Customer Reviews

Degradation Trip Volumes 1 & 2

5 star:		(71)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

As a somewhat grouchy Alice in Chains/Soundgarden fan from back in the early '90's, I've become pretty upset at the direction that the rock scene has taken since the original "grunge" bands passed from prominence. In fact, I'd rather slam my hand in a car door than listen to Nickelback or Puddle of Mudd's dumbed-down excuse for hard rock. So when former Alice in Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell released "Degradation Trip" earlier this year, I was all over it. And now that it's been rereleased in two-disc format, with eleven more songs than the original version, it's like a gift from above for an old (23) guy like me. That said, this album is enjoyable for WAY more than nostalgic value. It rules in its own right.

Since Jerry was largely responsible for Alice in Chains's sound, it's no suprise that his solo band (is that an oxymoron?) retains some elements of his old band. "Degradation Trip" loses little of the dark atmosphere that made albums like "Dirt" such classics. Jerry is an excellent and creative guitarist, and his signature sound, with its heavy, distorted riffing, is still evident on songs like "Spiderbite" and "Pro False Idol." As a vocalist, Jerry can't match late Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley's range or power, but I think it would be pretty unreasonable to expect him to. His voice is still plenty powerful and emotional, and his delivery eerily resembles Layne's. Jerry also gets excellent support from Ozzy Osbourne's rhythm section of bassist Robert Trujillo and drummer Mike Bordin. Robert's thumping basslines and Mike's muscular, nuanced drumming give Jerry plenty of space to explore with his guitar, and that's pretty important.

Alice in Chains's sound, with Jerry's distorted guitar work and Layne's tortured vocals, was always closer to metal than to grunge. This album is no exception, even if it isn't guite as heavy as, say, "Dirt." Rather, Jerry goes for a more eclectic approach here, expanding on his former band's thinking-man's metal approach. There are still plenty of the dark, sludgy dirges Alice in Chains were known for, the opening "Psychotic Break" being a prime example. However, there are also great acoustic-based tunes like the depressing "Solitude" and the more upbeat "Angel Eyes." And as the single "Anger Rising" and "Locked On" prove, Jerry can still rock out with the best of them. There's even a great, moving ballad on here, namely "Gone." When Jerry sings "Now You're Gone, Gone Away" at the end of the song, it's pretty hard not to think of Layne, or of anyone close to you that you've ever lost.

On the whole, as I think this review has made clear, I can't say enough good things about this album. Jerry Cantrell just does an amazing job of building on Alice in Chains's signature sound without pillaging it. At twenty-five songs covering more than two hours, "Degradation Trip" never sounds boring or forced. It just sounds good. If you love Alice in Chains, or even good rock music in general, as much as I do, then this album is a must.

They say that "grunge" is gone. Jerry Cantrell is officially categorized as "post grunge" but calling Degradation Trip "post grunge" is like comparing Bill Haley and the Comets to Led Zep. It's apples to oranges.

If Degradation Trip Volumes 1&2 had come out in the early nineties it would surely be one of the seminal "grunge" albums of all. It has all the key elements. Distorted guitar. Slow deliberate tempos. Dark lyrics.

Don't let the double cd scare you off in favor of the original release. This is the most utterly captivating, electrifying, and satisfying 140 minutes of heavy rock music you will ever experience.

Be prepared though, this album is no Polyanna. It's dark, almost scary at times. "Feel The Void", for example, is eerie and just plain makes my skin crawl. I love it! It's like going to a good scary movie and being delightfully frightened. I love music that makes me feel something. This'll do it believe me.

But, at the same time, the feel of the album is not heaviness just for the sake of heaviness. It's dark, as I said, it's harrowing, it's almost depressing at times, but it is also obviously a brutally honest musicl revelation into the life experiences and inner emotions of Jerry Cantrell.

The first song on the album "Psychotic Break" starts the strange eerieness of Jerry's Degradation Trip. Oddly enough, these songs were written before the death of Jerry's long time friend and Alice in Chains musical collaborater Layne Staley. And yet, a line in "Psychotic Break" says "Thinking 'bout my dead friends whose voices ring on." I can't help but view this line as almost a eulogy in advance for someone he knew was dying.

"Bargain Basement Howard Hughes" is ostensibly directed at Layne Staley. "Enigma wrapped in a riddle. Your life I belittle . . . Stubborn bast**d, hard head knocking. We had our good years too. Though apart, you're still in my heart. I'd give anything for you." It's obvious that Jerry's frustration with Layne's situation came flooding out in this song.

Jerry dosn't just vent about Layne on Degradation Trip either. In several songs he points the finger directly at himself. Songs such as "Owned" and "Pro False Idol" are brutally honest without, however, sounding like someone whose whinning "Nobody loves me, everybody hates me, guess I'll go eat worms." He just sounds honest.

