Pioneering 90s grunge band Alice in Chains has released “Black Gives Way to Blue,” their first studio album since the band’s lead singer Layne Staley died from a heroin and cocaine overdose in 2002. According to CNN, William Duvall has stepped in as the group’s new lead vocalist, and though he doesn’t seem to be mimicking Staley’s unforgettable voice, the result of his harmonizing with guitarist Jerry Cantrell is pretty similar to the old sound fans knew and loved.
Duvall knows he is standing on sacred ground, but he’s confident about it. ”It’s not as though it happened out of the blue,” he said. ”There’s a back story to this process that predates the 2006 touring that sort of began this whole thing. I’ve known Jerry almost 10 years now. We’ve admired one another’s work for a long time. There’s a friendship here. It’s actually not too unlike what probably happened to them when they first started the band back in the late ’80s. Friendships develop, and then you start creating music together.”
Cantrell isn’t concerned that people might be upset about them going forward without Staley. “We’re lucky to have a pretty strong core audience that has kind of been with us through thick and thin, and that’s cool,” he said. ”We’re not really for everybody, and that’s fine with us.”
So far, so good: the band’s new single “Check My Brain” is currently #1 on both Billboard’s Rock Chart and Alternative Chart.
Oh man, I remember these guys! I was a HUGE fan back in the day, but they’ve since completely fallen off my radar. Guess I should check out the new album then.