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Alice in Chains: Black gives way to blue

26/10/09 || Trauma

I will start off by saying that I rank Alice in Chains next to bands like the AC/DC and Metallica of old in the top of my lists including genres outside of metal. I absolutely love this band. They had no terrible albums. There was some filler on “Facelift” and the S/T, but not enough to make the albums uninteresting. So after their breakup, and Staley’s death, I was not too confident I’d ever hear music from them again. And I really wasn’t all that upset because their previous work was that good.

So here they are, reinvigorated after doing that benefit show back in 2005. Did Alice in Chains pull what most bands do when they get back together after so long and release a lackluster album? Not in the slightest. It’s a highly somber album for the most part. More of the songs border on extremely beautiful and heartfelt, whereas some get that heavier rocking going on like AiC post s/t and Jerry’s solo career sound.

“All secrets known” is probably the most revealing song about how the band feels about getting back together after the death of Staley.

“There’s no going back to the place we started from”.

The song is very emotional and you can feel it. This is their way of healing the wounds caused by Staley’s death, and for that I have to accept the fact that they will probably continue on now as the same band minus it’s (not so)secret ingredient. Immediately afterward we hear “Check my brain”. On first listen on their website I was scared, since this screamed “Cantrell solo career” real hard. Over time, though, it’s gone to fit in very well and become one of my favorite tracks on the album.

“Last of my kind” finally gives the listener something to grasp in regards to their new vocalist, William Duvall. I hated this guy’s voice on all those live videos. It sounded very poor and just didn’t fit in with the band. Time, and the studio, really helped out because they formed a sound that suits his voice excellently. He doesn’t seem to have the range in pitch that Staley had, however, that’s not necessarily a burden because he and Cantrell are able to harmonize very well together. Oh, and the music thus far has been pretty heavy as expected. So far it’s shaped up to be a great album. “Your decision” seems to be another Cantrell solo work… so I’m just going to quit mentioning that now, it’s quite obvious I can’t shake the difference since they are all so similar yet so different in their own way.

“Looking in view” was the other song they previewed before release. It’s slow and heavy, and I like it. It’s a long one, at 7 minutes, so it might feel like it starts to drag on a little bit if this isn’t your type of music. “When the sun rose again” starts off really well, and I love the main guitar riff. The chorus is real good, and a good midpoint to the album. Oh, and the harmonies are there, whether it’s just Cantrell’s vocals dubbed over themselves or his and Duvall’s I can’t tell. Not that I care, since there are spots where it’s glaringly obvious on the album they are both singing together, and others you can’t tell.

This album can’t be that good by now, can it? Well, it dips a bit when “Acid bubble” gets going. I like the bridge and chorus leading on, but it feels like a really disjointed song about a 1/3 to 1/2 of the way through. It switches up riffs and kinda changes completely, then goes back to the previous part of the song. It does this twice and it just irks me more than I feel it should.

“Lesson learned” picks it up a bit afterward. It’s an okay song sounding like something off “Degradation trip”. Uh-oh, there I go again. But really, it’s not a highlight. “Take her out” has a pretty upbeat riff, and I like the song a lot, probably my favorite song. Real manly, I know. “Private Hell” is good, a very depressive song and reminiscent of the AiC of old.

“Black gives way to blue”, the title track (you don’t say? – Captain Obvious), is a damn good closer. If there’s one thing Jerry Cantrell can do, it’s write an excellent song when he’s got strong feelings towards the subject of the lyrics. In this case, it’s Layne Staley. The opener may have sounded very emotional, but this one takes that emotion even further. Joined by the band in this one is Elton John on piano. Nothing that you’d spot without being told, but it’s kinda nice to hear the man join in for the song. I guess it pays to be famous and gay, so I still have one more thing to achieve.

You may wonder by this point why I haven’t really spoken much of the musicianship? Or not, since I was clearly doing song by song here. I don’t have much to say in regards to the rhythm section. Mike Inez never really had a big presence in their sound like Mike Starr did, and Sean Kinney never was a phenomenal drummer. His drumming is just there and out of the way. Though he usually manages to pull off some nicer drumming on the lighter tracks. Cantrell’s playing is catchy as always, and the vocals are still great. William Duvall, like I said earlier, sounds damn good and I’m liking their sound with him. Hopefully next time around he’s singing and getting writing credits on more than just a few tracks, because those songs really do start to feel like AiC and not just Jerry Cantrell. But on this album I can understand why he isn’t. He’s a newcomer, but this is not his time to shine. A mostly somber and sometimes uplifting album, well worthy of being part of the bands fantastic body of work.

8.5

Information
Released: 2009
Label: Virgin/EMI
Website: www.aliceinchains.com
Band
Jerry Cantrell: vocals, guitar
William Duvall: vocals, guitar
Mike Inez: bass
Sean Kinney: drums

Tracklist
1. All secrets known
2. Check my brain
3. Last of my kind
4. Your decision
5. Looking in view
6. When the sun rose again
7. Acid bubble
8. Lesson learned
9. Take her out
10. Private hell
11. Black gives way to blue

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