By the way, I was skepticle about Jerry's vocals at first because I always felt that he lacked the vocal edge that Layne Staley demonstrated. I realize now that his lighter vocals with Alice in Chains was needed to offset Layne's heavy, screeching, style. Jerry lowers his voice on Degradation Trip and this gives the songs the edge they need to be truly effective along side the dark theme of the album as a whole.

It's hard to believe that Degradation Trip has not received more interest and radio airplay but like many solo attempts by members of supergroups, it may well be in the shadow of the great Alice in Chains musical catalog.

Hopefully, even years after it's initial release, word of mouth will help this album garner the attention it richly deserves.

This 2-disc set is a must-have for Jerry Cantrell fans. I thoroughly enjoyed the original release of Degradation Trip earlier this year, but was simply blown away by the recent album, all 25 songs released as Jerry originally intended. I simply can't get enough of it. His honest, raw, wear-your-heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics are just breathtaking. This man truly writes from the heart. Musically, Jerry returns to his Alice roots, but with his own spin. The trademark haunting harmonies, chanting, humming and crunching guitar riffs are there in all their splendor. Jerry Cantrell also is a master of dichotomy. The song Pig Charmer, a brutally honest assessment of rock-star living, is at once chilling and catchy. The lyrics almost make me want to crawl out of my skin at the same time I am singing the catchy chorus. The instrumental Hurts Don't It is a masterpiece of raw emotion. The man has a way of making the guitar speak to you. It's really a crime that RoadRunner records has not done more to promote what I think is hands down THE best rock album of the year. It's a refreshing change from most of the prefab garbage that gets the air play and promotion. Shame on RR for not doing a better job with one of the most influential guitarists/writers of our time. Take the trip. You'll be glad you did.

post-grunge. that phrase right there also means 'the death of good music' in most people's eyes. grunge (or alternative in general of that time frame...i mean you cant call the smashing pumpkins grunge and they are one of the best alternative bands ever and they got big at the same time AIC did...) was the explosion of alternative rock in the early 90's that had the chance to bring forth another golden age of rock, but internal struggles tore it all down before its true potential could be reached (imagine breaking up led zeppelin right after 3, or the beatles right after revolver). nirvana's implosion is documented enough for the world, the world still doesnt know why soundgarden or the smashing pumpkins called it quits...but perhaps the most tragic tale of grunge death is that of alice in chains.

alice in chains were the most metallic, heavy (although badmotorfinger soundgarden gives them a run for their money in that category), and just, DOWN band of grunge. alice in chains focused writing sounds to match their personal troubles-specifically, a tragic heroin addiction on the part of layne staley. Layne got bad-real bad. and after AIC's self titled, they simply couldnt tour. or even get in the studio. it was sad, but still the brains behind the AIC operation-mr. jerry cantrell-wasnt so disabled from recording. cantrell released a solo album 'boggy depot'-which i admit i still havent heard yet-but plan on hearing-and in 2002 jerry released 2 versions of his sophmore try- degradation trip, the one disc version and the, as you will see, far superior 2 disc version.

in fact, this 2 disc version is so superior to the one disc version, it astounds me how someone would settle for the one disc version at all. this 2-disc version is so good-beats anything since the start of the millenium, it beats binaurial and riot act (both of which i loved), it beats mesmerize and toxicity, it even beats NILE's astounding 'in their darkened shrines' and new 'annhiliation of the wicked' (2 must haves for any Death metal fan). simply put, if this was done as an AIC album (say released in 1997-2 years after their last album), it would have not only, in my mind, saved grunge, but also been AIC's biggest album by far.

-disc 1-
1. psychotic break-10/10-incredible guitar layering on this one, will bring a smile to any AIC fan
2. Bargain basement...-8/10-a bit of a letdown, but a nice crunchy, sludgy number
3. owned-9/10-like a much improved bargain basement, like the lyrics
4. angel eyes-10/10-amazing song, HOW THE HELL ISNT THIS A ROCK RADIO STAPLE? it astounds me...
5. solitude-9/10-a pretty acoustic number, just like all good alternative somber songs, it manages to both make you feel the singer's pain AND be able to hum along and sing like any rock song too...
6. mother's spinning in her grave-10/10-great rocker here, sounds like a very eclectic sequel to 'godsmack'
7. hellbound-10/10-WOW. this is a definetly pissed off, dank, murky AIC update. this would fit great with anything on dirt-and good god that intro is badass.
8. spiderbite-9/10-crunchy and maybe over-distorted, spiderbite rocks, and the chorus is jarring and totally comes out of nowhere.
9. pro-false idol-8/10-its good, take my word for it, but it seems this song just overlasts its welcome, its over 7 minutes long-but the lyrics most definetly about layne save it.
10. feel the void-10/10-among the most creepy on the disc-never explodes into a cantrell-esque metal/grunge rocker, it just jars you and doesnt stop.
11. locked on-9/10-i compare this to owned-they seem like brother and sister songs, but locked on's sudden change is much more affective than owned's.
12. gone-10+/10- whoa. this is truly a tearjerker, it seems as if this song was written SPECIFICALLY for when layne kicked the can, and may just be the best on the 2-disc set.

