[6] Following the country and southern rock-tinged Brighten (2021), I Want Blood is viewed as a return to the dark, metal-influenced and riff-driven sound for which Cantrell and Alice in Chains are known.

Influences on the record's sound included Jeff Beck, the Cure, Pink Floyd and Robin Trower, with the album's use of dual guitars drawing heavily from Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Metallica, Scorpions and Thin Lizzy.

[7][8] Among the guitars Cantrell used on the album was a Gibson Les Paul Junior given to him several years prior by Billie Joe Armstrong of Green Day.

[10] The song "Off The Rails" was described by Blabbermouth as recalling Alice in Chains's 1990s era with vocalist Layne Staley, featuring what Amit Sharma called a "cheeky nod" to "Wasted Years" (1986) by Iron Maiden.

[9] "Echoes of Laughter" recalled the country-influenced sound of Brighten; Emma Johnston described the track as a "tar-textured western rooting for the guy in the black hat".