Jerry Cantrell
Degradation Trip

THE REVIEW

Although it may have seemed like a tactless move to release an album just a few weeks after the death of his friend and fellow sonic innovator in Alice In Chains, Layne Staley, the reality is much more pragmatic. It's worth noting that the work was already written and completed, and perhaps releasing it can also be seen as a cathartic gesture from the Tacoma guitarist.

The catharsis is clearly expressed in every single track of this "Degradation Trip," inevitably filled with echoes of the past. And while the final result makes one feel the absence of that marvelous voice, on the other hand, it consists of many successful songs, midway between the drugged and tormented vision of "Dirt" and the partially semi-acoustic and more relaxed sound of certain tracks from the self-titled Alice In Chains album or the legendary EP "Jar Of Flies."

Here, Jerry Cantrell dons the persona of his departed friend with the conviction typical of someone who has shared the same experiences and faced his own demons, plunging into a true "trip" while looking directly into the consequences of his actions.

Moreover, just browsing the song titles reveals it ("fracture," "anger," "solitude," "blown away," "locked up," "faded"); it will be so automatic to immerse oneself in the right mood and realize that, as often happens, music is an attempt, sometimes effective, to save oneself or at least to represent oneself.

To embark on this journey, the artist was accompanied this time by top-tier players like bassist Robert Trujillo (Suicidal Tendencies, Ozzy, and Metallica) and drummer Mike Bordin (Faith No More), who give body to the guitarist's typical melodies in a series of emotional ups and downs highlighting the rural melancholy of "Solitude," the romantic regret of "Angel Eyes," and the chilling anger of "Anger Rising."

The picture is now clear, the album is nearing its end, and echoes of a sick yet familiar sound (to those of us who grew up in the early '90s and codified thanks to this gentleman now nearly fifty) resonate in our ears, leaving us to wonder: "what might have been?".