He’s a modern troubadour with an Old West gunslinger’s swagger and the knowing grin of a recovering antihero. Jerry Cantrell makes music as diverse as the multigenerational hellraisers who love it. Equal parts trailblazer and traditional old-school rocker, Cantrell creates compositions that deeply connect with outsiders and outlaws, whether in the throes of sorrow or the triumph of victory. His vocals, melodies, and riffs are as instantly recognizable as they are powerful, nuanced, and eclectic. Both a disciple of the hard rock tradition and a massive influence on subsequent generations of artists, Cantrell straddles the line between earnest salt-of-the-earth songwriter and beloved living legend. I Want Blood arrives with all the aggression and heavy, inexhaustible stomp its title suggests. The follow-up to the best-reviewed solo album of Cantrell’s career (2021’s Brighten) further expands his musical palette without sacrificing any of his inescapably infectious melodic hooks. “Vilified,” which opens the album, is an anthem, a mission statement, kicking off I Want Blood with attitude. His fourth solo album is a wild ride with many delicious twists and turns. I Want Blood boasts the powerful “Off the Rails,” atmospheric “Afterglow,” gorgeous “Echoes Of Laughter,” hypnotic “Throw Me A Line,” doomy “Let It Lie,” slithering “Held Your Tongue,” eerie “It Comes,” and groovy title track. Cantrell’s trademark honesty, vulnerability, and confrontation persist throughout the songs.  Rolling Stone named the multiplatinum Tacoma, Washington native one of the greatest guitar players of all time. His catalog mines the best of metal, rock, blues, and Americana. Cantrell’s mountain of work as a solo artist and chief songwriter, guitarist, and co-vocalist in Alice In Chains stands tall in influence and respect. He’s collaborated with Metallica, Ozzy Osbourne, Danzig, and Deftones (among others). He’s contributed to music heard in films by Academy Award-winner Cameron Crowe and Judd Apatow and entries in the John Wick and Spider-Man franchises. His debut solo effort, 1998’s Boggy Depot, featured the Billboard Award-nominated “Cut You In.” He composed most of the follow-up, 2002’s Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2, isolated in the Cascade Mountains with a four-track recorder, and recruited Ozzy Osbourne’s then-rhythm section of bassist Robert Trujillo (now in Metallica) and drummer Mike Bordin (Faith No More) in the studio. Kerrang! hailed Brighten as a “vivid self-portrait of one of the most distinctive voices in hard rock.” In a 10/10 review, Wall Of Sound called Cantrell’s first solo record in 19 years “an exceptionally crafted album, done so by one of the finest songwriters and musicians to grace any genre over the last 30+ years. A true icon, he’s enlisted the finest talent to accompany him, and the outcome is sublime.” That talent included coproducer Tyler Bates (an acclaimed composer whose longtime collaborators include James Gunn, Zack Snyder, and David Leitch), mixer Joe Barresi (Tool, Melvins, Kyuss), bassist Duff McKagan (Guns N’ Roses, Velvet Revolver), drummer Gil Sharone (Marilyn Manson, Stolen Babies), background vocalists Lola Colette and Greg Puciato (Better Lovers, ex-Dillinger Escape Plan), and Emmy-nominated piano/keyboard/strings player Vincent Jones (Dave Gahan, Morrissey). I Want Blood reunites Cantrell with many of his favorite players: Sharone, McKagan, Jones, Puciato, Colette, Trujillo, and Bordin. Barresi came on board as coproducer, creative partner, and mixer. Maxwell Urasky, who provides backing vocals and sound FX, joined at Bates’ recommendation. Some 30 million+ albums sold and 11 Grammy Award nominations later, Cantrell remains careful to ensure the music he creates would make his younger self proud. He’s never forgotten the teenager enthralled by his heroes in Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, and Van Halen. So, does I Want Blood pass that test? “The answer is, ‘Yes,’” Jerry says, without hesitation. “I don’t say this to be morbid, but the other criteria, on the other end of the spectrum, is: ‘If this is my last record, is this a good one to go out on?’ And the answer to that is also an emphatic, absolute, ‘Yes.’” 

What if Thor’s Hammer of the Gods from “Immigrant Song” landed in the hands of four wise, willful, and wild women? Well, it would sound something like Thunderpussy. The quartet—Molly Sides [vocals], Whitney Petty [guitar], Leah Julius [bass], and Ruby Dunphy [drums]—do the most rock ‘n’ roll thing possible and quite literally fuck up every rock ‘n’ roll stereotype you know to be true, piercing the halls of Valhalla in the process. Think of it like an inverse Frank Frazetta painting where it’s the Amazonian siren wielding all of the world’s power instead of Conan (he’s on the sidelines in awe). More simply, instead of Page and Plant, Perry and Tyler, and Jagger and Richards, you get Molly and Whitney. Known for earth shattering pipes, heart-stopping performance art, and a propensity to literally writhe through a crowd, Molly is the consummate ideal front-person—bold, brilliant, brazen, and beautiful. At her righthand, you’ve got Whitney as the ultimate 21st century axe-slinger—cool, collected, and crazy on that fretboard. Rounding out the fray, Leah and Ruby cook up the tightest rhythm section this side of Cream (no kidding). So, what is it that turned the Seattle-based group into a quiet phenomenon with the endorsement of Rolling Stone and Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready as well as a string of already legendary performances under their high-waisted belts (we’re looking at you, Sasquatch)? It’d be too easy say it’s the power of the P----- Whitney steps in, “People talk about that magic. There’s some voodoo happening between Molly and I, which is like a cosmic connection. She has this power. Somehow, I’m under her spell when we’re performing—we all are.” “The truth is, I feel the same way about Whitney, Leah, and Ruby,” smiles Molly. “We’re all in this together.” That unity drives the band’s forthcoming full-length debut Thunderpussy [Stardog Records/Republic Records] produced by Sylvia Massy. The lead single Speed Queen begins with a revving engine and arena-size percussion before snapping into a muscular and majestic riff and vocal proclamation, “Long live the Speed Queen.” “The ‘Speed Queen’ is this mythic and magical woman who rides a motorcycle and travels around the country,” explains Whitney. “Nobody knows too much about where she came from or where she’s going, but she changes everyone she meets because she’s that powerful. I was thinking of Molly when I wrote it.” Its companion track “Badlands” evokes bluesy Zeppelin-style mysticism with a fury that certainly wouldn’t be out of place on Aerosmith’s Rocks—but is completely at home on Speed Queen. “It nods to that classic Terrence Malick movie Badlands with Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek,” adds Molly. “It’s an on-the-run love song between two outlaws.” Among its arsenal, Thunderpussy also boasts a song produced by McCready “Velvet Noose.” Everything comes together into one cohesive and classic vision of rock music recharged, reinvigorated, and resurrected in what can only be described as a diamond in the muff: Thunderpussy. “Being a lover of rock ‘n’ roll music for my whole life, you either have it, or you don’t,” Whitney leaves off. “If you find it, cultivate it, treat it like a wild animal, and tame that raw energy, but not too much. That’s what this is.”