Alice In Chains

[FunkyMonkey]

ALICE IN CHAINS Guitarist: We're Not Intending To Replace LAYNE STALEY - Jan. 1, 2009

ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell recently spoke to Neala Johnson of the Herald Sun about the band's participation in Australia's Soundwave festival which kicks off next month.

"I don't think there's one of us who expected to be where we are today," he said. "We started from a very cool place ? Sean [Kinney, drums] organized a benefit in our home town to raise some money for the tsunami relief, and it was a hit.

"It was a pretty heavy moment, playing together for the first time since we had lost Layne [Staley, late ALICE IN CHAINS singer who died in 2002], but it was also really cool to see our fans' reaction ? that was really inspiring. It led to the next step of us saying, 'That was fun, why don't we get together and just play in a room?'

"So we did. And that led us to William [DuVall, current ALICE IN CHAINS singer], who was a friend of mine for several years. And that led to the tours, which led us to writing. And the material we were coming up with was really cool . . . so here we are today."

"Am I worried we're gonna fall on our face? Dirty our memory? Is that what I'm worried about?" Cantrell asked.

"Fuck no, I'm not worried about that at all. If we didn't believe in what we're doing, and why we're doing it, we wouldn't be doing it.

"The reasons are all pure to us, and as long as we stick to that we can't go wrong. People will say whatever they're going to say, but they're not inside this band."

"There's no replacing Layne, and we're not intending to replace Layne," Cantrell added.

"William performs the old material very well, and very respectfully ? not trying to be Layne ? but we don't even feel like Will is a new lead singer of ALICE IN CHAINS.

"There's also myself, who's been a big part of the vocal sound in this band with the support of Layne. Layne was really instrumental in me growing as a vocalist.

"So we feel like we've added a really talented member in Will and the unit is strong, we're growing together."

"This chapter is equally as important as any chapter in the book on ALICE," he said.

"This is about living. It was of course a crushing loss to lose our best friend and partner. But it's a common human experience.

"What's important in life is when you get thrown off the proverbial horse: after you're done nursing your injuries, it's time to get up and continue to live."

ALICE IN CHAINS entered a Los Angeles studio in October with producer Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, RUSH, STONE SOUR, TRIVIUM, SHADOWS FALL, DEATH ANGEL) to begin recording its first all-new studio effort since 1995's self-titled third album.

ALICE IN CHAINS has mostly stayed off the road since 2007, but played at a radio station festival in Peoria, Arizona on September 20.

Watch ALICE IN CHAINS performing "Them Bones" live at Germany's Rock Am Ring 2006:

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=111705

[FunkyMonkey]

ALICE IN CHAINS: More Footage From The Studio Posted Online - Jan. 10, 2009

The eighth in a series of video clips featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the recording sessions for the new ALICE IN CHAINS album can be viewed below.

Jerry Cantrell (vocals, lead guitar), Mike Inez (bass), Sean Kinney (drums) and William DuVall (vocals, guitar) are hunkered down in a Los Angeles studio crafting their latest opus. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, RUSH, STONE SOUR, TRIVIUM, SHADOWS FALL, DEATH ANGEL), the album promises to be a sonic journey guided by eerily psychedelic solos, and unforgettable riffs.

ALICE IN CHAINS' manager, David Benveniste (Beno) of Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group, previously stated, "Our collective vision is to extend ALICE IN CHAINS into phase two of their career worldwide. They have tremendous heritage, having sold some 15 million records, and an amazing repertoire of new material that they've written. Most importantly, ALICE IN CHAINS will be on the road in 2009 bringing new music to fans everywhere."

The new disc will mark the recording debut with ALICE IN CHAINS of frontman William DuVall, who has been singing with the group since they officially reunited in 2006. Original vocalist Layne Staley died in April 2002.

