Gay4Grunge: My Top 10 Alice in Chains Songs (2009-2022)
Last week I counted down my top 20 songs by Alice in Chains when Layne Staley was in the group. This week I'm going to count down my top 10 songs by Alice in Chains when William Duvall joined the group. While I definitely prefer the Layne Staley years for Alice in Chains, the William Duvall years have been pretty solid and I wanted to give Alice in Chains' second act the recognition it deserves. After the death of Layne Staley in April of 2002, no one expected Alice in Chains to mount a comeback, especially me. I felt that with Layne dead Alice in Chains were officially over in the same way Nirvana ended after Kurt's death. So, when I started hearing about Alice in Chains getting back together and adding a new singer to the group, I was extremely skeptical. I honestly didn't think it was a good idea for Alice in Chains to do this and I remained a skeptic until I heard Check My Brain on rock radio. Once I heard that song my skepticism began to fade and I eventually decided to buy Black Gives Way to Blue in the summer of 2009.
On my very first listen to Black Gives Way to Blue I was won over immediately. I realized that this was the same band I'd always known, but the perspective had changed slightly. Instead of most of the songs coming from Layne's point of view, the new Alice in Chains had Jerry Cantrell now being the central figure in the band. This made a lot of sense once I stopped and thought about it, because Jerry had always written the bulk of the group's material and he always sang harmonies with Layne. On top of that Jerry had sung solo on a few of the group's songs like Brother and he was doing most of the heavy lifting for both singing & songwriting by the time of Alice in Chains final album with Layne Staley in 1995 since Layne was quickly deteriorating at that point. Plus, William Duvall was there to sing harmonies and he doesn't sing solo on too many of Alice in Chains' music either so Jerry is most definitely the group's leader on all fronts now.
The other thing that won me over was when I realized that the band still had a story to tell. During the 90s Alice in Chains' music tracked Layne's addiction to drugs and the toll it was taking on him. Now the story shifted to the rest of the band who had to pick up the pieces from Layne's death and figure how to grieve as well as move on from Layne's death. Black Gives Way to Blue was about how Layne's death affected the band and it proved to be just as emotionally moving as when Layne was in the group. I even cried on my first listen to the album, which was all the proof I needed that Alice in Chains Mach 2.0 was not only better than expected but necessary as well. At its heart, Black Gives Way to Blue is about healing and it was healing for not only the band itself but for many of their fans too including myself.
In the years since Black Gives Way to Blue, Alice in Chains released two more albums in 2013 & 2018 respectively. While neither were quite as strong as Black Gives Way to Blue, they were still solid and deserve a listen for anyone who loves this band or Grunge and heavy metal in general. Plus, each album's three best songs were also the three main singles too so this version of Alice in Chains definitely knows what their best songs are on their albums. It's kind of crazy to think about how this revamped version of Alice in Chains has been around twice as long as the Layne Staley version even if they seem to be half as productive as the Layne years. While they have only released 3 albums in a 13 years span, this newer version of Alice in Chains has probably toured a lot more than the Layne Staley version at this point. Much like the revamped Stone Temple Pilots with Jeff Gutt, Alice in Chains can now be a working band who tour constantly and they don't have to worry about cancelling as many shows or tours either since their new frontmen are more stable. I saw Alice in Chains live back in 2010, but I definitely want to see them again soon. For now though let's jump in the rankings.
10. Never Fade (2018)
Alice in Chains' 2018 album Rainer Fog was a bit of a mixed bag and I say that mostly because I found the album's ballads to be sorely lacking. While I love the heavy metal side of the group, my heart really belongs to the band's acoustic/ballad side the most. That said, the rockers we got on Rainier Fog mostly made up for the lackluster ballads and the best of those rockers were released as singles including Never Fade. This is just a rock-solid Alice in Chains song that they could probably churn out in their sleep, but it just goes to show that Alice in Chains are pros at this point.
9. Lesson Learned (2009)
The final single off Black Gives Way to Blue is definitely one of the album's more melodic songs and I was hoping it would become a single after I heard the album in its entirety in the summer of 2009. Like many songs off of Black Gives Way Blue, the band not only acknowledges the passing of Layne Staley but they also address their status as veterans by this point too. On Lesson Learned the band sings about how they've learned from their past and that they will do better going forward:
"Just another lesson learned
Wear a scar, a bore repeating
Take a simple fateful turn
Opened up to stop the bleeding"
Alice in Chains isn't going to make the same mistakes it made when they were younger and the fact that they are still here and touring 13 years later proves they did indeed learn their lesson.
8. Private Hell (2009)
Private Hell is a deep cut off Black Gives Way to Blue that nobody talks about, but it's been a personal favorite of mine since I first heard the album back in 2009. As I spoke about in my previous articles, one of the things that drew me to Alice in Chains as a teenager in the closet was that many of their songs spoke of this self-imposed isolation from those around you since you feel like no one will be able to sympathize or empathize what you're going through. I connected with that sentiment deeply and it's also one of the reasons why No Excuses is my favorite song by the group. No Excuses speaks of self-imposed isolation, but it also says there is hope to move on from your self-imposed isolation. Private Hell speaks of self-imposed isolation, but in a much darker way than No Excuses. The main chorus has the group singing:
"I excuse myself
I'm used to my little cell
I amuse myself
In my very own private hell"
The band acknowledges that they are doing this to themselves, but they've become so used to their own private hell they almost find it comforting now as a result. This sentiment is also similar to how it can feel being in the closet when you are a queer kid. You long to be accepted for who you are, but at the same time you've been in the closet so long that you become comfortable with your complacency. I also like the atmosphere on Private Hell lot, which makes it feel transportive and I'm always down for songs that feel transportive.
7. Hollow (2013)
Hollow was the lead single off Alice in Chains' 2013 album The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here and that album saw the group lean into more horror movie type vibes. The music video for Hollow felt like a mini horror film as it centered on an astronaut who goes crazy while up in space and he may be infected by an unknown organism. The song itself is Alice in Chains at their heaviest and Hollow would go on to be another #1 mainstream rock hit for the band. On the Alternative rock chart though it only got up to #23 and it would be the last time Alice in Chains charted on Alternative Rock. I remember hearing Hollow once on DC 101, the alternative Rock station in Washington DC, and I never heard it again after that. By 2013 Alternative Rock radio had left most Grunge and Post Grunge bands behind and started focusing more on poppy New Wave inspired acts such as WALK THE MOON, Imagine Dragons, Grouplove, Atlas Genius, Foster the People, and more. That said, Man in the Box still kept getting spins on DC 101 all the way up until at least 2017, which is when I stopped listening to the radio period.
6. Stone (2013)
The second single off The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is a little less dark than Hollow, but not by much. Whereas Hollow just felt heavy overall, what stands out about Stone is that guitar riff. Jerry Cantrell still has a knack for coming up with memorably unique guitar riffs that get lodged in your brain quickly. The riff to Stone is the kind of riff you never heard from any of Alice in Chains' clones that sprung up around the turn of the millennium. It's a reminder why Alice in Chains still does it better than all their clones ever did.
5. Check My Brain (2009)
Speaking of memorable riffs, