“A guitar Eddie Van Halen gave me went missing for 18 years. So many really important guitars are stolen or disappear. We rarely get them back”: Jerry Cantrell opens up on his missing guitar fears, pushing beyond his limits – and why AI could never do AIC

Jerry Cantrell poses with his Gibson Flying V. He wears a long black t-shirt and silver pants.

When Guitar World reaches the alternative metal icon – and founding guitarist of Alice in Chains – he’s been running the press gauntlet on a rare day off from his summer tour supporting U.K. rockers Bush.

This is Cantrell’s fourth call in as many hours, and while he’s more than willing to dig into the meat of I Want Blood – the guitarist’s sensationally snarling new solo album – he also notes that talking about himself for so long has worked up an appetite. In an admission befitting the record’s insatiable title, he says he’s ripping into a steak the second he wraps the interview.