Alice in Chains are back with a new album, The Devil put dinosaurs here.  It is always hard for any band to come back and progress forward with new material when there is such rich history with the band and the fans of the Layne Staley era.  Coming across with AIC fans, feels that there are three types of fans, the first type that feel that Alice in Chains died the moment that Staley died, the second type being the ones who won’t accept the new singer, William DuVall just because he’s not Staley and the third type being , fans just want more experience of Alice in Chains.
With 12 tracks to the album, it  is pure gritty and great sounds, especially with songs like Stone, Scapel,  Hung on a hook, lab monkey, and Choke. Lyrics from Choke are especially hard hitting “Fragile things so close together/Taped up broken from before/Part of something or all of nothing/A very long hard way to fall”  It takes a while to get in to the album though, but it picks up half way through , it takes several listens to really appreciate it but as you listen more and more, it becomes more interesting. The harmonising vocals of Cantrell and DuVall works great together , even well suited together more than the previous album. The heavy presence of brooding guitar riffs , catchy drumming and bass is captured well and dominate the tracks instantly.

Overall, this album has a positive feel to it, and has some great tracks that are explored through musically. I believe that Alice in Chains are progressing further and better , and to hear all this live  in concert would be a privilege.

Here is a live performance of Alice in Chains with Stone: