As Alice In Chains' Jerry Cantrell gets set to be awarded the Stevie Ray Vaughan Award for his work with the MusiCares MAP Fund, the guitarist recently sat down with for a new interview with Grammy.com.
During the chat, Cantrell revealed that the band had completed writing for the follow up to 2009's Black Gives Way to Blue. When asked when fans could expect a new album, he responded:
"It'll depend on when it's done. We started writing stuff last year. I think we're all good with that now, so now it's time to cut it. So we're gonna try to, but if not it'll probably be out early next year. It'll be out about three or four minutes after we're finished. Give the record company time to set it up and plan the attack and tour for hopefully a year, year and a half."
The guitarist also revealed that it wasn't just touring and songwriting duties that have made the wait so long between albums.
"The thing that set me back is I had some bone spurs [and] cartilage issues in my shoulders," he said. "I had the same issue in the other shoulder about six years ago so I've had them both done now. It's a repetitive motion injury from playing. But the repair takes a year. So that kind of set us back a little bit, but it takes time anyway — my body started a vacation."
Josh Hart is a former web producer and staff writer for Guitar World and Guitar Aficionado magazines (2010–2012). He has since pursued writing fiction under various pseudonyms while exploring the technical underpinnings of journalism, now serving as a senior software engineer for The Seattle Times.
