Watch Alice In Chains legend Jerry Cantrell’s life on the road in Had To Know video

Jerry Cantrell has released a video shot during recent tour dates to accompany his new single Had To Know.

The Alice In Chains icon clearly enjoyed his North American shows, and in a brief statement he shows he’s keen to get back on the road across Europe.

“The music video for Had To Know was filmed during our North American tour, comprised of footage from many great nights on the road,” he said. “Thanks to Tyler Bates, Greg Puciato, Gil Sharone, Michael Rozon, Jason Achilles, Roger Manning Jr and George Adrian for a fun run – looking forward to hitting Europe in a couple weeks.”

The track appears on his 2021 album Brighten, his first solo outing since 2002’s Degradation Trip. He started work in 2019 and continued through his lockdown period, delivering a record he described as “pretty cool.”

“Alice In Chains got done touring Rainier Fog and we were planning on taking about a year off, which is par for the course for us,” he said. “I decided to take that time and work on some other stuff. I’m glad I had something to focus on and that it was already in motion before all this shit started. If I had to start in the middle of it, that might have been different. But who knows? You play it as it lays, man.”

He added that the only difference between a solo release and an AIC one was that none of his usual colleagues took part. “You rely on the strengths of the band and the talents that everybody brings for some things. But mostly I’m always cataloguing riffs and recording stuff. I’m a collector of ideas, and I have a deep file of ideas and things that are unrealised.”

Cantrell’s European tour kicks off in Spain on June 17, closing in London on July 7.

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Not only is one-time online news editor Martin an established rock journalist and drummer, but he’s also penned several books on music history, including SAHB Story: The Tale of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band, a band he once managed, and the best-selling Apollo Memories about the history of the legendary and infamous Glasgow Apollo. Martin has written for Classic Rock and Prog and at one time had written more articles for Louder than anyone else (we think he's second now). He’s appeared on TV and when not delving intro all things music, can be found travelling along the UK’s vast canal network.