[8] It also features Duff McKagan on bass, Gil Sharone on drums, Greg Puciato on background vocals, Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums, Tyler Bates on strings, percussion and guitar, Vincent Jones on piano, keyboards and strings, Jordan Lewis on piano, and Michael Rozon on pedal steel.

[11] On January 24, 2020, during an interview for People TV on the red carpet of the MusiCares Person of the Year ceremony, Cantrell announced that he was working on a new solo album.

"[14] Producer Tyler Bates had previously worked with Cantrell on the song "A Job to Do", featured on the soundtrack to the 2017 film John Wick: Chapter 2,[15] and on the song "Setting Sun", written for the soundtrack of DC Comics' graphic novel Dark Nights: Metal.

[16] Bates helped put a band together for Cantrell's solo concerts at the Pico Union Project in Los Angeles on December 6 and 7, 2019,[17] and some of those musicians are also featured on Brighten, such as Greg Puciato, Gil Sharone, Jordan Lewis and Michael Rozon.

[2] Looking back on that period, Cantrell said, "We worked in really small groups, just tried to be careful, masking up and keeping clean.

[22] Cantrell originally wanted Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers's keyboardist Benmont Tench to play keyboards on "Siren Song".

[23] On June 29, 2021, after low quality photos were leaked from a music video shoot, it was reported that Guns N' Roses' bassist Duff McKagan would be featured on Cantrell's new solo album.

[24] Cantrell confirmed McKagan's collaboration the next day by posting higher quality behind-the-scenes photos from the music video shoot that also showed Gil Sharone on drums and Greg Puciato on guitar and vocals on the set.

[17] Cantrell performed the song at the end of his two solo concerts at the Pico Union Project in Los Angeles on December 6 and 7, 2019.

's Sam Law gave the album a rating of 4/5, stating, "Brighten's vivid, contemporary self-portrait of one of the most distinctive voices in hard rock is complete.

The music within Brighten is full of AIC archetypes, not least Cantrell's distinctive vocals, but spans a broad arc of styles… making it all the more remarkable that he appears comfortable in all of them.

", and that "Alice In Chains fans should prepare to love this, but expect more echoes of Jar of Flies than of Dirt..."[35] Wall of Sound's Duane James scored the release 10/10 stating, "Brighten is an exceptionally crafted album, done so by one of the finest songwriters and musicians to grace any genre over the last 30+ years.