ALICE IN CHAINS will kick off 2009 with a main-stage slot on Australia's Soundwave Festival (February 21 - March 1) alongside such acts as NINE INCH NAILS, LAMB OF GOD, ALKALINE TRIO, THE RED JUMPSUIT APPARATUS and more.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=112241

[metallex78]

Alice In Chains are playing some of their own headline shows in Australia too. Can't wait to see them live, even if it is without Layne (RIP)

[metallex78]

Got my tickets to see Alice In Chains live in Sydney next month and I'm really looking forward to it. Can't wait to see Jerry Cantrell ripping it up, that guy is such an underrated guitarist.

I thought I'd check out their new singer William DuVall's band Come With The Fall, and wow, I was pleasantly surprised. This guy sounds like Chris Cornell at times and the music sounds like Superunknown era Soundgarden!

Check out songs from their latest EP The Reckoning: http://www.comeswiththefall.com/music.html

It actually gives me faith in what this guy could bring to the new AIC material.

[Lord Kayoss]

Still miss Layne.

But I'm looking forward to hearing the new material.

[western_chaos]

Still miss Layne.

But I'm looking forward to hearing the new material.

Yeah, unfortunately he will never be back...

Can't wait to hear the new material this summer as well.

[FunkyMonkey]

ALICE IN CHAINS: More Footage From The Studio Posted Online - Jan. 20, 2009

The ninth in a series of video clips featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the recording sessions for the new ALICE IN CHAINS album can be viewed below.

Jerry Cantrell (vocals, lead guitar), Mike Inez (bass), Sean Kinney (drums) and William DuVall (vocals, guitar) are hunkered down in a Los Angeles studio crafting their latest opus. Produced by Nick Raskulinecz (FOO FIGHTERS, RUSH, STONE SOUR, TRIVIUM, SHADOWS FALL, DEATH ANGEL), the album promises to be a sonic journey guided by eerily psychedelic solos, and unforgettable riffs.

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=112836

[FunkyMonkey]

Alice In Chains In The Studio

by Paul Cashmere - February 10 2009

Alice In Chains are well down the track of recording their first new material since the death of Layne Staley.

The band began work on the new album last October under the guidance of Nick Raskulinecz (Stone Sour/Foo Fighters) producing.

William DuVall from Comes With The Fall is the current singer with the band and will be heard on the album and on their upcoming Australian tour for the Soundwave Festival.

Video of the band recording has been posted at their official website.

William tracking vocals:

Week 10 Update

Video: http://www.undercover.com.au/News-Story.aspx?id=7565

[cotis]

I've been listening to a lot of AIC lately, I've got the album 'Dirt' in my CD player right now...

[CheapJon]

I've been listening to a lot of AIC lately, I've got the album 'Dirt' in my CD player right now...

which ?s an awesome fucking album

[Falcon]

From AIC's myspace:

Rock on the Range

Alice in Chains is proud to announce their first North American show for 2009: Rock on the Range in Columbus, OH on May 16.

All of the info can be found at www.RockontheRange.com.   

[metallex78]

I'm going to see AIC in a few days and I can't wait!

Jerry Cantrell gave an interview to Aussie radio last week and he said they might debut some new songs while they're here in Australia, so I'll be sure to write a full gig report.

[metallex78]

Just got back from the Sydney show and I am just lost for words, it was fucking awesome. The new singer William is great. There were moments I closed my eyes and it sounded just like Layne singing. Simply amazing.

I'll try to find the actual setlist, but they played so many gems - Love Hate Love, Dirt, We Die Young, It Ain't Like That, Rain When I Die. And the entire band absolutely nailed it.

If they play near at a venue near you, go see them and they'll erase any doubts you may have about whether they should be continuing as AIC without Layne. William sure won me over tonight.

[CheapJon]

Just got back from the Sydney show and I am just lost for words, it was fucking awesome. The new singer William is great. There were moments I closed my eyes and it sounded just like Layne singing. Simply amazing.

I'll try to find the actual setlist, but they played so many gems - Love Hate Love, Dirt, We Die Young, It Ain't Like That, Rain When I Die. And the entire band absolutely nailed it.