-disc 2-
1. castaway-10/10-another great rocker, creepy intro and sick lyrics that take a disturbing take on being isolated-the 'cracked lips' line always gets me...
2. chemical tribe-10+/10- another incredible song, chemical tribe shows what jerry can really do, and in a shocking way, with the 'bitchslapped' chorus infesting your mind with its catchyness...
3. what it takes 10+/10-have i said disc 2 was better? because without a doubt it is. what it takes is an acoustic song done just oddly-with a great wordless chorus (jerrys good at those)
4. Dying Inside-8/10-starts off great, then shifts to acoustic, then powers back up to distorted metal-but it never really reverts back to the insane shifts, which is why it only got an 8
5. siddhartha-9/10-hints of psychodelia? in jerry cantrell? odd. again shows how diverse cantrell is with this 2-disc format
6. hurts, dont it?-*/10-i dont rate instrumentals, but dang this one is awesome.
7. she was my girl-7/10- too commercial. it rocks, but it seems so out of place with the rest of the songs here.
8. pig charmer-10/10-nice return to form. catchy, long, and a big F*ck you to the rock star lifestyle
9. Anger rising- 10+/10-by far one of the best rockers on here, this song is literally on the levels of man in the box or junkhead- its catchy, it thrashes, it'll make you jump around and scream the lyrics.
10. SOS-9/10- great, not as crunchy as anger rising, but sick, just disturbing lyrics here
11. give it a name-9/10-actually, this is a quite nice change of pace-shorter (only 4 minutes-compared to 8-6-5 minutes for the last 3 songs) and it once again rocks.
12. thanks anyway-8/10-this is really the only song i havent completely analyzed yet to tell the truth...i seem to skip it to always hear:
13. 31/32-10+/10- like gone's tougher older brother, its not as emotional as that one, but it packs one hell of an emotional punch and it never overstays its welcome, even if it's over 7 mins long.

simply put, i cannot give this any higher reccomendation. to any AIC fan, alternative fan, metal fan, or especially grunge fan, pick this up ASAP!

Oh man! I can't express the affect this album has on my soul. I was a big fan of Boggy Depot and had meant to check this out for a long time after that came out but for whatever reason I hadn't gotten around to it. What a mistake! This album is great!

It runs the gamut from slow, soft ballads to deep, heavy, distorted rock tracks. I love it! A lot of the songs are very catchy and stick with you. But the real hook is the emotion that flows from the songs. It seems that Jerry really poured his soul into many of the tracks. A couple of songs speak to the despair one feels as he observes a tragic situation that he is powerless to stop or prevent. This has obvious significance in Jerry's life, but will reasonate with anyone that has found themselves in a similar situation.

It speaks to me and will to you too. Buy it.

The original release of Cantrell's Degradation Trip was a single disc containing 14 of the 25 songs he wrote for the album. Now, Roadrunner has chosen to release the entire two disc set that Cantrell originally envisioned when he wrote the album. The results are outstanding. The tracks from the previous release are all here, as well as a bunch of new songs which are really good as well. They don't sound like rejects. Most of the new material is just as good as the original songs. My favorite new tracks are Owned, Pro False Idol, Pig Charmer, the instrumental Hurts Don't It, and the closing ballad, 31/32. The entire album fits together extremely well and feels far more complete then the original release. If you liked the original, you should definitely check this out. On the other hand, if you didn't like the first release, then you shouldn't even bother with this. I think it's an amazing album, but it's not for everyone.

I've been a casual fan of AIC for a few years, so when I heard that Jerry Cantrell was set to release DEGRADATION TRIP this past spring, I was mildly interested. After hearing "Anger Rising" on my radio station, I felt that it was worth downloading a few songs to sample the CD before buying. Unfortunately the first one I decided to grab was "She Was My Girl" (his contribution to the SPIDERMAN soundtrack if I remember correctly), which I was none too impressed by. I dismissed the record and pretty much forgot about Jerry until a few days ago when I saw the 2-disc set of this album at my local store. I decided to give it a chance, and boy am I glad I did...

