Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue

Alice in Chains
Black Gives Way To Blue
2009 Virgin/EMI

Replacing a lead singer and maintaining your integrity is not an easy thing. AC/DC did it after the death of Bon Scott, by continuing on with Brian Johnson and releasing the near-perfect Back in Black. Anthrax did it following the firing of Joey Belladonna, by reinventing their thrash sound with a more mature-yet-raw sound on Sound of White Noise with John Bush at the helm. And those are the only two examples that come to mind. Sure, plenty of bands have replaced singers and kept touring as nostalgia acts (Journey, Boston), while other bands tried to reinvent themselves but failed miserably (Motley Crue circa 1993).

It makes sense, really. People grow very attached to the frontman, and there’s a reason they’re called the frontman; more often than not, they are the face of the band. Alice in Chains arguably had two frontmen as their career progressed – Layne Stayley, on vocals and occasional rudimentary rhythm guitar, and Jerry Cantrell, on guitar and vocals. By the release of their third, self-titled album in 1995, Layne’s role as a vocalist had become almost a 50/50 split with Cantrell, quite different than the dynamic present on the group’s debut Facelift. The band still had a signature sound, and Staley’s ongoing drug problems consistently prevented the band from touring. In 1996 they performed the classic MTV Unplugged set that was Layne’s last national TV performance with the band. While the group never officially split up, they did not release an album until 2001’s live compilation, Live. Layne passed away a year later, in April of 2002.

The three remaining members of Alice in Chains – Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney – performed as Alice in Chains for the first time during a tsunami benefit in 2005, with various guest vocalists. The group’s performance lit a flame under them, and they recruited Cantrell’s solo band/tourmates Comes With the Fall’s vocalist/guitarist William Duvall to begin a slow process of playing shows. These shows eventually led to writing, and eventually recording. Some fans thought that anything released post-Layne would tarnish the group’s legacy, and I have to admit, I was also skeptical of the reunion until I saw the band live on two separate occasions. William Duvall not only proved himself to me as a great performer, but he has a great voice that’s also distinct, and he is a great guitar player to boot.

After two years of working together in the studio, the band has finally released their long-awaited, fourth studio album, Black Gives Way to Blue, and I have to admit, it more than lives up to the Alice in Chains legacy. This album combines the best elements of AiC’s back catalogue – the twisted stomp of “A Looking in View” and “Last of my Kind”, the somber acoustic songs with “When the Sun Rose Again”, “Your Decision” and the title-track, and the moody, melodic “Check My Brain” – but there is a vitality and freshness in the recording that hasn’t been heard by the band since 1993’s Dirt. Alice in Chains was a dark, depressing album, and while Black… has its share of dark moments, there are also underlying messages of hope and resurrection in the lyrics.

How does Duvall hold up on the album? Well, for one thing, the 50/50 vocal dynamic present on Alice in Chains is still evident here, although I don’t know if this was a conscious decision or not. I personally think the band just did this in order to better fit the songs. “Last of my Kind” is the only track where Duvall is singing alone, but he also handles lead sections on “A Looking in View” and the brilliant “Private Hell,” which is reminiscent of the multi-tracked Layne harmonies of “Rotten Apple”. His harmonies are layered throughout the Cantrell-led songs, as well, so his presence is definitely felt, and also brings a new piece to the puzzle. He definitely does not sound like a newcomer or someone in over his head, and this album sounds like a true band, not 3 guys and a hired gun.

The album ends with the beautifully haunting title-track, a bare-bones acoustic number featuring Jerry Cantrell handling the lead vocals, and none other than Elton John playing some great subdued piano work. Cantrell has admitted in interviews that the build-up to recording this track caused him massive migraines and back aches, but once he recorded it, he likened it to finally “puking up a big bunch of grief” over the loss of his great friend and former bandmate, Staley. Let me say, you can really tell when listening to the track, which honestly almost moved me to tears the first time I heard it. The album ends with the line, “Lay down/black gives way to blue/lay down/I remember you,” and it’s as emotionally heavy as the iconic ending to “Would?” which closed out Dirt.

The only song I would probably leave off of this album is the track “Take Her Out,” which is rocking and melodic, but also doesn’t have any real arresting riffs or hooks. Aside from that, this album is pretty much flawless. It’s more than a comeback, and more than a return-to-form (truth is, they never really left their form at all); it’s new life breathed into a band that still has plenty to offer.

A-

Matt Steele