In
late summer of 2008, at the suggestion of longtime friend/Foo
Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Alice In Chains met with producer
Nick Raskulinecz to talk about the possibility of collaborating
on a new album.
"I went to the studio where they'd been working on
demos," recalls the producer, whose credits include
Foo Fighters, Rush, Deftones. "We stayed outside and
just talked for a couple of hours. After the ice was broken,
they brought me inside to hear some music. The first track
started playing and I was immediately hooked - the riff
was so killer, so catchy and so heavy, and when the vocals
kicked in, I looked at Jerry (Cantrell, Alice In Chains'
guitarist/vocalist) and said, 'I don't need to hear anything
else - I'm in.' I was just blown away."
By early fall, the band and producer had hunkered down
at Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge, CA, and were hard at
work on Alice In Chains' first new studio release in more
than 10 years.
Production eventually moved to the famed Henson Studios
in Hollywood, and by spring of 2009 the band emerged with
11 electrifying songs about faith and perseverance. They
titled the album Black Gives Way To Blue after the
song of the same name, a heart-stirring tribute to Layne
Staley, their brother and vocalist who passed away in 2002.
"I'm really proud of that song," says Cantrell,
who sings on the track (and shares lead vocal duties throughout
the record). "It's about facing up to the bad stuff
and continuing to walk forward and live a life."
The song features a special guest appearance by Elton John
on piano. "We were thinking about adding piano to the
track and a friend suggested we call Elton," recalls
Cantrell. "I remember laughing and saying, 'Yeah, I'll
get right on that.' But I decided it was worth trying and
wrote him an email explaining what that song means to us
- that it's a real, raw openhearted song for Layne. We sent
him the track and got a call shortly after saying he thought
it was beautiful and that he wanted to play on it. He was
finishing his 'Red Piano' run in Vegas, so we flew there
and hung out for a few hours. Walking into a studio and
seeing the sheet music for that song on Elton's piano made
it meaningful on so many different levels. The whole experience
was pretty magical."
The
album's genesis can be traced back to January of 2005, when
drummer Sean Kinney called Cantrell and bassist Mike Inez
about getting together for a benefit show to raise money
for tsunami relief. It was the first time in nine years
that the three had performed together and following the
loss of Staley, was the first in a series of little steps
toward hope and healing.
"After that we started talking about how we could
maybe do another show," recalls Kinney. "Everyone
was comfortable with the idea, so we decided to take another
step."
Enter William DuVall, a gifted singer and guitarist from
Atlanta who had previously worked with Comes with the Fall
and as part of Jerry Cantrell's touring band for his solo
work. As live audiences discovered, DuVall brings a sound
and stage presence all his own, and when DuVall and Cantrell
blend their voices - as Cantrell and Staley did so often
- singing together over the rhythms of Kinney and Inez,
there could be little doubt that the spirit of Alice In
Chains was once again alive and well.
"To his credit, Will never tried to do a karaoke version
of the past," says Kinney. "It's not easy to find
your place in a pre-existing dynamic, but he did. He puts
his all into it and it fits."
"I've joined a group that has a strong identity and
a strong legacy," says DuVall. "Nobody wants to,
in any way, disrespect or sully that legacy. You want to
add to it."
And it was while on the road that the quartet opened itself
up to the idea of writing new material.
"On tour we jammed pretty much every day," recalls
Cantrell. "Cool riffs would come up and we'd record
them backstage and in dressing rooms. By the time we got
home from the tour, we had a disc full of ideas. Eventually
we wound up with a body of work and started thinking about
taking yet another step."
"There was no master plan," adds Inez. "Everything
felt right, so we kept moving forward. The whole process
was very organic."
"If we had gone through all of it and felt that it
didn't live up musically to the legacy of the work we'd
done before, then we would've shelved it," says Cantrell.
"We would've known for ourselves that this is the end,
and that would've been cool. But that didn't happen. You
ask yourself questions like, is this record something positive
to add to the catalog? Is it worthy? And the answer is yes,
it is. But you don't know that until you go through the
process. We all busted our asses and have been rewarded
with a record that exceeds our own expectations.
In the end, Cantrell explains, Black Gives Way To Blue
is an album that reflects survival for Alice In Chains.
"And," he says, "I think survival is something
to celebrate."
News:
ALICE
IN CHAINS has just released the BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE
iPhone app. The app features full songs from the band's
acclaimed new album on Virgin/EMI, music videos, news, photos,
social networking and much more. The app separates itself from
the pack with an impressive level of interactivity; its custom-built
functionality allows fans to interact with each of the album’s
11 tracks via a touch, drag, and hold feature that reveals hidden
visual gems. The app can be purchased
here.
“With the Alice In Chains app, we wanted to represent every
song on Black Gives Way To Blue as an interactive and immersive
experience,” says Jeff Zakim, Senior Director, Global Digital
Marketing, EMI Music. “We achieved that with the custom-designed
Interactive Tracks. The interactivity is furthered by giving
fans the ability to share, comment and connect across Fan
Wall posts, email, Facebook and Twitter.”
