Soundgarden, 2) Alice In Chains, 3) Nirvana, 4) Stone Temple Pilots, 5) Pearl Jam. There are, of course, 20 other bands I could add to the list and plenty who’d butt ahead of the bottom 3, but I’ll just stick with the major acts. Cantrell and Chris Cornell are the two figures who interest me the most from the era and I feel like Cantrell is easily the most underrated.
To illustrate that point, here are 5 more post-2000 efforts you should add to your AIC/Cantrell playlist ASAP: “Vilified,” (2024), Black Hearts and Evil Done (2021), Brighten (2021), “Gone” (2002), and “Black Turns to Blue,” (2009—and featuring Elton John!—Chris Cornell’s daughter Lily did a moving version of this song too in 2020).
If you really want to do a deep dive on Jerry Cantrell there’s no better place to start than this 1 hour plus “Icons” interview with the man himself from Gibson guitars (there’s several of these featuring Metallica’s Kirk Hammett, Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi, and others. They are well worth your time):