Alice in Chains - Black Gives Way to Blue

Okay, so I've spent the past 6 days with this album, listening to it as much as possible. I really wanted to give Black Gives Way to Blue a very thorough and fair review because growing up, Alice in Chains was a very important band to me. I have fond memories of hanging out with friends, playing guitar and jamming out to Jar of Flies (AiC's best album by far). There were many moments and situations in my junior high/high school days that Alice in Chain's music really helped me through.

Layne Staley, former front man for AiC, passed away on April 5, 2002...seven years after their last studio release (Alice in Chains, 1995). Though the band never officially called it quits, touring and recording was impossible due to Staley's substance abuse problems. Now seven years after Staley's death and 14 years since their self titled album, Alice in Chains releases Black Gives Way to Blue, with William DuVall taking over the role left by Layne Staley. Does he fill the impossibly huge shoes left by Layne? Does the album measure up to the high standards set by AiC's previous studio releases? Lets dive into the album and find out.

"All Secrets Known" is a song about looking back at what the band was, and knowing that they can never go back to what was, they can only move forward in what they want the band to become now. Musically, its a typical AiC slow, heavy song. Jerry Cantrell covers the lead vocals on this song, with DuVall harmonizing with him at key points in the song. Its a good song, noteworthy because of the lyrical content and significance.

The next song, "Check My Brain", is the first single off the album. I have to be honest, when I first heard this song on the radio, I hated it. So much so that it gave me second thoughts about picking up the album all together. After listening to it over and over again, I can say that I still don't care for it. Musically, its not bad. the riffs are good, the distortion has that classic AiC muddiness to it, and Cantrell and DuVall's voices harmonize together perfectly. But, when listening to the lyrics of the song, its the equivalent of AiC singing a modern day Beach Boys song...it just doesn't work for me. If I wanted songs about California I'd grab my copy of Pet Sounds and listen to it.

On "Last of My Kind", you finally get a listen at DuVall's chops as he takes the lead on this track. Its an okay song, but what it really does is help establish that DuVall is in no way trying to be a Layne Staley sound-alike. His voice is much different than Layne's, and he in no way attempts to imitate the former lead singer's unique voice (though on this song, when DuVall and Cantrell harmonize, there is a definite Staley sound there).

"Your Decision" slows things down, bringing in an acoustic guitar for the start. When the song starts, you really want to hear Layne start singing. This is a very good song, but really would have been better with Staley singing. The lyrics of this are most definitely about Layne, the path he chose in his life, and the end that that path ultimately brought him to. "You feed the fire that burned us all/ When you lie/ To feel the pain that spurs you on/ Black inside/ No one plans to take the path that brings you lower/ And here you stand before us all and say its over"

AiC picks up the pace and the heaviness with "A Looking In View". This song has a very classic Alice in Chains sound and feel. This is one of the better songs on the album, and definitely brings back memories of listening to AiC's 1995 self-titled release. The song centers around a relationship swamped with deceit. It could be a relationship between two lovers, or it could (I don't know specifics of their relationship) represent Cantrell's relationship with Staley towards the end of Staley's life.

"When the Sun Rose Again" brings back the acoustic guitars, though its a completely different sound than "Your Decision" and it's acoustic sound. The chorus of this song is one of the best musical moments on the album. "It seems you prophesized all of this would end/ Were you burned away when the sun rose again?" A very good song, that is quite different from anything AiC has done in the past.

"Acid Bubble" is a very heavy, very muddy guitar song that brings memories of "Angry Chair" to mind. It is a song with a sociopolitical theme that Cantrell has always been a fan of. The song has a stop/start transition between verse and chorus that I would normally hate, but it works for this song (somehow). This song is one of my favorites off the album. The guitars and drums are top notch on this track, and the vocal harmonization between DuVall and Cantrell is amazing.

Next is "Lesson Learned". It doesn't really stand out on the album; it kinda feels like its there for filler. Not a horrible song, but I've gotten to where I skip past it to the next song, which is...

"Take Her Out". This song's opening riff is something different...almost reminiscent of bands like Heart. The song is about a faceless love. This love, since it is faceless, is again Alice (the band - a recurring theme throughout the album). This song is okay, but it lacks alot of the punch I'm used to with AiC.

"Private Hell" is easily the best song on the album. Its also one of the best songs AiC has recorded (oh snap). The lyrics on this song have been pulled from a very deep part of Cantrell's psyche, and the song really benefits from it. Lyrics like "I excuse myself/ I'm used to my little cell/ I amuse myself/ In my very own private hell" speak of a pain and isolation that we all feel from time to time (some of us more frequently than others). When he and DuVall scream that line at the end of the song, you feel the wretch in your heart.

The last song on the album, "Black Gives Way to Blue", is very obviously a song written to and about Layne. It is a very sad song that doesn't come across as forced sentimentalism. "Fading out by design/ Consciously avoiding changes/ Curtain's drawn, now it's done/ Silencing all tomorrows/ Forcing a goodbye". This song is a beautifully written and performed poem to a lost friend.

Okay, so my final verdict: overall I like the album. It has a classic AiC sound over most of it, and the recurring theme of both Layne Staley and the band itself helps gel the songs together. There is so much pain and emotion wrapped up in this album that its hard not to take notice. Does William DuVall fill Staley's shoes? Yes and no. The album makes it quite obvious that DuVall is not trying to be Layne Staley 2.0. He brings his own sound and his own style to the band. In doing so, he honor's Layne and rightly takes his place as the frontman of the band.

However, I can't help but feel this album is 10 years too late. Grunge has all but died out or evolved into the punk/pop sound of today's popular music. Die hard AiC fans and students of 90s music will pick up this album (and they will enjoy it). Younger music fans (those who were watching Barney when Alice in Chains released their previous studio album) won't get it. They won't get the muddy guitars and the heavy drum beats. And they'll wonder why the lead singer is whining so much (ironic, considering some of the popular stuff that's out there these days).

As for me, Black Gives Way to Blue has found a spot in my iPod and it will get regular listens. It is no Jar of Flies...but I never expected that.