Sometimes, ya know reunions aren't necessarily a wonderful thing... but maybe, just maybe, the album itself holds some more golden moments...

All I have to say is that if you say "Alice in chains SUX" before you look into them your a moldy anal bead. Seriously, I don't like ALL of their songs, but theres clearly talent within the group. How many hits have they had? Yeah, shut up.

Rooster: Is actually about Jerry Cantrell's dad in the vietnam war. Look up the lyrics, I though it was pretty cool myself.

Would?: Captures a darker melodic side of Alice in Chains

Them Bones: A good snapshot of heavy Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains are touring with Mudvayne and Hurt this year, less than a month away. Im pumped.

"Check my Brain" is audible, I didn't like "A Looking in View" though!
I am more excited by the Stone Temple Pilots reunion than AIC

STP are reuniting too? :bonkhead:

How many hits has Nickelback had? How many hits has Brittany Spears had? How many hits have Black Eyed Peas had? Etc.

BTW I was a huge AiC fan in the 90s and still enjoy their earlier work. Just wanted to point out the irrelevance of your comment.

My point exactly. Talent comes in more than one form, connecting with the crowds and the likes is just a different form. Its like comparing Nickelback to Primus? GTFO.

Just run into a wall, please.

So what's your point?

i think the bulk of people complaining about the new songs / reunion are all old enough to remember how 'significant' AiC was back in the day. they were always that 'other' band from seattle, one of the best 2nd tier bands of the day, but they were not the trendsetters from that scene.

have you actually listened to anything besides 'dirt'?

I agree with what you said and like Alice in Chains, but this above isnt true. The Backstreet Boys have had more hits than AIC but does that make them good or respectable?

If I were to get seriously into AIC, I think I'd start with the older stuff though... not start with the new album and work backwards... there's a higher chance I'd find the older stuff more enduring...

I have only heard there Greatest Hits album and was not impressed and actually, very disapointed. I had only really heard two of there tracks ("Down In A Hole" and "Man In A Box") and absolutely LOVED "Down In A Hole" and didn't mind "Man In A Box" either so was hoping to find something else I liked but I didn't and actually really disliked the CD.

I really loved their unplugged album though, some of those songs really transferred themselves well to the whole accoustic sound.... some great dirges to be strummed...

The album "Dirt" is my favorite. But I like them. Pretty decent stuf.

Some of their chord changes on Facelift and Dirt are unbelievable ... bits of Would? for sure, but all through those two records are riffs and harmonic collisions that I've just never heard anywhere else, or at least certainly not so heavily

:banghead: ****ing elton john is on their new album

May make the news as one of the most odd pairings of the year in music.... I really don't know if it' a good thing or not, either...

jerry cantrell always name dropped elton john as an influence back in the day though. kudos to him for getting to play with one of his idols. could make for something interesting.

I saw AiC live a few weeks ago and liked it. They still sound very much like the old AiC and I think that's a good thing. The new songs did sound alike but seem to have some heavier grooves and sound even darker. So it sure isn't going to be a happy album but you can't expect that from this band. Looking forward to it though. I wouldn't consider it a reunion but more or less a continuation.

Is the new album released? I've only heard a song or two and was pretty disappointed. A lot of AIC fans listen to them because they always sound the same, and I can get behind that ... Until now. If they've replaced a crucial part of the band, I think it's important that we are able to distinguish when this happened in the discography. Basically, I've always been an AIC fan and I find their newer shit a bit recycled and oddly unmoving. This, by any means, does not mean I'm going to discontinue listening to their old stuff.

Oh my, I found a pretty cool cover on AIC's "Down In A Hole".. a favorite song of mine so ya know.



Thought I'd post since were honoring them.

Down in a hole is a pretty darn good song no matter which way you cut... powerful, evocative, conveys the emotion it aims to capture SO very well...

I don't like this band

And yet no one seems to care.

I was never a big AIC fan but Dirt was certainly their best album in terms of creativity and solid from start to finish.

One of my favourite songs is "Heaven Beside You" from their third album, which I always thought was sung by Layne (Eerily sounding like Kurt Cobain) but recently found out it was sung by Jerry.

I dont like you.

That steel string really does the song justice.

It comes out on Sept 29th.

I can't wait to not listen to it. Nah, that was harsh. I'll give it a few listens, but I already have the feeling I won't like it. Not because of William DuVall, but because I'm ready to hear some progression, and if it's not there, I've no patience.

I agree to some extent-

Let's see how the Elton John collaboration sounds..that's relatively progressive, wouldn't you think? HaHa :-)

-NN

Well, I figured it would at least be interesting...and it was. I quite liked that. The piano really added something I thought.

I think my hard earned cash will be held on until the next Devin Townsend Project emerges... gotta get the next album in his four part series...very excited about it!

Me want leak now.

I thought it would've leaked already by now...

I've given their album quite a few listens now and I love it! Great dark grooves and strong songs. It gets better every time I listen to it. DuVall doesn't try to copy Staley which is good. One of the best rock albums of the moment I think.

They lyrics have definitely taken the hardest blow in terms of what is lacking most without Layne.

That's what I would be most concerned about... the lyrical content was an important aspect Staley brought to the music... without that it might seem odd, perhaps even inferior... unless the band has some other amazing lyricists amongst it's ranks that never shpwed their face in their early days...

It's not the same band. Just isn't. And do those who say their early work is metal- meh. I'd disagree. Metal-influenced? Sure. Metal? Nah.

Jerry Cantrell?

maybe pay closer attention to the credits. there are only a handful of songs solely credited to Staley. Cantrell on the other hand is credited on just about everything the band ever put out. half of it on his own (especially early on - all the songs everyone knows from Dirt are Cantrell's)

i get the impression some people want to elevate Staley's status to match Cobain's and that's simply not the case. they were 2 junkies who fronted rock bands around the same time, that's it. Staley was really good, but not great.

I probably should have considered Cantrell's contribution before I made my comments, so, yeah oversight on my part... my bad...

sorry for being harsh last night but i had to get that Staley thing off my chest. it's not that i disliked the band nor was my comment solely directed to you either,

anyway, time to get some peanut butter on the brain hahaha

You're right though. Cantrell's influence on the band is probably bigger than Staley's but many people fail to recognize that.

[QUOTE=mr dave;753820]Jerry Cantrell?

maybe pay closer attention to the credits. there are only a handful of songs solely credited to Staley. Cantrell on the other hand is credited on just about everything the band ever put out. half of it on his own (especially early on - all the songs everyone knows from Dirt are Cantrell's)

i get the impression some people want to elevate Staley's status to match Cobain's and that's simply not the case. they were 2 junkies who fronted rock bands around the same time, that's it. Staley was really good, but not great.[/QUOTE]

I agree with everything you said except for what was highlighted of course. Any true fan of AIC knew that Cantrell was the master mind behind the band.

But Layne was a truly amazing singer in all his projects, and vocally superior to Cobain. The few songs he did write on the 1st 2 records were pretty good he had nothing on Cantrell lyrically.

I have finally gotten around to listening to the new record, and I find DuVall's voice to be eerily similar to Layne's. I'm still not sure if I like it or not. I was a huge fan of Layne and was really hurt when he died, but I may be able to accept DuVall eventually, even if I have to pretend it's Layne hahaha.