If they play near at a venue near you, go see them and they'll erase any doubts you may have about whether they should be continuing as AIC without Layne. William sure won me over tonight.

awesome man!, hope they play a festival I'm attending this summer

[FunkyMonkey]

ALICE IN CHAINS: Adelaide Footage Available - Mar. 4, 2009

Video footage of ALICE IN CHAINS' February 28, 2009 performance at the Soundwave Festival in Adelaide, Australia can be viewed below (clips uploaded by "backpackdave08").

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=115481

[FunkyMonkey]

ALICE IN CHAINS: In Mixing Mode - Apr. 9, 2009

ALICE IN CHAINS was interviewed by Altitude on the "black carpet" of Tuesday night's (April 7) Epiphone Revolver Golden Gods Awards at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles. Watch the chat below.

ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell recently spoke with Australia's Courier-Mail about the group's upcoming album, its first full-length set of new material in more than 13 years and first without lead singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002 after a long battle with drug addiction. Handling lead vocals is William DuVall, who has sung with the group ever since it reactivated in 2005. Cantrell said, "The new stuff is cool. It's pretty goddamn crushing. I've stepped up a little bit from where I was before . . . obviously, it'll be a new sound from William being there ? but it sounds like an ALICE IN CHAINS record and a kick-ass one. There's everything from the darkest of dark, heavy shit to acoustic stuff. Throw all that together and that's what you'll get."

Cantrell told The Pulse of Radio when the band first got back together that they did not have a set plan to tour or make a new album. "You know, if you were looking at how to really capitalize on this experience and really make dough and make it a profitable thing, a band might, you know, would come out with a singer, have a record ready and all that," he said. "But that's not where we're coming from with this thing. We're coming from the place of 'It feels good, and we're having a good time, so we'd like people to be a part of that.'"

http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/news.aspx?mode=Article&newsitemID=117889

ALICE IN CHAINS SET TO RELEASE FIRST ALBUM IN 14 YEARS

April 08, 2009

Alice in Chains have finished recording their first album together in 14 years and the band, which now features William Duvall on vocals, is eyeing a September release for their highly anticipated album of new material. After the untimely death of former vocalist Lane Staley in 2002, the band did briefly reunite in 2005 and now fans will finally have their long awaited album of new material from the band who was at the forefront of the Seattle grunge scene in the 1990's.

We caught up with guitarist Jerry Cantrell at the Revolver Golden God Awards to get an update on where the band is at in the studio and when they plan on releasing the album.

"We actually finished recording March 18th, which was my birthday and the day William's son was born so it was a pretty cool day. Huge day! So, we finished on the 18th and we're in the process of mixing right now. We're just about done with that. We're looking at a September release."

http://www.artisannews.com/ans101/templates/?a=5616&z=98

[GeraldFord]

The new stuff is cool. It's pretty goddamn crushing. I've stepped up a little bit from where I was before . . . obviously, it'll be a new sound from William being there ? but it sounds like an ALICE IN CHAINS record and a kick-ass one. There's everything from the darkest of dark, heavy shit to acoustic stuff. Throw all that together and that's what you'll get."

Sounds great, maybe the rock release of the year.

[FunkyMonkey]

A studio visit with Alice in Chains

01:00 PM PT, Apr 25 2009

The daily ritual is always the same: nine guys kneeling around a pile of money in Studio B at Henson Recording Studios in Hollywood, shouting, cheering and moaning as a pair of dice rolls across the carpet, delivering moments of euphoria and defeat. The members of Alice in Chains are among the group, briefly distracted from their final week of sessions for the band's first album of new material in nearly 14 years. Against the wall is an impressive row of vintage electric and acoustic guitars. Incense is burning and a U.S. flag hangs over a sound partition. But for the moment, the rock will have to wait.

Guitarist Jerry Cantrell looks up from his pile of cash and smiles. "Compared to how we used to have fun," he says, "this is pretty tame." The low-stakes game is Left, Center, Right, and many $5 bills change hands before it's over. The day's winner is producer Nick Raskulinecz, laughing now as drummer Sean Kinney grumbles something about the man's take of "two hundred bucks in the last two games."