The other reviewers have hit the nail on the head by calling this one of the best pure rock records in several years, and it's a dirty shame the record company didn't promote it, and even worse that radio stations didn't give "Anger Rising" much airplay to attract more attention.

While the music is fairly straightforward heavy rock / metal on most tracks, the lyrics are brutally honest and fairly deep (much like those found on TRIPOD), and the melodies are much more interesting and experimental than the corporate rock found on today's airwaves. After listening, I found there to be several exceptionally good tracks (rivaling material from my favorite band, Tool). Among them are "Siddhartha" (hands down the best cut in my opinion), "Solitude," "Spiderbite," and "Gone." In addition, the mainstream rock types "Anger Rising" and "Angel Eyes" never seem to get old; both tracks feature extremely catchy harmonized vocals. Other tracks of note from the original recording released in June 2002 are "Hellbound," an incredibly catchy pure metal track; "Psychotic Break," the odd but satisfying dismal opener that will, again, be stuck in your head for days; and "Bargain Basement Howard Hughes," a dark number inevitably referring to Staley.

The new tracks may be of slightly lesser quality on average than the originals, but that doesn't mean there aren't some very good ones in the mix. "Hurts Don't It?" is an instrumental that recalls "Whale and Wasp," and is a personal favorite. "Pig Charmer" is interesting in that Jerry sings from Staley's point of view, and seems to imitate his vocal stylings while doing so; it is also a ridiculously catchy (though dark) track. The ultra-funky "S.O.S." and straight rocker "Locked On" are also highly recommended.

All in all, there are very few disappointing tracks, and there is more variety on this collection than on any AIC album. In fact, I would go as far as to say this effort is on the same quality level as DIRT and JAR OF FLIES. The great thing about the CD set is that it combines elements of both of those records; everything from intstrumentals to acoustic numbers to relentlessly heavy songs are found, and they blend together fairly naturally. Next time you go to the music store with the intention of grabbing the latest Nickelback/Default/etc. spinoff, make sure you at least consider picking this up too.

For all of us who have already purchased the single CD-edition of "Degradation Trip" it may seem like this is an unnecessary listen, but please let me implore any previous fans of Jerry's work, solo or with Alice, to find a way to pick this up. The full 25 songs flesh out his musical ideas and make for a much more satisfying listening experience. In fact, to those drawn to Jerry because of his potential to be one of the more original guitar/vocal composers in the history of heavy rock music, I'd say that the great majority of the inspired moments of "Degradation Trip" weren't on the original release. There are twelve additional songs that, as a whole, represent the darker side of his music that defined most of Alice In Chains' songs, but were almost entirely absent from "Boggy Depot" and only hinted at in the original 13-song release of this album. Jerry is a very apt rock musician, capable of churning out up-beat rockers and countryfied ballads, but he's at his best when he's doing his own thing: slow, unpredictable, heavy dirges of melancholy rock and roll. His power chord rockers like "Anger Rising," "Angel Eyes," and "My Girl" were well represented on the first release, but to whomever wanted more of the stuff suggested with "Psychotic Break" and "Chemical Tribe" it's here in spades, and now his other musical tunes offset the overtly depressing music nicely, instead of dominating the mix. If it wasn't for the arena rock production of most of the songs, this album might be perfect, but I'll settle for two hours of often amazing music, thinking how lucky the rock world is that Jerry keeps making his music while the rest of the mainstream hard rock world imitates.

ALL I CAN SAY IS THANK GOD FOR PEOPLE LIKE JERRY CANTRELL WHO STILL PUT OUT MUSIC WITH SUBSTANCE. FROM START TO FINISH, THIS ALBUM IS RIDICULOUSLY GREAT. IF YOU LIKE ALICE IN CHAINS, JERRY, THE GRUNGE SOUND, AND JUST GOOD OLD FASHIONED ROCK AND ROLL, GO OUT AND GET THIS ALBUM, AS IT KICKS THE CRAP OUT OF RAP-METAL MAINSTREAM, RADIO CRAP. THERE ARE 25 SONGS, 14 OF WHICH WERE ON THE FIRST RELEASE OF DEGRADATION TRIP-AND THEY ALL ROCK AND REMIND US THAT GOOD MUSIC IS STILL AROUND.

Jerry Cantrell it appears from the first note of this cd was more than just the guitarist for Alice In Chains...the atomsphere he creates here is nothing short of amazing! His singing is as strong as his guitar and I am very impressed with this cd as it really has Jerry bringing it all together...as one reviewer remarked the first cd Bogey Depot was a solo album from a member of a band...this cd is far superior in that it has its own personality and takes you down in the hole of Jerry's soul...get it play it and be glad that with all the junk metal being made lately this is real rock ....and it will make you appreciate real talent and creativity!