Black Gives Way to Blue

Black Gives Way to Blue
Alice in Chains studio album
Publication (s)	September 25, 2009
admission	October 23, 2008 - March 18, 2009
Label (s)	Virgin Records / EMI
Format (s)	CD, LP, DI
Genre (s)	Grunge , alternative rock
Title (number)	11
running time	54:10
occupation	Singing: William DuVall Guitar, vocals: Jerry Cantrell Bass: Mike Inez Drums: Sean Kinney
production	Nick Raskulinecz , Alice in Chains
Studio (s)	Studio 606, Northridge , California
chronology Alice in Chains (1995) Black Gives Way to Blue The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013)

Black Gives Way to Blue is the fourth studio album by the grunge band Alice in Chains . It was released on September 25, 2009 on Virgin Records / EMI . It is the first without singer Layne Staley , who died on April 5, 2002 , and the first in 14 years. The new singer is William DuVall (previously on Comes With the Fall ).

style

Stylistically, Black Gives Way to Blue ties in directly with the albums made in the early to mid-1990s, for example with reference to the guitar work usually characterized by hard riffs - for example with bendings such as the single Check My Brain - and the two-part vocals guitarist Jerry Cantrell partly takes over the lead vocal.

“That's how I compose. I developed this style over 20 years, and Layne helped me a lot. I used to only sing backing vocals, although I've always written a lot of lyrics and melody lines. Layne gave me the confidence I needed and kicked my butt until I dared to do lead vocals. We were both a damn good team and you can hear those vibes on the new record. "

- Jerry Cantrell

However, there were differences in the songwriting process, which was almost exclusively taken over by Jerry Cantrell on this album. The new singer William DuVall said he first had to "work his way into" the band.

“Going on without an important band member and good friend is a big challenge, and the weight is not just on William's shoulders. He cannot and should not replace Layne because Layne was unique. But William does an excellent job, he got involved in the songwriting and is respectful of the old material. "

- Jerry Cantrell

With Your Decision , When the Sun Rose Again and the title track, three quieter tracks are also included. In the latter, dedicated to Layne Staley, Elton John can be heard on the piano. In response to an email from Jerry Cantrell, he agreed to work together and recorded the piece as part of an afternoon spent with the band in Las Vegas . In some songs, other instruments such as strings , vibraphone or tabla were used.

History of origin

At the end of 2005, the band had initially reunited temporarily for a concert for the victims of the tsunami disaster. Several more concerts followed in 2006, for which William DuVall was engaged. At first, the band expressed reluctance to a real reunion, for example on their homepage, but announced that they were working on new songs. The band said in retrospect that it was “not a quick decision” to record the record, but “the end of a long process ...”. In autumn 2008 the band went into the studio with this material and together with Foo Fighters producer Nick Raskulinecz , by March 18, 2009 the recordings were completed. The record was mixed by Randy Staub in Los Angeles and Vancouver . The first single, A Looking in View , was released on June 30, 2009 and was also available on the band's website. On September 25th the record was released on the new label Virgin / EMI, which marks the first label change in the more than 20-year history of the band. In the USA the album reached number five on the Billboard charts, in Canada number four on the local charts. Check My Brain (August 17th) and Your Decision (November 16th) were released as further singles .

reception

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of allmusic wrote that there was a difference between trying to emulate past fame and getting back to your roots, Alice in Chains did the latter. Four out of five stars were awarded. The Rolling Stone magazine called Although Check My Brain as catchy as the old hits, but otherwise lacking "great songs". The rating was two and a half stars out of five. The Times highlighted the qualities of William DuVall as well as the "majestic refrains" and "dark-atmospheric ballads". They rated the album four out of five stars. In Rock Hard , Michael Rensen awarded 8.5 out of ten possible points. Although the album sounds like a "near future" successor to the earlier albums, it does without "clumsy self-quotes and thick retro polish". Cantrell and DuVall managed to "if not to replace Layne Staley, then at least to represent them in a dignified manner." The record was one of the "very big revival surprises of the year". Katharina Neuert awarded 9.5 out of ten points in the online magazine The-Pit.de. “You'd think,” said the reviewer, “that it would be difficult for DuVall to carry on the legacy of his predecessor”, but the singer / songwriter “put the songs of his new band into practice with an almost dreamlike security and perfection that every fan Tears of joy will bring to your eyes. “The editorial team of the Metal Hammer chose Black Gives Way to Blue as album of the year 2009.

Track list

Chart positions Explanation of the data

Albums

Black Gives Way to Blue   DE 21st 10/12/2009 (4 weeks)   AT 14th 09/10/2009 (3 weeks)   CH 21st 10/11/2009 (5 weeks)   UK 19th 10/10/2009 (2 weeks)   US 5 10/17/2009 (32 weeks)

Singles

Check my brain   US 92 10/17/2009 (4 weeks)

1. All Secrets Known - 4:43
2. Check My Brain - 3:58
3. Last of My Kind - 5:53 (Cantrell, DuVall)
4. Your Decision - 4:43
5. A Looking in View - 7:06 (Cantrell, DuVall, Kinney, Inez)
6. When the Sun Rose Again - 4:00
7. Acid Bubble - 6:56
8. Lesson Learned - 4:17
9. Take Her Out - 4:00
10. Private Hell - 5:38
11. Black Gives Way to Blue - 3:04

All songs were written by Jerry Cantrell unless otherwise noted.

Web links

• Black Gives Way to Blue on Allmusic (English)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ ^{a b} www.allmusic.com: Review Black Gives Way to Blue by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
2. ↑ ^{a b} www.rockhard.de: Michael Rensen: Alice in Chains - the reference
3. ↑ ^{a b c} Michael Rensen: Funeral Celebration with Elton John , in Rock Hard, No. 269, November 2009.
4. ↑ ^{a b} www.rollingstone.com: Review Black Gives Way to Blue
5. ↑ www.timesonline.co.uk: Review Black Gives Way to Blue
6. ↑ www.rockhard.de: Review Black Gives Way to Blue by Michael Rensen
7. ↑ The-Pit.de: www.the-pit.de: Review Black Gives Way to Blue by Katharina Neuert
8. ↑ Charts DE Charts AT Charts CH Charts UK Charts US

predecessor	Metal hammer	successor
Metallica - Death Magnetic	Album of the year 2009	Enslaved - Axioma Ethica Odini