Jerry Cantrell
video screenshot

Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell announces first solo album in 18 years, shares "Atone"

Pre-order ‘Brighten’ on “Halloween orange” vinyl with glow-in-the-dark packaging, limited to 500 copies, in our store.

Alice In Chains’ Jerry Cantrell has announced his first solo album in 18 years, Brighten, due October 29 (pre-order on “Halloween orange” vinyl). First single “Atone” was made with Greg Puciato (The Dillinger Escape Plan) on guitar/backing vocals, Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses) on bass, and Gil Sharone (Dillinger Escape Plan) on drums, and it’s noir-ish, twangy song that’s unmistakably the work of Jerry Cantrell. It also comes with a video directed by Jim Louvau and Tony Aguilera, with creative direction by Greg Puciato and Greg’s frequent collaborator Jesse Draxler.

“As a fan of Ennio Morricone scores and Sergio Leone movies, it’s got a bit of that outlaw vibe, with a cool psycho hillbilly stomp,” Jerry said to Rolling Stone of the video. “It’s been kicking around in my head for like 20-plus years, haunting me. Sometimes it takes a while for a good idea to find its best form. Such was the case with ‘Atone.’”

The album was co-produced by Jerry and Tyler Bates, and it also features a number of other musicians, including Abe Laboriel, Jr., Michael Rozon, Vincent Jones, Jordan Lewis, Lola Bates, and Matias Ambrogi-Torres. “It was like an old school seventies record where a multitude of musicians played,” Jerry said. “So it’s not a set band. I got to make music with a bunch of people I never had before, along with friends like Duff, Tyler, and Gil who I’ve worked with previously.”

Check out the new song/video and the tracklist (including an Elton John cover, which Jerry says was approved by Elton himself), below.

UPDATE: We have an exclusive pressing of Brighten, on “Halloween orange” vinyl and with glow-in-the-dark packaging, limited to 500 copies, available for pre-order.

Tracklist
1. “Atone”
2. “Brighten”
3. “Prism of Doubt”
4. “Black Hearts and Evil Done”
5. “Siren Song”
6. “Had To Know”
7. “Nobody Breaks You”
8. “Dismembered”
9. “Goodbye” (Elton John cover)