Stooge I was one of the skeptics when I heard that Alice In Chains were regrouping in the years following Layne Staley’s death. I got mixed signals after hearing them do some Layne era songs with William Duvall, but it took their efforts in the studio to win me over.

There aren’t too many surprises if you are familiar with their studio albums of the 90s or with Jerry Cantrell’s solo albums. This album spawned a few singles. “Check My Brain” has a straightforward rock vibe, similar to something that would be on Facelift, but more modernized. I prefer “Lesson Learned” to “Check My Brain”, but both songs were rather fitting as singles since they show two different aspects of the band’s sound.

Two of my favorites off the album are “All Secrets Known” and “Your Decision”, both of which both tread down the familiar, dark-ish path of AIC of old, and they have the uplifting magic that make their work so endearing to me.

Samples of where I see the band taking on a fresh identity with Duvall is with the hard-hitting “Last of My Kind” and “A Looking In View”. While Layne wouldn’t at all sound out of place over top of these tracks, they help to push the new guy to the forefront and show that his voice has its own character and identity. The part mellow, part aggro “Acid Bubble” is also an effective showcase for the Cantrell-Duvall vocal pairing.

Is this the best Alice In Chains has to offer? No. Could it stand proudly next to the bulk of their discography? Definitely! Black Gives Way To Blue is easily a worthwhile pickup for fans of modern hard rock or alternative metal.

UMUR "Black Gives Way to Blue" is the 4th full-length studio album by US hard rock/ metal act Alice in Chains. The album was released in September 2009 by Virgin/ EMI. "Black Gives Way to Blue" is the first studio album since the 1995 self-titled 3rd album. The reason for the long break in recording ( and touring) activity was mainly due to lead vocalist Layne Staley´s serious drug addiction/ problem and later tragic death of a drug overdose in 2002. However the three remaining members of the band met up in 2005 and decided to pick up the pieces and move on. They added new vocalist/ rythm guitarist William DuVall ( Comes with the Fall) to the lineup to replace Layne Staley.

While Layne Staley´s nasal and quite unique vocal delivery was a big part of Alice in Chains sound, the music on "Black Gives Way to Blue" is still unmistakably the sound of Alice in Chains. The memorable and beautiful ( and at times bleak and disturbing) harmony vocal lines, the heavy distorted riffs, the acoustic ditto and the warmth that especially characterized the sound on the last couple of releases by the band in the nineties are are all present and accounted for. The lead vocal duties are shared on the album by Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall. They have very similar voices. Actually to a point where it´s sometimes difficult to hear who is singing when. But that also means that the harmony vocals are spot on and very well executed. The 11 track, 54:10 minute long album contains high quality material with only a couple of tracks that aren´t completely up there with the best. Tracks like "All Secrets Known", "Check My Brain", "Last of My Kind" and "Private Hell" are strong, hook laden and very well written hard rock/ metal tracks and represent the strongest part of the album.

"Black Gives Way to Blue" is produced by Nick Raskulinecz, who is known for his work with artists such as Trivium, Death Angel, Foo Fighters, Marilyn Manson and many more. The album is well produced, with lots of depth and attention to detail. A very succesful production to my ears.

I remember being quite surprised to hear that the remaining members of Alice in Chains had opted to tour and record under the Alice in Chains monicker after Layne Staley´s death, and I guess my conservative nature wished they hadn´t. While Jerry Cantrell was always the main songwriter in Alice in Chains, I really doubted if it would be possible to create that special desperate, bleak and angst filled sound without Layne Staley. As it turns out they can´t. But what they can do is create something different and still wonderful dark and warm hard rock/ metal. The grit and the despair that was always a part of Layne Staley´s vocal delivery can´t be matched, but Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall both have wonderful smooth voices and Alice in Chains signature harmony vocals are delivered with conviction. So "Black Gives Way to Blue" might not possess the same nerve and bleak despair of the predecessors, but it´s a well executed, memorable and ultimately strong hard rock/ metal album that should appeal to a lot of people. A 3.5 - 4 star rating is deserved. I´ll be following the band´s next step with great anticipation.

UMUR Unplugged is, as the name suggests, an unplugged live album by American hard rock/ metal act Alice in Chains recorded for MTV as part of the TV station´s unplugged series. The album was released in July 1996 by Columbia Records. Shortly after the release the band went into an indefinite hiatus, which lasted until 2006. In the meantime lead vocalist Layne Staley had sadly passed away from an overdose of heroin and cocaine in April 2002. Layne Staley had used/ abused drugs for years but by the mid-nineties his addiction had become a problem. In the years following the release of Unplugged, Layne Staley often told interviewers that he was living hell and that the drugs had turned on him. The 1996 MTV Unplugged session was one of the last live shows Layne Staley performed with the band. The show has also been released on VHS and DVD.

