Bullz-Eye.com - CD Reviews - Jerry Cantrell: Degradation Trip

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CD Reviews: Jerry Cantrell: Degradation Trip

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Former Alice in Chains guitarist and songwriter Jerry Cantrell is not one who explores the lighter side of rock and roll lyrically like, say, Van Halen. Oh, no, Jerry is not "Hot for Teacher" or in the mood to "Dance the Night Away." Instead, his second release (first since 1998's Boggy Depot), with titles like "Psychotic Break" and "Hellbound," is an exploration of the demons that have haunted him (and Alice in Chains bandmate, the late Layne Staley) and still stand as the focus of the work he has produced to this point. In some of the reading I have done regarding this album, Cantrell has alluded to the fact that writing about these topics helps him "get it out of his system." This is a decent record, but not consistent enough to fully demand that you go out and purchase it. Like Boggy Depot, the disc has some good moments, but it just seems that Jerry has not yet produced his best material. His solo records have left me with the feeling that his best is yet to come.

Musically, Degradation Trip is solid and has two basic gears. Straight ahead grunge/metal is the cruising speed while a mellower, acoustic moment or two ("Solitude" and "Gone") is included for the downshift. His band consists of ex-Faith No More and Ozzy Drummer Mike Bordin, and ex-Suicidal Tendancies and Ozzy Bassist Robert Trujillo. As a trio they do the job, but the material is too often stuck on that first speed without enough variety in the sound.

The record does not sound exactly like an Alice record in that the song writing just doesn't feel as crisp or as polished as the material produced by that band. But Jerry still shows some promise that I hope will be delivered on his next album.

~R. David Smola

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