The real challenge is still ahead, as the three surviving members of Alice in Chains -- Cantrell, Kinney and bassist Mike Inez -- work to complete new songs as a band for the first time since the death of singer Layne Staley from a heroin and cocaine overdose in 2002 at the age of 34. Their album, still untitled and set for release mid-September on Virgin/EMI, will be another case study of a major group continuing after the loss of a key member. AC/DC managed the transition successfully back in 1980, while others have failed to match their earlier triumphs, including INXS (whose search for a new singer was turned into a 2005 reality TV show) and classic rock acts Queen and the Doors.

"I don't think we ever intended to do anything," says Cantrell, 43, his thick, blond beard marking the months of preparation and recording that has gone into the new album. "With the passing of Layne, all possibility of that went out the window, probably in my mind and everyone else's too."

Genesis of a comeback

The first sign of a second act came from a chance reunion in Seattle at a 2005 benefit for tsunami relief organized by Kinney. They decided to explore the idea, recruiting singer-guitarist William DuVall, a rock shouter from Atlanta in the Chris Cornell tradition with enough inherent gloom to fit easily within the Alice in Chains sound. His former band, Comes With the Fall, was a favorite of Cantrell's and was once described by Rolling Stone as "a hard rock delight . . . like Alice unchained."

Alice in Chains has slowly, methodically rebuilt its career ever since, starting small with a five-city club tour in 2006, followed by longer road trips across the U.S., Europe and Australia. "We bonded by being on the road and by being onstage," says DuVall, also bearded and wearing a black Stooges T-shirt. "But obviously there is an emotional back story that's pretty extensive for everybody here."

Staley, the wounded frontman with a blond goatee, was a bold but at times seemingly frail young rocker, prophesying his own addiction and death in the songs "Sludge Factory" and "God Smack," where he sang: "What in God's name have you done? / Stick your arm for some real fun." His slow decline and isolation cut short the life of a band still at a popular peak.

Staley's last live stage performance with Alice in Chains was in 1996. Reassembling the group was painful, says Cantrell, and public.

"It's never a bad thing to work on yourself or walk through some heinous [stuff] in your life," he says. "It's whether you want to do it or not. I probably wouldn't have wanted to do it on my own, and the reason it was better is because we were doing it together."

The group found a surprisingly young audience waiting for them at their first reunion shows, including 30,000 fans in Lisbon, Spain, the first stop of their European tour, says Kinney. "They weren't born yet when our records came out," he says. "I was a little confused. I expected a bunch of beat-up rock people."

A loud legacy

Alice in Chains' music was dark and brooding, a mutant blend of alternative rock and real metal, with flashes of big, classic-rock guitar. The band was among the first to emerge from the '90s Seattle grunge scene, beating Nirvana and Soundgarden to national fame and multiplatinum record sales, inspiring another generation of hard rock and metal acts, including Godsmack (which took its name from the Alice song). Recapturing that original sound while remaining contemporary was a central mission of the new recordings.

"Being an Alice in Chains fan myself, I know what I want to hear," says Raskulinecz, previously a producer for Rush, Foo Fighters, and Coheed and Cambria. "It's a performance record. There's not any trickery. It's those guys performing the instruments and singing the parts and doing it over and over and over again until we get it right."

The band began work on the album last October at Foo Fighter Dave Grohl's private Studio 606 in Northridge, before moving to Henson in December. "We've been working toward this for over a year now," says Cantrell. "It's a long haul."

Among the visitors to their recording sessions was Staley's mother, who, along with other family members, has expressed ongoing support for the band. "It was really important that it was OK with them," says manager Susan Silver, who first began representing Alice in Chains 21 years ago and now co-manages the resurrected band with David Benveniste and his Velvet Hammer firm. "There were a lot of baby steps. The first year especially was such a profound healing for everybody."

There was some initial resistance from within the industry in 2006, particularly from U.S. promoters, she says, but that has largely changed. When Benveniste, who also represents System of a Down, Deftones and Cypress Hill, began approaching record labels with a sampling from the new sessions, the offers started coming from virtually every major label; the band eventually signed with Virgin/EMI.

