1 2 3 4 5
reviewed for FasterLouder

Reunions, reunions… They are a dime a dozen these days, ranging from the heavyweights like Pixies, Led Zeppelin, Blur and Pavement to those that don’t garner the same column inches but are just as important like Magazine and Gang Of Four. Alice In Chains are in a slightly different boat in that they lost their singer Layne Staley to an early heroin grave and were faced with the conundrum of replacing their iconic frontman. Other bands have attempted the same thing (Blind Melon, Queen, INXS) with little success so Alice In Chains took their time and waited until William Duvall appeared on their radar and then tentatively began to write songs and tour their back catalog as a way of blooding the new singer.

Their show in Sydney at the start of 09 was simply astounding and showed that Duvall was a deserved replacement for Staley. He possessed a similar enough voice to do justice to the old songs and enough of his own style to make the role his own.

That brings us to Black Gives Way To Blue, the new album 14 years after their last self titled one. The death of Staley is all over the album but wisely it isn’t overly sentimental. The title alone references the transition of the band from mourning to a brighter future.

The title and closing track is the rawest moment on the album that is directed at Staley as Jerry Cantrell takes the lead vocal over Elton John’s piano and sings a heartfelt paean to a lost brother. There is no judgement or anger, just a fading memory as he sings ‘Fading out by design / consciously avoiding changes / curtain’s drawn now its done / silencing all tomorrows’. Cantrell seems to be accepting that Staley’s death was a suicide as a result of his lifestyle choices (or lack of).

Elsewhere Staley’s ghost looms large over the songs When The Sun Rose Again and Your Decision. All Secrets Known is also about their past but it puts it into the context of their future with its opening lines ‘Hope / a new beginning / time / time to start living’.

The great thing about Alice in Chains is they remain true to their essence. Black Gives Way To Blue retains the signature sound of Cantrell’s chugging, snaking and wah-driven insidious solos. They play metal that is slowed and intensified without becoming cartoonish and they have the ability (as on Your Decision) to strip away the bombast and reveal their softer side like they did on the Jar Of Flies EP back in 1993.

First single Check My Brain is a bit of a no brainer musically and was probably chosen as the most accessible track to re-introduce the band. It has a massive chorus that should make it an anthem of sorts but listen closer and it is a nice critique of the excesses of LA and sun, guns and bongs.

Duvall often has an uncanny likeness to Staley, especially on A Looking In View with his strangled howls and threatening tone. Once he hits the chorus though, there is a a stronger melodic thread that he promotes and it balances the song brilliantly as if he is channeling multiple voices.

Black Gives Way To Blue is a bold and confident return for Alice In Chains. In light of the recent work of their 90’s contemporaries like Pearl Jam (fairly uninspired), Soundgarden (Cornell, please wake up!) they stick to their strengths without just recycling past glories. With their new album Alice In Chains confirms that like Dinosaur Jr they are most deserved of a second run and they can still threaten and serenade with a bruised beauty that will engage both old and new listeners.