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The heart image seems fitting somehow, ’cause… I dunno… Layne is dead… but out hearts still beat for him… or… whatever.
Actually, it seems like the band has some kind of heart-fetish for awhile now; a couple of years back, Vince bought this shirt:
According to Blabbermouth, Elton John plays on the title track to Alice in Chains’ forthcoming Black Gives Way to Blue, which is described as “a heart-stirring tribute” to late vocalist Layne Staley.
Apparently John’s contribution comes solely in the form of piano playing and not vocals, which must be why Vince made no note of it when he reported on the album’s listening party (although he did make note of the “melancholy piano” and the lyrics “I remember you,” which he suspected at the time was a tribute to Staley); at the same time, I can’t believe they’ve kept the collaboration with John a secret this long.
So… anyone wanna get pissy about this? Honestly, like our friend Eyal Levi, I need some non-metal sometimes, and vintage Elton John often hits the spot. Plus, this isn’t the first time he’s worked with a near-metal band:
Black Gives Way to Blue comes out September 29.
-AR
Emphasis on “somewhat.”
This one is called “Acid Bubble.”
“Check My Brain” after the jump.
I’m told that the below is footage of Alice in Chains performing another new song, “Check My Brain,” in Dublin this past weekend. I say “I’m told” because the quality of said footage is so piss-poor that I can’t even make it all the way through the song. This is not the way I want to experience new Alice in Chains for the first time.
That being said, if you’re dying for a fix, feel free to tough it out. And make sure you read Vince’s track-by-track preview of Alice in Chains’ new album, Black Gives Way to Blue, which comes out September 29.
-AR
[via Blabbermouth]
Last week, Elise at Reign in Blonde wrote a piece entitled “TOP 5 SONGS I WOULD PROBABLY USE AS MY STRIPPER SONG.”
Improbably enough, this led to a stoned think-session where I came up with a list of the top five songs I would probably use as my own stripper song. ‘Cause I know you all wanna see me strip so badly.
Okay, here we go:
This is Alice in Chains performing “A Looking in View” live in Detroit last week. Note that not only does the band sound great, but that William DuVall and Jerry Cantrell both sound more or less the way they do on the recording of the track. In other words: they can actually sing. Without autotune. Amazing, right?
And the moral of the story is: if you can’t do it live, don’t do it on record. Because I’ll just make fun of you later. I’m talking to you, Brandon Saller. Get it together.
If you haven’t already read Vince’s track-by-track breakdown of the new AIC album, Black Gives Way to Blue, well, you should really check it out now.
-AR
[via Blabbermouth]
I’ve gotten a few e-mails today from people asking me where Vince is. Well, the truth is, Vince can’t write because he’s ill. And he’s quitting the site. No, really, he quit. We didn’t fire him. Swear it. We stand by that statement.
Here’s some other shit that happened in the world of metal this week:
Alright. Time to go buy a vaporizer of my very own. See ya Monday.
-AR
Last night’s “listening party” in NYC for Alice in Chains’ new record Black Gives Way to Blue was one of the most bizarre such events I’ve ever attended. In the metal world, “listening party” usually means the label or PR firm invites us out to a divey bar where we all drink heavily and chat while the new record plays on repeat. Sometimes the band plays a few songs… sometimes there’s an open bar or drink tickets (aka a makeshift piece of paper that entitles the bearer to a free drink). But all in all, they’re pretty laid back affairs.
Not this one. The event was at a theater in the brand new New York Times building in Times Square. Attendees had to check in with someone at the door, then hand in any and all mobile phones / ipods / computers that could possibly be used as recording devices. Serious! Everyone gathered in a cavernous, wood-paneled lobby area where there were no fewer than 10 waiters in fancy black shirts walking around with platters of hour d’oeuvres — mini kobe beef burgers, samosas, and some other mysterious but delicious cooked treat — and as much wine or beer as our little hearts desired. A certain “Metal Insider” who shall remain nameless took full advantage of the free wine, and I’d imagine was in quite the right frame of mind for the album listening. Also striking: the makeup of the audience was at least 75% stripey-shirt dudes. Us normal shorts-and-t-shirt dudes felt kind of awkward in comparison — this was a listening party for ALICE IN FUCKING CHAINS???
At 7:30 we were all let into a big movie-style theater with speakers set up on the stage and a small screen across the middle that would later display images presumably from the album artwork. Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney came out for a quick speech, the lights dimmed, and the music began… LOUD.
Interestingly, I was the only person I could see that was taking notes with pen and paper, the good old-fashioned way. Rather than give you guys some faux mumbo-jumbo about what the album sounds like and what it represents in the evolution blah blah blah FUCK, I’d like to give you my notes. Having only heard the album once I don’t feel like I’m in a position to make any grand judgments, but what I wrote down was in the moment and what I was thinking at the time. My hope is that these notes give you some idea of what you’re in for. But I will say this… the new Alice in Chains record is heavy, deep, and it’s fucking GOOD.
My notes, track by track (sorta), minimally edited for clarity, after the jump.
This is Phil Anselmo performing Alice in Chains’ “Nutshell” in Tel Aviv.
And… that’s all I have to say about this.
-AR
[via Metal Injection]
This video harkens back to the days of weird, enigmatic, “creepy” alt-metal videos, but guess what? I still dig it.
Alice in Chains’ big comeback album, Black Gives Way to Blue, comes out September 29 on Virgin.