Among the songs featured on the app, which will be available
in most major markets, is lead single "Check My Brain,"
which continues to hold the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top
Rock Songs Chart. Fueled by the hit single, Black Gives Way
To Blue entered Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart at No. 5,
with sales exceeding 126,000 copies.
Alice
in Chains have just released three videos from their Clear Channel
"Stripped" performance in New York City. The player
contains videos of acoustic renditions of "Check My Brain",
"Your Decision", and the classic "No Excuses".
The
clips can be seen here.
Alice in Chains have just released a short film which features
the band speaking on the tragedy of former singer Layne Staley's
death to the triumphant return of the band with new singer
William Duvall. Follow the band as they recount their first
performance without Layne in the wake of the Tsunami tragedy,
their introduction to William, and the creative processes
that led to the birth of the new album: all whilst getting
their faces painted KISS style.
Alice In Chains talk with Metallica about new album and
working with Elton John!
Today, and for the next 3 weeks, AOL's Noisecreep.com will
be releasing an exclusive and/or unheard audio clip from the
amazing FMQB Metallica/Alice in Chains interview, "Inside
Alice In Chains: Black Gives Way To Blue." This
week's clip features Metallica talking to Alice in
Chains about their collaboration with Elton John on the song
"Black Gives Way To Blue." "It's a really intense
song, and a really open-hearted song to Layne and the experience
that we went through," Cantrell says to Hetfield and
Ulrich about the title track. "Facing up to all of that
stuff, and owning all the good, and owning all the bad, and
moving forward together. It was a lot of big steps...things
were pretty black for us. It's pretty literal to that, and
things are starting to get a little lighter." Keep checking
back in the coming weeks for parts 2 and 3 of this classic
interview.
Hailed by Spin as "one of the catchiest songs of
Alice In Chains' history," lead single "Check My
Brain" has blanketed rock and alternative radio and rocketed
straight to No. 1 on Billboard's Rock Songs Chart and No.
1 on the R&R Rock Chart.
The riff-driven track appears on the band's highly anticipated
new album, Black Gives Way To Blue (Virgin/EMI), available
September 29th. Playboy gave the disc four stars, calling
it "Alice In Chains' Back In Black," Revolver praised
the record for its "dense tapestry of heavy guitars and
soaring melodies" and Reuters wrote "the heavy guitars,
submerged vocals and thunderous rhythm section assures fans
that the band has lost none of its menace."
The "Check My Brain" video premiered yesterday
on MTV2's "Unleashed," airing every hour on the
hour. It also debuted on MTVu, as well as on MTVMusic.com,
MTV2.com and MTVu.com. The clip was directed by Alex Courtes,
whose credits include U2's "Vertigo," Wolfmother's
"Woman" and the White Stripes' "Seven Nation
Army."
Among the many highlights on Black Gives Way To Blue, the
highly anticipated new album from ALICE IN CHAINS,
is a special guest performance by Elton John. The two
rock legends collaborated on the album's stunning title track,
"Black Gives Way To Blue," a heart-stirring tribute
to Alice In Chains' late lead singer Layne Staley.
"We were thinking about adding piano to the track and
a friend suggested we call Elton," recalls guitarist/vocalist
Jerry Cantrell. "I remember laughing and saying, 'Yeah,
I'll get right on that.' But I decided it was worth trying
and wrote Elton an email explaining what that song means to
us -- that it's a real, raw openhearted song for Layne. We
sent him the track and got a call shortly after saying he
thought it was beautiful and that he wanted to play on it.
We were blown away. Elton John is a huge influence on me as
a songwriter and having him on that song is an amazing honor
for us."
"I've long been an admirer of Jerry Cantrell and when
he asked me to play on 'Black Gives Way To Blue,' I was very
flattered and couldn't resist," says John. "It was
a great recording session with Alice In Chains for a beautiful
song. "
About the collaboration, Cantrell says, "Elton was finishing
his Red Piano run in Vegas, so we flew there and hung out
for a few hours. Walking into a studio and seeing the sheet
music for that song on Elton's piano made it meaningful on
so many different levels. The whole experience was pretty
magical."
Track
Listing
1. "All Secrets Known"
2. "Check My Brain" Listen
Now!
3. "Last Of My Kind"
4. "Your Decision"
5. "A Looking In View"
6. "When The Sun Rose Again"
7. "Acid Bubble"
8. "Lessons Learned"
9. "Take Her Out"
10. "Private Hell"
11. "Black Gives Way To Blue"
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our Pop Culture News daily and our Pop Music section has hundreds of pages
featuring the best and worst songs of all time. Our aim is to maintain
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In
late summer of 2008, at the suggestion of longtime friend/Foo
Fighters frontman Dave Grohl, Alice In Chains met with producer
Nick Raskulinecz to talk about the possibility of collaborating
on a new album.
The
album's genesis can be traced back to January of 2005, when
drummer Sean Kinney called Cantrell and bassist Mike Inez
about getting together for a benefit show to raise money
for tsunami relief. It was the first time in nine years
that the three had performed together and following the
loss of Staley, was the first in a series of little steps
toward hope and healing.