"The response has been amazing. We got massive offers off of four or five songs," says Benveniste. "The most important thing to me was that we position this as a new band moving forward. The band is not a heritage act -- this band is a new act and we're going to market it as such. It's a double-headed monster."

Men in the box

At Henson, the band gathers around Raskulinecz for a playback of the songs in progress, and the sound is recognizably thundering and gloomy. Harmonizing together, the vocals of Cantrell and DuVall have a familiar texture: "California's all right / check my brain . . ." The lyric refers to Cantrell relocating to Los Angeles six years ago. Once a proud Seattle rocker with a bad attitude about Southern California, he realized he felt at home here. "I like how I am right now," he says, "and I like where I'm living."

There are other hard rock songs played, then an acoustic track called "Your Decision" -- Cantrell's voice sings of surviving pain and choosing to live. It's followed by a seven-minute epic built on heavy slabs of guitar, drums and bass, something like Black Sabbath but far quicker.

Raskulinecz sits in the control room with a coffee mug in one hand, playing air drums with the other, while Kinney raises devil horns with both hands. These are the final days in the studio, which Inez compares to "the last day of school, cleaning out the lockers." When it's done, Cantrell and DuVall will shave off the beards. They look content, whether over lunch or while throwing dice, but they're also aware the new album will leave a lasting first impression about the reconstructed Alice in Chains.

"It's a big thing. I've joined a group that has a strong identity and a strong legacy," says DuVall. "Nobody's sitting here who wants to, in any way, disrespect or sully that legacy. You want to add to it."

He stands in the control room, plucking a bluesy riff on a burgundy Gibson SG guitar. He's preparing to add a few lyrics to a song about a friend, and he decides to postpone lunch.

"You know, I'm going to do it right now, while I'm hungry," says DuVall.

"I like your attitude," Raskulinecz replies with a grin.

Behind the microphone, DuVall rips into a tough, raspy flow, barking out scenes of "carnage" and "bodies," lyrical metaphors for an Atlanta blues guitarist who killed himself the day after his 29th birthday. He'd been another young musician with career struggles, finally unable to survive the life he chose.

"That's where I found myself for years in many bands. It gets hard, and you only do it because you have to," DuVall says afterward. "Some of the friends you lose are more famous, but it doesn't hurt any less."

Photos: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/music_blog/2009/04/a-studio-visit-with-alice-in-chains.html

[FunkyMonkey]

Here is a video interview with Jerry Cantrell at the ASCAP Awards on April 22nd.

He says expect the new album in the Fall and that they will be on tour probably about a year and a half touring it.

Jerry Cantrell at ASCAP Pop Music Awards 2009

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlCIdkI_CkM

[Malcolm]

ALICE IN CHAINS will support KID ROCK at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan on Saturday, July 18. Also scheduled to appear is CYPRESS HILL. Tickets are on sale via Tickets.com and at the Comerica Park box office.

ALICE IN CHAINS has signed with Virgin Records, a division of EMI Music, for the release of the group's first new album in 14 years. According to a feature in the Los Angeles Times, the yet-to-be-titled disc will be out in mid-September. Production on the project was completed last month after more than a year of writing and recording. The Times writer, who got a preview of some of the material, called the album "recognizably thundering and gloomy," with an acoustic track called "Your Decision" followed by what the reporter described as "a seven-minute epic built on heavy slabs of guitar, drums and bass, something like BLACK SABBATH but far quicker."

The disc will mark the recording debut of vocalist William DuVall, who joined the group in 2006. Original singer Layne Staley died of a drug overdose in 2002 after nearly seven years in which the band was all but inactive.

Guitarist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez regrouped in 2005 for a charity show before embarking on several tours in 2006 and 2007 with DuVall on the mic.

When asked about stepping into the shoes of Staley, DuVall told the Times, "It's a big thing. I've joined a group that has a strong identity and a strong legacy. Nobody's sitting here who wants to, in any way, disrespect or sully that legacy. You want to add to it."

All of ALICE IN CHAINS' previous albums and EPs were on Columbia Records.