If you think FACELIFT and DIRT were the best ALICE titles, well your still right. However, this is deffinatley worth checking out. Most of the work on this CD makes me think of DEGREDATION TRIP which was a great cd as well. There are some mean-ass guitar riffs, those creepy/suicidal/pissed off moments that only Jerry Cantrell can create in that way we all love. As a matter of fact, some of this is the HEAVIEST material ive ever heard from AIC. The new vocals are actually excellent. The new guy blends very well with Jerry and they capture a beautiful and meloncholy chemistry together. Great drums of course, tight rythms with lots of odd time signatures...over all this album is very good. In my humble opinion, it is the best work we have heard from ALICE since DIRT. If you are an AIC fan, you should get this album. If your hoping that its as good as DIRT, sorry, it aint. But, I havent stopped playing it since I got it!Read full review
Upon listening to this album, I thought Layne Staley was somehow brought back to life again. Maybe someone will disagree, but I can't help but reminding of Layne when I hear the new vocalist William DuVall perform on this very welcomed return of Alice in Chains. Actually, the similarity is a good thing in my opinion. Not only the impressive vocal resemblance caught my attention. I was amazed to realize that the band's sonority was kept quite the same as fans were used to listen back in the 90s. Clearly, Jerry Cantrell and the guys did not forget who they are and what they used to do and delivered us with a piece of recording that provide us with a true journey back in time. "Black Gives Way to Blue", as said, contains the same raw, straight-forward sound that captivated hundreds of thousands of fans almost 20 years ago, when "Facelift" was put in the market. Although often associated with the grunge scene, Alice In Chains hardly fits into this category if we take a look back in time and revisit the other bands that emerged from Seattle at that time and were also labeled that way. Let the truth be told: Alice in Chains truly is rock band. And an excellent one.Read full review
I am a huge Alice in Chains fan. I am always skeptical when bands try to replace their singers and move on, doing this has very rarely been a successful move in my opinion...but I gotta say, Layne lives on in William Duvall. Wow. Seeing Alice in Chains play live, I closed my eyes and just listened...William emulates Layne so well, I could have been fooled - is he channeling him from the other side somehow?! I know this is the bands first recording since Layne died almost 15 years ago... and from the very first listen, I was floored. Jerry Cantrell captures a sound that is even below "the brown sound"; creating a darker yet brighter sound all at once, as only Jerry can. He has created his own new color palette of sound...Black Gives Way to Blue captures the classic essence of A.I.C and at the same time it provides the listener with a fresh twist that matches the demands of today's hard rock audience. I think Layne would approve.Read full review
This album is fantastic. Love the "sophomore" effort from the current lineup of AIC. Y'know, after a long day of work at the plunger factory, I like to come home, light a few Glad Summer Breeze(tm) candles, and grab my leftover beefaroni and plum casserole. It's my "thing" as the ladies say. So after work, I got home, popped this cd in the microwave and man, I was blown away. The opener is good, but track two is where it really takes off. Check My Brain is drenched in heavily down-tuned guitars and punchy basslines, all being carried on the back of a fantastic sounding drum kit. I couldn't even finish the casserole because I was jamming so hard. 10/10
Great record!!! Jerry and Will have great harmonies. No one can ever replace Layne Staley but Will does a great job with his own vocals. Great mix of plugged in kick ass rock songs and a few unplugged as well. if you like hard rock you'll love this record. 5 stars i!!
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