Album Review - Alice In Chains Black Gives Way to Blue ~ Outside the Dial

Here at outside the dial, we don't really do album reviews. Especially those of major bands who probably don't need the publicity. Well, among the plethora of other albums I have picked up recently, I feel the need to review the new Alice In Chains. Granted Layne Staley has passed away but Jerry Cantrell is still at the artistic helm here. Cantrell wrote 95% of the original Alice In Chains music, so I didn't expect much change here.

This album has something for every Alice In Chains fan. There are songs that touch on every album they put out. You have harder harsh sounding songs like A Looking View and Acid Bubble that take you back to the Facelift and Dirt albums. Then there are tracks like Your Decision and Private Hell that have a Jar of Flies sound to them. Good clean guitars in a drop D tuning. Then there's Check My Brain, Lesson Learned and When the Sun Rose Again which have the feel of the last studio album, Alice In Chains.

For me, this formula works. There are no surprises here, same texture and song structure as before. I think it was smart to stick with the Alice In Chains everyone knows and loves with comeback album. It says "We're back and haven't forgotten what we are good at". I hope the next album they can show some growth, but I am willing to wait for that. It's just nice to have Cantrell and company back. My favorite Seattle band is back! If there is one thing this album is lacking, it's more than 1 hit. I don't think this will be huge on the radio waves (which is fine by me). It will probably go away quietly by spring 2010.

They are playing the Aragon in March... Looking forward to that.

Here's some of their new stuff. Enjoy.