Alice in Chains mastermind Jerry Cantrell and his eponymous solo band recently embarked on a North America Tour in support of Cantrell’s fourth solo LP, I Want Blood. On February 11, 2025, the group returned to The Paramount in Huntington, New York (on Long Island), where they previously played in March, 2023. Joining Cantrell on this trek across the continent is alt-rockers Filter.
The axeman and vocalist is among the most influential musicians who rose to prominence during the 1990’s, penning the genre-defining Dirt with Alice in Chains in 1992. Around the time AIC ceased touring and recording, Cantrell forged a solo career, releasing Boggy Depot in 1998 to rave reviews. His sophomore effort – 2002’s Degradation Trip – was arguably even stronger. Then came a nearly twenty-year hiatus during which he recorded and toured the globe with a re-formed Alice in Chains.
Cantrell enthusiasts were thrilled when he shifted focus back to his solo career with the release of 2021’s Brighten, and then embarked on a multi-year touring cycle. After performing around the world in 2024 – prior to and after the release of I Want Blood in October – Cantrell announced dozens of live dates for early-2025 to properly showcase the new record in theaters across North America.
After Filter performed a nine song, forty-minute set, Cantrell took the stage to massive applause from the thousand fans in attendance, who enthusiastically chanted "Jerry!" The quintet's sixteen-song, eighty minute set met their lofty expectations.
During the I Want Blood tour, the band has rarely deviated from the standard set. The focal point of the show is appropriately the newest material, with five I Want Blood songs appearing in setlists: “Vilified,” “Afterglow,” “Held Your Tongue,” “Off the Rails,” and the title track.
The show opened with the fantastic “Psychotic Break,” the lead track on Degradation. His second solo record is also represented by the melodic “Angel Eyes,” which showcases Cantrell’s melodic vocals. Two Boggy Depot songs – “Cut You In” and “My Song” – were played. The Brighten material included the brooding “Atone,” “Had to Know”, and the title song. Of course, Cantrell harkened back to the commercial pinnacle of his career with five AIC cuts from the incomparable Dirt: “Them Bones” was the second song performed, with “Down in a Hole,” semi-rarity “Hate to Feel,” the powerful “Would?”, and set closer “Rooster” also played. Vocalist Greg Puciato played the part of the indomitable Layne Staley on the AIC renditions and delivered a passionate vocal performance throughout the evening.
The band was in top form as always, with Cantrell leading the way as is his wont. The only unfavorable surprise was a temporary power outage during “Hate…”, which halted the performance for approximately twenty minutes before the band returned to the stage to perform the final quarter of the set.
Suffice to say, fans of Alice in Chains and Cantrell's solo work should make every effort to attend the tour, particularly to hear the solo material. Although the AIC songs are undoubtedly timeless classics, the Boggy, Degradation, Brighten, and Blood tracks are rarities and the opportunity to witness them performed in a more intimate theater setting is fantastic.
Cantrell’s band will continue its jaunt across the United States through March 9 (a "hometown" show at the famous Moore Theatre in Seattle, Washington), and then head to Europe for most of June.
