Last year, Jerry Cantrell released I Want Blood , an album that easily stands among his better work. And yes, I even include the Alice In Chains albums. He will show it again today in the Melkweg, which is almost imploding under the pressure of the always brooding rock that riffmeister Cantrell, supported by no less than the best, pushes into the room. A photographer was not available, so you will have to do with these words below.
Where I thought I would arrive well in time to catch the support act, it suddenly seems to go wrong. There is heavy road construction going on around tonight’s concert hall, which means that Velvet Rush has already played a few songs when I arrive. With three songs to go, it is quickly apparent what we have in store: nice, bluesy hard rock with a solidly pounding rhythm section and a convincing singer. Rooted in the mid-80s of the last century, it swings quite a bit (as hard rock used to do at that time). It is therefore not surprising that singer Sandra asks the audience to “shake their hips”. For a more recent reference, the faster work of the band of Slash and Myles Kennedy presents itself. Of course, the solos do not reach the melodic finesse of the grand master, but the only guitarist the band has (Dennis Henning if I am not mistaken) has a rather rough sound and certainly does not leave himself unproven. In the final song, the audience is asked to sing along to the soulful ohohohoo choruses. The audience is still too sober for that, but clapping along we will do (we are not that harsh) and a warm applause is also possible. Nice band, but are the songs good enough to rise above the status of a supporting act?
At exactly 9 pm the lights go out and Cantrell enters after his bandmates in true “rockstar mode” (sunglasses on, jacket on and chewing gum in his mouth) to start Psychotic Break. Musing guitar lines and doubled vocals are draped over thundering drums. When the dragging guitar riff comes in, the voices of Cantrell and Greg Puciato (ex-The Dillinger Escape Plan, now Better Lovers) struggle a bit to rise above the heavy sound, but that will only get better and better tonight. The opening track has been intriguing for years – because it was released before Layne Staley passed away – but for the first (and certainly not the last) time tonight it makes the hairs on the arm stand on end with the long-drawn-out closing line: Thinking ‘bout my dead friends whose voices ring on… Is it going to be that kind of evening!?
Yes, because the shivers only increase with the hard-hitting aaah! that introduces the wall crumbling Alice In Chains track Them Bones. Bass and guitars plow heavily through the Amsterdam underground, while the fans sing the lyrics word for word. The well-known guitar solo is played superbly and supersonically rises above the plodding earthly existence after the yeah! Smart move to introduce this track so early in the set, because the audience is already completely into it and that will continue throughout the evening, perhaps with one small dip (we’ll get to that later). Straight on with Vilified, the solidly rocking opener of I Want Blood (a much recommended album anyway): As if you don’t know, it’s a hell of a show! Especially now that the voices of Greg and Jerry are getting their own place in the sound which, strangely enough, brings them to merge more. Afterglow, perhaps the prize number of the latest solo album, is received with the same enthusiasm. The track muses about what was and is and maybe even glimmers a little hope for the future. I listen to the guitar solo with a big smile: it’s like coming home. Also beautiful is the little fistbump from Jerry to Greg at the end. And rightly so because it sounded more than good.
If it were a bit quieter, there would be no better moment to put down a frighteningly dense Man In The Box. The decibel meters go deep into the red when a full house screams Shove my nose in shit! And yet you can still hear that Greg is experiencing his ‘finest hour’ here in his tormented screams. There’s that stupid smile on my face again! Wait a minute, isn’t this supposed to be depressing music? It does raise the question whether Greg’s slider could not be turned up a bit more often, because that sounds so good in those Alice In Chains songs! On the other hand, it would probably detract from the unique character of Cantrell’s solo tracks. So again, cleverly done. Cut You In also gets a lot of cheers with its crusty, almost funky riff. We hear a rock band that sounds well-oiled and rough at the same time! With Greg’s fierce vocals, this simply sounds like an Alice In Chains song, thereby proving Cantrell right about the sliders. With a beautiful a cappella ending, My Song then gives loneliness a face of sound: Every time I let it show, you didn’t want to know. And then you suddenly stand alone among all those hundreds of people.
Luckily, there is Off The Rails with its beautiful bridge and great life lesson not to take it all too seriously: Nothing more than heads or tails, might as well have a laugh. Here the second guitar really does provide extra possibilities, when one tickles and the other pounds. Speaking of pounds, we haven’t had the title track of the last album yet. Now we have! No Duff McKagan this time, but it rocks no less, with that delicious Velvet Revolver riff. Roy Mayorga (Ministry, ex-Soulfly) comes with big blows from the back of the stage and keeps the track firmly on the ground, where it belongs.
Time for a story about Alice In Chains singer William DuVall who, during a previous visit to Amsterdam (a long time ago), mistook a large piece of hash from Jerry for a nut bar and ate a lot of it and still had two shows to play that day. Oops! The next track is the aptly titled Had To Know and with that we cover some heavier ground again. But the ‘remontada’ is only really complete when the indestructible Would? is kicked off by a thundering bass part. Now the decibel barrier is really gone because even with his voice pushed up, Greg can barely be heard above the singing of the audience. He thinks it is more than wonderful because after the track he enthusiastically hugs a few people in the front rows.
A short break to take another deep breath before the final push. This first consists of a seething It Ain’t Like That (also a tour debut). The guitars churn out of the speakers as heavy as lead, testing all the piles on which Amsterdam is built once again. It seems as if the song is performed just a little slower for extra impact. The title track of the previous album easily keeps up with the high level of the evening with its delicious bluesy guitar lick. And then it really is all out once again. Emotionally, with Rooster. The audience takes over the not so easy vocal lines at the beginning while Jerry delivers the track about his father with a grain on his voice. It is precisely that grain and some short faster guitar lines in between that give the track just that little bit extra that is not easy to describe, but that was present the entire evening.
Phew, Jerry Cantrell with his band at the Melkweg… a night to remember. A night that leaves you speechless ànd fills you with energy for weeks. Exceptionally good!
Date and location
19 juni 2025, Melkweg, Amsterdam
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