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Album Review
by SashaS
16-6-2002
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| J. Cantrell's 'Degradation Trip' |
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Jerry Cantrell: 'Degradation Trip'
(Roadrunner)
Jerry Cantrell’s harvesting psyche-landscape results in über-crop
Six years after the last proper Alice In Chains activity and almost five years since his solo debut, Jerry Cantrell’s second album couldn’t arrive at the worst time, in the shadow of Layne Staley’s death. But, the album’s been scheduled for months, review copies were sent well in advance of the singer’s tragic passing and it shouldn’t even come into play of any reviews.
On 19th of April Staley, the Alice In Chains’ frontman, was found dead; the troubled/reclusive star was 34 years old and his body had began decomposing; and only post-mortem determined that he’d had died two weeks previously. The legacy will live on, not only in the AiC’s body of work but also due to the new disc by Cantrell.
Brilliant thing about ‘Degradation Trip’ is that sub-consciously or full me(n)tal-jacketnessly, this is a (sort of) return to the band’s sonic ground. The dark, heavy and brooding sounds of downer music the band produced continue to live through Cantrell because ‘Degradation Trip’ has quite a few moments recalling the AiC’s glory days. Staley’s death, in the most bizarre of turns, might have given this album a shot in the arm it could have lacked otherwise. Unfortunately, nothing outsells dead stars…
Being on a forced vacation for years wasn’t something that agreed with Jerry Cantrell and after a little excursion of cutting a track for the Jim Carey’s ‘The Cable Guy’ film, he embarked on recording a solo album. ‘Boggy Depot’ was a cool-but-underplayed record, a varied and surprising offering that tried a tad too hard to distance itself from the AiC’s legacy.
‘Degradation Trip’ is a heavier disc that is bound to appeal more to the AiC’s fans as it often comes near to the band’s once-glory sounds. 14 tracks of deep-farming psyche-landscapes that really deliver the crop. Cantrell ‘formed’ a band with bassist Robert Trujillo (ex-Suicidal Tendencies, Ozzy Osbourne) and drummer Mike Bordin (ex-Faith No More, Ozzy) for it and it shows. (There is only one other guest, former Queensr˙che guitarist, Chris de Garmo, on ‘Anger Rising.’)
This disc appears to be a truly personal record, and it is enough to listen to the opening ‘Psychotic Break’ or ‘Bargain Basement Howard Hughes’; the latter appears to be autobiographical as many others but the singer/guitarist refuses to confirm or deny it, only saying “The album is an overview of birth to now.” There is not dispute of this being the metal-est disc he’s made: “It’s probably one of the heaviest records I have put out including Alice.” And, you better believe it, dood.
Aside truly rock-knockout tracks there are moments of bluesy and emo-kind of ‘Solitude’ or complexly-paced ‘Chemical Tribe’. How much of these songs are about Staley we leave it to you to decide. As the record company would like U to be aware – “The album harks back to the glory days of Alice In Chains and reminds everyone why AiC managed to shift over 6 million copies of ‘Dirt’.”
It’s difficult to imagine finer rocking album being issued this year. If you are into rock, you gonna be lovin’ it!!!
8.7/10
SashaS
16-6-2002
Jerry Cantrell’s album ‘Degradation Trip’ is released 17 June 2002 on Roadrunner
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