The soundtrack to my formative, early high school years was grunge music, that murky, emotionally intense strain of hard rock from my very own Seattle, WA. However, the odd thing about listening to grunge around 2005 and 2006 was the realization that all this great music was already a decade old. Grunge clawed its way into the mainstream with terrifying speed, but it also vanished off the map just as quickly. Cobain’s death in 1994 was the beginning of the end, Soundgarden’s Down On The Upside in 1996 is what I count as the last true grunge album (sorry Pearl Jam) and the whole era was finally over in 2002 when Alice In Chains’ iconic singer, Layne Staley, was found dead in his home. For such a powerful genre of music, grunge’s death was pretty damn ugly.
So, imagine my flurry of conflicted emotions when I discovered that Alice In Chains were releasing a new album this year and premiered the album’s first single yesterday. The idea of any incarnation of AIC without Staley seems beyond ridiculous, since he was the band’s heart, soul and figurehead. The band’s choice for a new frontman, William DuVall, has proven himself to be a capable stand-in during AIC’s recent string of live appearances, but all he was ever asked to do for those shows was imitate Layne. Now, with this upcoming album, DuVall is being asked to creatively replace one of the most beloved frontmen in rock history. I’m more than a little cynical about his chances.
However, some of that cynicism has begun to sink away after hearing AIC’s new single, “A Looking In View”. While the song certainly has some problems, it’s infinitely better than anything I was expecting. Big, loud and heavy as hell, it certainly slides comfortably into the AIC oeuvre. DuVall’s voice merges very nicely with guitarist Jerry Cantrell’s, creating a sound very reminiscent of Layne’s work with the band. The crunching rhythm section of bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney is as reliable as ever. In many ways, the song…dare I say it…sounds exactly like an Alice In Chains song should sound.
Of course, the song has absolutely no reason for being seven minutes long. It repeats itself to the point of insanity and doesn’t have much of a build to it at all. AIC released several long songs (six-plus minutes) on their albums and all of them have more ebb and flow than “A Looking In View”. However, I feel like these are small details to quibble over. The fact is that Alice In Chains have returned, somehow, in a form that isn’t a complete disgrace to their legacy and the memory of Layne Staley. Jerry Cantrell has proven that he can still write excellent hard rock and William DuVall’s presence on this new material hasn’t seemed blasphemous yet. I eagerly await their upcoming album, titled Black Gives Way To Blue, set for a September 29 release.
So, imagine my flurry of conflicted emotions when I discovered that Alice In Chains were releasing a new album this year and premiered the album’s first single yesterday. The idea of any incarnation of AIC without Staley seems beyond ridiculous, since he was the band’s heart, soul and figurehead. The band’s choice for a new frontman, William DuVall, has proven himself to be a capable stand-in during AIC’s recent string of live appearances, but all he was ever asked to do for those shows was imitate Layne. Now, with this upcoming album, DuVall is being asked to creatively replace one of the most beloved frontmen in rock history. I’m more than a little cynical about his chances.
However, some of that cynicism has begun to sink away after hearing AIC’s new single, “A Looking In View”. While the song certainly has some problems, it’s infinitely better than anything I was expecting. Big, loud and heavy as hell, it certainly slides comfortably into the AIC oeuvre. DuVall’s voice merges very nicely with guitarist Jerry Cantrell’s, creating a sound very reminiscent of Layne’s work with the band. The crunching rhythm section of bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney is as reliable as ever. In many ways, the song…dare I say it…sounds exactly like an Alice In Chains song should sound.
Of course, the song has absolutely no reason for being seven minutes long. It repeats itself to the point of insanity and doesn’t have much of a build to it at all. AIC released several long songs (six-plus minutes) on their albums and all of them have more ebb and flow than “A Looking In View”. However, I feel like these are small details to quibble over. The fact is that Alice In Chains have returned, somehow, in a form that isn’t a complete disgrace to their legacy and the memory of Layne Staley. Jerry Cantrell has proven that he can still write excellent hard rock and William DuVall’s presence on this new material hasn’t seemed blasphemous yet. I eagerly await their upcoming album, titled Black Gives Way To Blue, set for a September 29 release.
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