Jerry Cantrell Releases Deluxe Version of “I Want Blood” As North American Tour Begins

I Want Blood cover

Jerry Cantrell kicks off his first North American tour in support of his recently released album, I Want Blood, tonight in Niagara Falls, Ontario. The tour launch coincides with the arrival of a deluxe version of the nine-track collection (listen here).

Featuring spoken word versions of each of the songs on I Want Blood, the Cantrell-narrated pieces also feature their own unique score with contributions from producer Joe Barresi, engineer Maxwell Urasky, Greg Puciato (Better Lovers, The Black Queen), Roy Mayorga (Ministry), Gil Sharone (Stolen Babies, Team Sleep), Rani Sharone (Stolen Babies), George Adrian (The Maybirds), composer Vincent Jones, and producer Michael Rozon. An animated video series featuring graphics from Boy Tillekens can be viewed here.

“I wanted to do something special and I’ve never done a spoken word recitation of the lyrics, and I thought it might be kind of cool to have it on the B-side of ‘Vilified,’” Cantrell recalls in a recent interview with Scott Lipps. “I thought maybe it needs some music or something, and I was sitting there with Maxwell Urasky, my demo partner. He’s a really talented musician, and he said ‘Let me mess around with it for a night.’ He came back the next day with that piece of music, and it sounded killer. I brought it in to Joe Barresi and he said, ‘Man, you should do this with all of them.’ I got this creative stew going of sending the lyrics out to people, having them come up with the music, and sending it back. We ended up with nine pieces of really interesting takes on the lyrics, but the music is done by creative partners of mine, and it has nothing to do with the real music, so it is truly a standalone piece.”

I Want Blood was recorded at Barresi’s JHOC Studio in Pasadena, Calif., and features contributions from Duff McKagan (Guns N’Roses), Mike Bordin (Faith No More), Robert Trujillo (Metallica), Greg Puciato (Better Lovers, ex-Dillinger Escape Plan), Gil Sharone (Team Sleep, Stolen Babies), and Lola Colette.

The album is available on CD, digitally, and multiple 2LP vinyl variants: https://bio.to/JerryCantrell.

January 31 Niagara Falls, ON Fallsview Casino Resort

February 1 Sayreville, NJ Starland Ballroom

February 2 Portland, ME Aura

February 4 Boston, MA Citizens House of Blues Boston

February 5 New York, NY Irving Plaza

February 7 Silver Spring, MD The Fillmore – Silver Spring

February 8 Bensalem, PA Parx Xcite Center

February 11 Huntington, NY The Paramount

February 12 Norfolk, VA The NorVa

February 14 Raleigh, NC The Ritz

February 15 Atlanta, GA Buckhead Theatre

February 16 Louisville, KY Mercury Ballroom

February 18 Columbus, OH The Bluestone

February 19 Indianapolis, IN Murat Egyptian Room at Old National Centre

February 22 St. Louis, MO The Hawthorn

February 23 Chicago, IL The Vic Theatre

February 25 Tulsa, OK Tulsa Theater

February 26 Houston, TX House of Blues Houston

February 27 San Antonio, TX The Aztec Theatre

March 1 Mesa, AZ The Nile Theater

March 2 Las Vegas, NV House of Blues Las Vegas

March 4 Los Angeles, CA The Belasco

March 5 Ventura, CA The Majestic Ventura Theater

March 7 Spokane, WA Knitting Factory – Spokane

March 8 Portland, OR Wonder Ballroom

March 9 Seattle, WA Moore Theatre

May 31 Padua, IT Hall

June 1 Milan, IT Magazzini Generali

June 4 Krakow, PL Mystic Festival

June 6 Berlin, DE Columbia Theater

June 7 Nüremberg, DE Rock im Park

June 8 Nürnberg, DE Rock am Ring

June 10 Zagreb, HR The Culture Factory

June 12 Nickelsdorf, AT Nova Rock Festival

June 13 Hradec Kralove, CZ Rock The People

June 14 – 15 Donington Park, UK Download Festival

June 17 London, UK O2 Forum Kentish Town

June 19 Amsterdam, NL Melkweg

June 20 Dessel, BE Graspop Metal Meeting

June 22 Clisson, FR Hellfest Open Air Festival

June 24 Paris, FR La Machine du Moulin Rouge

June 25 Nijmegen, NL Doornroosje

June 26 Hamburg, DE Gruenspan

June 28 Oslo, NO Tons of Rock

Tickets are available now at jerrycantrell.com/tour. Filter opens on all North American dates.

Photo credit: Nick Fancher

Jerry Cantrell is an iconic American troubadour, celebrated for his distinctive guitar playing, soulful vocals and profound songwriting. Known for his work in both Alice In Chains and as a solo artist, the GRAMMY-nominated musician has sold in excess of 30 million albums, has been named one of the greatest guitar players of all time by both Guitar World and Rolling Stone, and has been instrumental in shaping the sound of modern rock music. Over his career, he has released six studio albums with Alice in Chains, three solo full-lengths, has had his music featured in films from Cameron Crowe, Judd Apatow and Ben Stiller and made cameos in “Deadwood” and “Jerry Maguire.”

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