-AR
For those of you not from the U.S. and somehow completely unaware of this, the Fourth of July is a pretty big deal here in America. On that day, we celebrate winning our freedom by kicking the British’s ass. Of course, they later gave us Hugh Grant, so I guess they had their revenge in the end.
So there won’t be any posts tomorrow; on Monday, we’ll unveil the last albums on the list. In the meantime, here’s some things that happened this week in the world of MetalSucks:
I plan to not be sober for the next 72 hours. See ya Monday!
-AR
So there’s this new Alice in Chains song, and this morning I wrote and posted this whole long critique, and now shitty computer issue mean it’s gone forever, and I’m way too lazy to re-write it all. So here are the highlights of that now-departed piece:
-AR
Here’s another teaser for the new Alice in Chains single/video “A Looking in View.” We get to hear significantly more music than we did in the initial teaser, and all I can say is, holy SHIT does this sound heavy. I kind of assumed that for their comeback album, AIC would play it safe and make a very middle of the road hard rock record; if they actually made a full-on metal album, well, good for them.
The full video will apparently be released tomorrow. The album, Black Gives Way to Blue, will come out on Virgin on September 29.
-AR
As I’ve said before, I usually steer clear of posting “trailers” for upcoming music videos, but the below, for a new Alice in Chains song called “A Looking In View,” obviously deserves to be an exception. Besides the fact that the imagery is pretty kooky, it gives us our first taste, however brief, of the first new AIC music in fourteen (!!!) years. The full song will appear on the band’s forthcoming album, Black Gives Way to Blue, which Virgin will release September 29.
Of course, I can’t make any judgements based on what in this teeny tiny little clip, but if you’re an AIC nerd like me, you crave a listen to this new album like Layne Staley craved smack.
[crickets]
What? Too soon?
Alice in Chains – A Looking In View (Trailer)
-AR
Alice in Chains have officially announced Black Gives Way to Blue as the title of their new, Layne Staley-less album. It will be released on September 29.
I know a lot of people – myself included – are really, really, REALLY cynical about this record, but if done right, it really could be their Back in Black. For now, let’s just say that there is 200% no album I’m more curious to hear this year, for better or worse.
Here they are doing “Again” with their new vocalist, William DuVall, at Rock am Ring in 2006. Vince and I have seen this DuVall fellow live in concert twice, and I think he’s at least worth giving a shot.
-AR
I haven’t listened to Facelift in the longest time, but last week I gave it a spin and suddenly remembered how much more I like side-B (remember those?) than side-A. Not that side-A doesn’t rock, ’cause clearly it does, but goddamn, there are some under-appreciated gems on the flipside.
One of those is “Sunshine,” a song I always thought was fucking epic, even if I have no idea what the fuck Layne Staley thinks he’s singing about. “Then some dude came down to touch the mother/Mother touched, and dude ain’t here no more.” Uhhh… okay, Layne.
Here’s the band performing the song at the Silver Dollar Saloon in Michigan in ‘91.
-AR
Thanks to The Deciblog for reminding me of two things I somehow forgot:
-AR
So. Unless you live under a rock, chances are you’re aware that the movie adaptation of Watchmen opens tomorrow. The reviews are decidedly mixed and I’m still not convinced it won’t suck, but it’s already apparently making a ton of bank in ticket pre-sales, so, uh, yeah, people wanna see this bitch I guess.
Anyways, this week iTunes had some members of the cast do their celebrity playlist thing. A few actors chose a few metal songs – Patrick Wilson (who plays “Nite Owl II”) has some Van Halen and Extreme songs, Malin Akerman (”Silk Spectre II”) has some Nine Inch Nails, Jeffery Dean Morgan (”The Comedian”) was apparently pals with Layne Staley and included “Rooster” in his mix, etc.
But Jackie Earle Haley – the Oscar nominated actor playing the ultimate right wing sociopathic fascistic badass, Rorschach – created a list that is almost entirely comprised of metal.
Terrible metal.
I was listening to Alice in Chains’ Jar of Flies EP this morning – I haven’t really listened to in a couple of years, I think – and was suddenly reminded that not only is “I Stay Away” an awesome song, but it had a really, truly awesome video, too. Sure, the animation is a little crude, but it has a distinct style, and the way they incorporate the album artwork and themes without being too too heavy handed/cheesy/whatever is great.
If you don’t remember the clip, wanna see it again, or for some reason have never seen it before, here it is…
-AR
What a great weekend! Apparently I’m rich! You see, I got an email from Mr. John Kofi White, branch manager of a financial institution in Ghana, who is offering me 30% of his $7,597.864 family fortune. All I have to do is give him my bank account info and let him transfer it through there, because he wishes to remain anonymous! Thanks to this stroke of good fortune, I’ll be quitting MetalSucks, effective tomorrow, and will be offering free Jameson to anyone who stops by the MS Mansion tonight as I embark on my new life as a millionaire.
Elsewhere in the “too good to be true” department, Alice in Chains are recording a new album. It may suck, but I remain cautiously optimistic that one of my favorite bands ever will do something at least somewhat worthwhile (check out a studio video of Sean Kinney tracking drums for the new record here). The new record is due Summer 2009; in the meantime, check out this live performance of the classic lineup performing “Again” on some TV show in the mid-nineties. Judging by Layne’s appearance it looks like this was filmed not too far before the famed [in my Desert Island 5!] Unplugged show. Layne is definitely on his last legs here and it’s creepy as hell… but fuckin’ great nonetheless.
-VN
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