{"id":39713,"date":"2006-04-12T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2006-04-12T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/degradation-trip-volumes-1-and-2\/"},"modified":"2006-04-12T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2006-04-12T00:00:00","slug":"degradation-trip-volumes-1-and-2","status":"publish","type":"review","link":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/reviews\/degradation-trip-volumes-1-and-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Degradation Trip, Volumes 1 And 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Geniuses that they are, Roadrunner Records wouldn’t
\nlet Jerry Cantrell, the former Alice in Chains guitarist, release
\nDegradation Trip<\/i> as a double album, telling him there is no
\nmarket for double albums these days. So Cantrell took half the
\nsongs and release a single CD on the condition he could release
\nthis later the same year, with all the songs he wrote in the
\nrunning order he intended.<\/p>\n

It really doesn’t matter which one you end up with.
\nWhile this may be the best work Cantrell’s done since Dirt<\/i>
\nin 1992, it comes off as one long guitar dirge, full of power
\nchords, mournful vocals and winding epics not present in most rock
\nthese days.<\/p>\n

The record is an ode to Layne Staley, AIC’s singer,
\nwho died right around the time this album was being written and
\nprepared for release. It is also a commentary by Cantrell about his
\nlife — the loss of friends and family, the rock lifestyle and the
\npermeating sadness that seems to envelop his soul. This is not a
\nhappy record, and now at twice the length it’s very difficult to
\nget through in one sitting.<\/p>\n

It’s refreshing to hear that Cantrell hasn’t changed
\nwith age — he wrote most of the best Alice in Chains songs and
\nmade even the most melancholy power rock sound melodic. But a large
\npart of that charm was Staley’s primal heroin-addled howl, and
\nalthough he is a good singer Cantrell just can’t replicate that.
\nIt’s hard to break out of the expectation that Staley will start
\nsinging, since this music is exactly like Alice in Chains, only
\nwithout the occasional burst of humor and pop sensibility.<\/p>\n

What it boils down to is this — if you like Alice in
\nChains, you know what you are going to hear, and Cantrell doesn’t
\ndisappoint. “Anger Rising” is a fiery burst of power that nearly
\nblows out my speakers every time I play it, and those creepy
\n“aaah”s mixed with the descending riffs make for a hell of a song.
\n“Gone” is a slower acoustic-tinged ballad that recalls “Heaven
\nBeside You,” and “What It Takes” uses what sounds like African
\npercussion and spare power chords to set the mood, letting
\nCantrell’s voice and the bass do the work. It’s one of the few
\ntimes the mold breaks.<\/p>\n

Only one of the 25 songs is under four minutes, and
\nseveral are longer than six minutes. Unfortunately, now that
\nCantrell can indulge himself, he often does. Taken individually,
\nthe longer epics are compelling, with several mini-parts and plenty
\nof anger and shredding to go around — but like Metallica’s St.
\nAnger<\/i> record, repetition does not always equal good, especially
\non a double album.<\/p>\n

And many of the songs start off innocently enough but
\nreturn to familiar ground – heavy guitar dirges with the same tone,
\nCantrell’s Staley-lite voice and basic drumming to augment the
\nmelancholia. Again, individually, these are great songs — the Deep
\nPurple meets King Crimson overtones of “Hurts, Don’t It?,” the
\nsped-up near-punk “She Was My Girl,” and the acoustic\/tambourine
\nundertone of “31\/32.” And, as always, Cantrell’s lyrics are
\nsoul-searching and far more meaningful than anything on rock radio
\nthese days.<\/p>\n

But in retrospect, Roadrunner was right to leave this
\nas a single disc. Even Alice in Chains fans may think this is a bit
\ntoo much of the same thing, and they’d be right. Cantrell can still
\nwrite a great riff and does a meaningful guitar dirge better than
\nanybody, but doing the same thing 25 times get a bit old.<\/p>\n

Still, it’s worth a spin for hard rock fans, because
\nafter all, this is Jerry Cantrell.<\/p>\n

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