The unplugged show on the album contains 13 tracks from various releases. The song Killer is Me is a new song that´s exclusive to this release. Other than that track we´re treated with classic Alice in Chains tracks like Down in a Hole, Rooster, No Excuses, Would? and Angry Chair in fully acoustic versions. Generally the songs that were originally arranged with little electric guitar works the best IMO, but it´s interesting to hear some of the harder edged tracks given the acoustic treatment too. An example that works well is Would? while the acoustic version of Angry Chair leaves a bit to be desired IMO. The band are generally very well playing and has for this show added a second guitarist in Scott Olson to add more depth to the sound. Quite a succesful decision I might add. So while the instrumental side of the music sounds very well, it´s time to talk about the vocals. Alice in Chains are famous for their vocal harmonies and usually lead vocalist Layne Staley and guitarist/ vocalist Jerry Cantrell are a great team. Overall the vocal performance on this album works really well too. I think it´s obvious that Layne Staley isn´t at his strongest though and there are some pitch problems and other minor glitches along the way, but considering that the man at this point was probably already pretty marked by his drug addiction ( the fragile nature of Layne Staley´s black shaded appearance, if you´ve ever seen the video you´ll know what I mean, only fuels this assumption), his performance is actually decent and at times, like in Down in a Hole and Rooster, his performance is strong enough to really move me.

The production by Toby Wright and Alice in Chains is warm and pleasant. A great sound for acoustic music.

Unplugged is a great testament to how intriguing the Layne Staley-era lineup of Alice in Chains actually was. The band´s music is for the most part easily transferable to an acoustic setting and that of course also helps on the listening experience, but let´s not forget that to succeed you still need to write great songs. Thankfully Alice in Chains are blessed with a songwriting skill extraordinaire and that´s what you get to hear when you strip away the distortion and cut the songs to the bone. All in all Unplugged is a pretty great release deserving a 4 star rating.

topofsm While Facelift had glam roots, and Dirt is considered to be a "grunge" classic, Dirt is really neither of these. Alice in Chains created a Doomy masterpiece with Dirt, and influenced many a band to come with it.

The riffs are either slow and ominous or menacingly groovy. They are a perfect match for Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell's harmonizing vocals that give a mystical aura to the work. While it does have some standard alternative elements that it's called, Dirt is plainly ominous doom heavy metal, and masterfully crafted metal at that.

The single and opener, "Them Bones" starts off with rough aggressive riffage and a killer solo a la Jerry Cantrell. The track stands out, though, since it is one of the quicker tempoed ones and the heaviest ones. After that, slower doom riffs come in such as "Rain When I Die", "Down in a Hole", and "Rooster". These are interspersed with the energetic tom-heavy "Sickman" and the groovy bass-ridden "God Smack". However, the haunting ones are probably the best, such as the title track, which features an evil melancholy Phrygian styled riff and croaking vocals to match. "Angry Chair" is just as haunting as the previous but more biting. The closer, "Would?" is a mix of the haunting parts and the energetic tempos found on the album. To be honest, almost all the tracks on the album are standouts, and the rest are merely good.

Overall, this is a highly recommended album for anyone into metal. For a collector it is a definite must. The atmosphere is haunting, the vocals are biting, the drums give off an uncomfortable feel, and the album is overall a killer journey. As for the grunge fans, they should like it too.

adg211288 Alice in Chains fell off the music radar after the sad death of frontman Layne Staley, but in 2009 they came back with their first album since 1995's self titled effort and the first with William DuVall as a member of the band. Personally I think they did the right thing to leave it that long before releasing an album, it has given both the band and the fans the time to get over the loss of Layne.

So is Black Gives Way to Blue worthy of the Alice in Chains name? You bet it is! In fact, with no disrespect to Layne, who's absence is felt in the album, I actually believe that this is the best thing the band have put their name to. Yeah that's right, I think its even better than Dirt, the album that is widely considered their best.

The album feels much heavier than anything AiC have ever done before. They were always more of a heavy metal band than a grunge band, but if there was ever any doubt before there can be done now, Black Gives Way to Blue is definitely a metal album, I'd go as far as to say it really lacks what grunge influences were in the band's music at the height of grunge. It's the sound of a band moving with the times and it works, while still overall sounding like an AiC album, even without the distinctive voice of Layne present. William is a worthy replacement and hey, a lot of vocals on this album seem to be performed by Jerry Cantrell as well, something I personally didn't realise until I saw the band on TV once.

A very balanced album as well, while it is mostly made of heavy tracks the band thrown in a couple of ballads for good measure, these namely being Your Decision, When the Sun Rose Again and the title track, which features a guest appearance by Elton John.

My personal highlights from the album though would be Last of My Kind, Acid Bubble, Lesson Learned, A Looking In View, Take Her Out and even perhaps surprisingly to some, the single Check My Brain, which is probably the most commercial of the album's songs, and I actually appreciate how it could grate on one's nerves after many listens, but I love it.

I always try to do those highlights sections in my reviews these days to try and give potential listeners a starting point(s), but really this is one of those albums where you can pick a track at random and its going to be awesome, hence the score I'm giving it. There is honestly not a duff track on here, the album is absolutely flawless. One of 2009's biggest surprises without a doubt.

(Review originally written for Heavy Metal Haven)