[Review] Alice In Chains: Black Gives Way To Blue

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Alice In Chains: Black Gives Way To Blue

I never again thought there would be another Alice In Chains album to review -- not after lead singer and personal musical influence Layne Staley died of a cocaine/heroine overdose in 2002.  And I figured if they came back, the cheesiness and low-class-ness of attempting to replace one off the most unique and talented rock singers in a generation would make me want to light myself on fire. 

But something very strange happened to that formula before it played out: the band waited an adequate amount of time to regroup after the tragedy of losing Layne.  In the meantime, songwriter/guitarist/singer Jerry Cantrell toured on his own, dedicating his second solo album to Layne.  And then the album dropped this year...and didn't suck. 

Far from it.  Actually, Black Gives Way To Blue sounds just like Alice In Chains should sound.  Replacement singer William DuVall, who toured with Cantrell while the latter covered AIC tunes on his solo tour, sounds enough like Staley that you could squint your ears and not notice much of a difference.  DuVall doesn't quite have the same range, but he has the sound down pat.  In fact, it's likely you could mix songs from this album in a medley with songs from another AIC album and a casual listener would have trouble noticing the presence of different vocalists. 

The first two songs ("All Secrets Known" and the first single "Check My Brain") are classic Alice In Chains.  They sort of have to be: The band probably knew it had to satiate skeptical longtime fans, and to do so they needed to lead off strong.  As the album progresses, it dawns on the listener that it could easily have been released in the mid-90s; that's how close it hues to the band's sound from the Dirt era.  Though it doesn't quite achieve the excellence of Dirt, it probably even surpasses their prior self-titled original album release (colloquially referred to as "Tripod" owing to the picture of the 3-legged dog gracing the front cover).   

Both longtime fans and first-time listeners of Alice In Chains should be very impressed with Black Gives Way To Blue.  Somehow, the band has risen from the ashes to deliver one of its finest recordings...and that's why I am giving it 4 Golden Mics out of 5.   

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