ALICE IN CHAINS WANT YOU TO “CHECK YOUR BRAIN”
Friday, August 14th, 2009 at 4:06pm by Axl Rosenberg
What an awesome way to start the weekend.
Finally, after weeks and weeks of crappy bootlegs, we get some actual new music from Alice in Chains! Our friends at Metal Insider are streaming the band’s new single, “Check Your Brain.” And guess what? It is CLASSIC Alice. The guitars, the vocals, the hook, everything… I mean, swap out William DuVall for Layne Staley and the song would easily fit on the band’s self-titled album.
In short: we think it’s awesome. Listen to it here, then come back and let us know what you think.
Alice in Chains’ big comeback album, Black Gives Way to Blue, drops September 29.
-AR
That guys looks a little like Katon from Hirax. Maybe he should have joined instead.
Holy crap this is everything that I was hoping for from this album. I agree with Axl, the guitars, the vocals, the hook…It’s like the best parts from Dirt, Self-titled and Cantrell’s solo Degradation Trip all in one song. Love it.
i agree with Mike. this is exactly what i was hoping for. look forward to the rest of the album.
Wow, this dude sounds more Staley-esque than expected.
It;s really pissing me off i cant get this record yet. I am looking forward to this about as much as I was for Cracke The Sky
Same here :)
This is great! Can’t wait for the album!
Finally, one long time loved band that doesnt fuck themselves over with hype. This stuff is exceeding my expectations. AIC, thank you
Not a disappointment in the bunch yet, and I’ve heard a couple other new songs live on YouTube. Alice may be able to pull off with this record what Metallica didn’t quite accomplish with “Death Magnetic”. What makes it more remarkable is AIC has a bigger hurdle to overcome.
Wow, this song reminds me a lot of the self-titled – Grind in particular. And man, DuVall sounds so much like Staley it’s eerie. Can’t wait for this album to come out!
I also like that Duval is also bringing a competent 2nd guitar to the table as well on the live stuff,It will be nice to see more of the live show pulled off with the backing riffs behind the solos now.
I have seen them, and it is
AIC can do no wrong it seems
Tits! Very tits!
September 29th is dragging it’s ass getting here! The new song is killer, I’m smiling like a kid in a candy store right now.
wow, no one has said something negative yet. i am truly impressed.
I am very pleasantly surprised.
Love it. This is definitely going to be one of the best new releases this year, regardless of genre.
The writer at MetalInsider calls AIC technically more grunge than metal. I say he’s wrong on both accounts. I’ve always thought of them as a solid rock band. I don’t think “grunge” really much existed except for a few truly sludgy bands from the Pacific Northwest in the early 90s. But Alice in Chains always incorporated vocal harmonies, heavy riffs and guitar solos.
This song kicks major ass. It IS Alice in Chains.
i think they simply got throw into the grunge category because they came out when grunge was just getting out there and of course, because they’re from seattle. just good old hard rock bordering on metal if you ask me. facelift was a pretty heavy album.
rock
fucking
out
HOLY FUCKING SHIT THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!
someone commented at metalinsider “fuck choruses about california,” and I kind of have to agree. otherwise sounds boss as bacon mayo
I like it!
I’m planning on buying it when it comes out. If this is any indication, the rest will probably be pretty killer.
Well, there’s a pretty hard boner ready to enter the ears of the oh-its-not-Layne-so-its-no-Alice smack talkers.
I thought the song was alright, but nothing too special. The guitar riff was interesting, but I would have liked them to experiment more with it (this was my problem with the first song too). I didn’t especially like the chorus, and the lyrics sounded horrendous.
When did it become less about FEELING a song, and so much about collaborative over analysis? Close your eyes, puff puff, and FEEL IT dumbass
Yeah I’m buying this the second it comes out.
Great song, can’t wait for the new album, probably the cd i’ve looked forward to the most this year
very awesome. period.
Didn’t really care before, but now I’m actually looking forward to this album. Didn’t see that coming…..
Not digging the chorus too much.
I guess I’ll get some crap for this,but, here is how I feel about the new material:
- I really haven’t heard Mr. DuVall take the reigns yet. Where is the soulful bellowing & power?
- So far, imho, this album sounds more like a solo effort under the guise of AIC.
- What’s up with Jerry? Where’s the killer riff-age & those great solos?
Sorry dudes…. This new AIC stuff hasn’t floored me yet.
Never was a fan of this band mostly cause of the singer.
Drugs make some artists better while others it cripples.
AIC had the latter.Dont get me wrong the potential was there
just not with Layne Staley.I felt bad for the band & Jerry Cantrell
who seemed to be doing damage controll every step of AIC’s
career.Even after his death Cantrell got alot of shit for his solo stuff.
Im against bands reforming no matter what the reason is.
However for Alice in Chains this just seems right.
Like payback kind of.
Honestly, I don’t think you ever sat down and listened to Dirt. Have you?
To say they “had” potential that never flourished due to drugs shows your lack of listening experience with the above named album as well as SAP, Facelift and even quite possibly their last self-titled release. Sure, some of their material misses the mark,but…and I say BUT , Alice in Chains reinvented Rock/Metal music!! Fuck all this shit about Nirvana. AIC put well crafted heavy music with technical musicianship back on the map and their sound was distinctive. You can’t deny it. IMHO, Fucking Brilliant
“Dont get me wrong the potential was there…” Are you fucking kidding me? Did you seriously just say that?
This sounds like a kick-ass comeback!
Fuck. This is fantastic.
Love it.
Heavy and melodic. Can’t wait for the album
I like it. Though as a couple people have already noted, no real solo. :(
Direct: http://metalinsider.net/dump/checkmybrain.mp3
Wow! I must’ve listened to it about a dozen times, now. A great song that would’ve fitted nicely on Cantrell’s “degradation trip” album.
For your information, the song isn’t called “Check YOUR Brain”, it’s called “Check MY Brain”. I know it’s prolly just a typing mistake, but whatever…
Chickenshits eh..
This indeed does sound like the self titled stuff..the main vocal sounds like a mix of Cantrell and ’someone else’..so the whole song sounds like a chorus
I can’t believe they used “California” in the chorus. How many more of those do we need to hear?
Holy Shit! Check your Brain is about the best song I have heard in 20 years, mind altering without the acid!
The lyrics rule, the guitar is incredible, we always knew Jerry Cantrell had it in him and after Layne there was no where to go but up. Great job to Jerry and the whole band and I cant wait to hear more. Jerry was destined to do great things and this is just proof he has much more to come!