Alice In Chains - Black Gives Way To Blue

It's been a while since I've published anything music related here, so here you go, a spanking new review of the new Alice In Chains album, which is being released 29/9-2009!







Alice In Chains – Black Gives Way To Blue [Virgin Music 2009]

One of the things that I never thought would happen, has happened, Alice In Chains is back with a new album. It's been 14 years since the band's last release, the selftitled album, that showed the band from a more progressive and experimental side, than we had heard before. We didn't hear much from the band in the period of 1996, where they toured a bit, until the death of Layne Staley in 2002 and to be honest, I thought that was the definite end of Alice In Chains. Though in 2006 the band resurfaced at a benefit concert for the tsunami victims, they didn't have an actual singer at this point, but utilized different friends from other bands. During a small US tour, they started to use William DuVall from Comes With The Fall more and more, and eventually he ended up as the band's vocalist. In 2008 Alice In Chains started to record a new album, which ended up as 'Black Gives Way To Blue'.

Together with fearing the day I had to listen to this release, afraid of it not living up to the Alice In Chains legacy. I was also very curious to check out the band and their music anno 2009, helped a lot by the various clips from their concerts with new material on Youtube. Well, now the CD has arrived and I have been giving it a good deal of spins this weekend, together with the rest of the band's discography. With something that feels like a touch of magic, Jerry Cantrell and company have managed to deliver an album, that not only sounds like, but also reeks of Alice In Chains!

Let's start out with the x-factor on the album, the new singer William DuVall, a man that has big shoes to fill, but he has taken on the task humble, but with a lot of energy and effort. The result is almost scaring, as he sounds very close to Staley and when Cantrell backs up the lead vocal, the resemblance to the band's earlier vocal work is very close. DuWall is a perfect fit for the music with his almost vibrato like vocal skills, the changes from dark to little lighter and the ability to sing very melodious without losing the emotional and hurt dark touch.

Musically Cantrell has written tunes that both can follow 'Alice In Chains' naturally, but also the earlier albums, as it isn't experimental nor progressive as the selftitled album, but almost purely built on emotions and dark atmospheres. The songs are really well written and Cantrell pours himself into the music and lyrics, a very personal and gripping album. The music is dark and at the same time catchy, we get all the trademark crooked melodies, the grandiose riffing and some nicely laid down solos, and great deal of acoustic guitar, which fits the overall atmosphere on the album well. It would be a lie to say that there are pushed any boundaries with this album, it is wisely kept on secure ground, so all us old Alice In Chains fans can follow. There will hopefully be plenty of time to experiment with the band's musical expression in the future!

Though even within the squares of Alice In Chains the possibilities are plenty and 'Black Gives Way To Blue' is an evident of that, there are many great tracks, and even though they all more or less have the same overall atmosphere, we are getting our share of multi faceted dark atmospheric heavy-rock.

The rhythm section consisting of bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney is still rock-solid, Mike has always been an impressive bassplayer and his 5 strings doesn't deny that fact on the album. The pretty laid back, but very solid drumming by Sean is also hitting it right off, and compliments the guitars and drive so damn well. The production of the album is also fitting, a very vivid and organic sound, with a lot of ambiance and room for the all the instruments. The guitars have a lot of air and space, the bass is flowing right beneath the guitars and the drums right below the bass, with the cymbals and once in a while the snare hitting it higher. The vocals in the foreground, shifting place with the guitar here and there, panning out a great and fitting production.

During almost all my listens of this album, I've tried to find flaws, something that would confirm my fears of this new album being something wrong to do. But all my fears have been put to shame, and I am actually quite happy about that. Alice In Chains have returned with an album as Alice In Chains, a very natural follow-up to their recording career, which started in the early 90ties and ended in the mid-90ties.

The album is stuffed with great tracks, check out 'Acid Bubble' that starts out nice and quietly, all of a sudden turns heavy with aggressive guitar riffs and vocals, before it goes back to the way it started. The semi-acoustic 'Your Decision' a very beautiful, gripping and saying track. We have the first single 'Check My Brain' a catchy track with huge and heavy riffs and a damn good hoking chorus. Though the really highlights are at the end, the 2 last tracks, first the melancholic 'Private Hell' with a lot of double-layered vocals and efforts from both DuVall and Cantrell, and huge sonority. Before we get to the titletrack, Cantrell's goodbye to Layne Staley, where he of course handles the vocals himself, a very touching track, oozing with melancholy and sadness, it is hard to find it more beautiful than this.

If there should be a doubt, yes I am a big Alice In Chains fan, though as written, was expecting the worst, but was convinced with awe. 'Black Gives Way To Blue' has all we can expect and hope for, from a new Alice In Chains album. The really good musicianship from the band, the unique vocals, the mix of vocals between DuVall and Cantrell and the double-layered vocals, where they both sings on top of each other. And as written, the amazing atmosphere on the album, an album I believe is their way to deal with the passing of Staley 7 years ago, is immense and heavy, but damn it works so well. All I can say, get the album, listen listen and listen a bit more, it is damn good and hard to put it all down in fulfilling words. The only thing that might be missing is the straight heavy metal-riffs and -edge, that the earlier albums possessed to some extent, there are hints, but not fully powered on here. I guess some will miss that side of the band, though I think in the context of 'Black Gives Way To Blue', the weight between heavy and aggressive and atmospheric is handled very well.

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Distributed in Denmark and kindly supplied by EMI

Originally published @ www.nocturnalhorde.com 5 minutes before it was posted here!