Review Summary: There will be a time when darkness releases its hold to give place to light
Alice in Chains, one of the grunge’s (for now we will assume it is a thing) Big Four, was always different from its contemporaries. The darkness permeating their sound was always full of demons tearing at each band member and breathing down their necks. It was most prominent in the lives of Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell, the guitarist and one of the main visionaries of Alice in Chains.
The darkness lingered for a long time, leaving its imprint on the band’s classic albums as well as Cantrell’s sparse solo discography. It continued until 2002, when the pressure reached its peak on the darkest, heaviest, and most challenging
Degradation Trip. In addition to his own personal struggles, Jerry was also dealing with the end of his band and the passing of his friend and bandmate Layne Staley.
Almost 20 years later, Cantrell released his third solo album with an unexpectedly life-affirming title:
Brighten. And this lighter mood was not something anybody expected from him.
For those familiar with the Alice in Chains catalog,
Brighten may come as a complete surprise (it certainly did for me). However, after some thought and a retrospective look back, it becomes clear that the emergence of light isn’t actually all that unexpected.
Let’s take a look at the second chapter of Alice in Chains’ history.
Black Gives Way to Blue, while preserving much of the heaviness and signature elements, sounded somewhat different, as its darkness was unlike anything before. On
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, the darkness continued its retreat, and lighter moments became much more noticeable.
Rainier Fog contained genuine glimpses of optimism – something previously unthinkable. And this leads us to the conclusion that
Brighten could not possibly have sounded any other way.
The new solo album is no longer saturated with darkness. It is as if the time has come to make peace with the past and atone for one's sins, and this is precisely what we sense on the title track. Yes, there is still some trepidation and anxiety about the future, but Jerry looks toward it with hope, possibly for the first time in many years.
And this light permeates almost every track on the record, which is what surprises the listener the most.
Naturally, this is reflected in the sound. Jerry further develops elements we have already seen in his musical arsenal. Practically all the cuts feature a subtle pop flair previously encountered on
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, on tracks like
Voices or
Low Ceiling. In addition, acoustic guitars (hello
Jar of Flies!) are much more prominent, and country elements are utilized far more extensively, reminiscent of the self-titled 1995 Alice in Chains and Jerry’s first solo record,
Boggy Depot.
Because of all this,
Brighten turned out to be something entirely new for Cantrell, yet simultaneously a logical progression of his sound. Yes, some of the tracks would feel right at home on an Alice in Chains album, but that is hardly surprising given the pivotal role Jerry plays in the band. On the other hand, there aren’t too many of those.
So, if you are interested in listening to a man whose inner darkness has finally started to let go, give Jerry Cantrell’s new record a spin. All we have to do now is delight in the fact that his relatively compact discography has been enriched by yet another great album.
