Thoughts?

First single with the new singer

7/1/2009 6:20:13 AM

I enjoyed it, but it's not Alice in Chains without Layne. They should have changed the name.

It's not Snot without Lynn Strait.
It's not Blind Melon without Shannon Hoon.
It's not Black Sabbath without Ozzy.
It's not Journey without Steve Perry.
It's not Van Halen without David Lee Roth.

This list goes on. Some singers are so iconic, they just can't be replaced.

Despite the legal issues surrounding the name, The Doors knew this when they reformed with Ian Astbury as The Doors of the 21st Century and subsequently Riders on the Storm.

Sublime also continued on without their lead singer, but changed their name to the Long Beach Dub Allstars. Unfortunately, "Sublime" apparently reunited earlier in '09 ... we'll see if they fuck that one up.

7/1/2009 8:20:48 AM

Have not heard it yet. Going to find it now. I kind of forgot about this.

Free download at http://www.aliceinchains.com/

[Edited on July 1, 2009 at 8:30 AM. Reason : dl]

7/1/2009 8:27:47 AM

RawWulf said:

Quote :

"It's not Van Halen without David Lee Roth."

Anyone's feelings about Sammy Hagar et al. aside, it's pretty hard for Van Halen not to be Van Halen when they're the damn Van Halen brothers.

Anyway, listening to it now. About a minute in. Sounds pretty fresh, actually. It's much better than I was afraid of. Kind of has a...I don't know, a slightly over-produced Gravity Kills kind of flavor, but in a good way.

[Edited on July 1, 2009 at 8:40 AM. Reason : ...]

7/1/2009 8:36:54 AM

Yeah I'm at work so I can't really turn it up and don't have my headphones but it sounds pretty good from what I can tell

7/1/2009 8:41:46 AM

Still, holy God, a seven-minute single.

7/1/2009 8:43:35 AM

Sounded as good as it possibly could. The music itself sounds tight. It's just missing that glimmer of junkie-stoned that Layne had.

But it's pretty close.

7/1/2009 8:46:06 AM

Quote :

"It's pretty hard for Van Halen not to be Van Halen when they're the damn Van Halen brothers"

very true

7/1/2009 8:46:35 AM

I bet it sounds perfect after you smoke a bowl, though.

7/1/2009 8:47:21 AM

^They should include that in the packaging

7/1/2009 8:47:56 AM

^ with a sample

7/2/2009 12:37:06 AM

Better than I expected. Sounds good.

7/2/2009 2:33:04 AM

this sounds really produced and mature, definetly an extension off of tripod (and deg trip, which was an awesome album)

7/2/2009 2:54:55 PM

eh, not bad.

7/10, considering the AiC standard.

7/2/2009 3:01:15 PM

Sounds pretty good. Its not the AIC we all know, but it isnt bad at all. I think I can enjoy this on a different level than i enjoy the original AIC, and thats because AIC has always been one of my favorite bands

7/2/2009 3:55:05 PM

here it is if you don't want to get the free single from the website

7/2/2009 4:16:37 PM

THANKS

I HATE FREE MUSIC

7/2/2009 4:18:12 PM

I definitely do not hate the single.. While Layne Staley's voice was a key ingredient to AIC I think people are easy to forget how badass Jerry Cantrell is. He contributed WAY more to the band than Staley did so I think it's unfair for people to say shit like its not alice in chains without Layne..

Cantrell's solo album had some good shit on it, I wonder why he doesn't just take the singing load now?

7/2/2009 5:16:58 PM

eh, I don't know about Cantrell contributing more to the band than Staley, but Cantrell is great

7/2/2009 5:56:21 PM

He wrote basically everything.. In fact they did everything on the self-titled album without Staley and just let him add in his lyrics later.

7/2/2009 6:25:20 PM

^^^ yeah, BOTH of Jerry Cantrell's solo albums are awesome, and I would definitely agree that he was easily the bigger creative force in Alice in Chains.

I haven't listened to the new stuff yet, but I haven't liked any of the live recordings they've done with any new/guest singers. I'll give it a shot, but I expect to be disappointed. Maybe it would at least help if they had changed the name of the band.

7/2/2009 6:59:22 PM

cantrell was definetly the heart of the band but he needs a singer that can focus on hitting the power notes if he wants to write the type of songs he wants

7/2/2009 9:12:19 PM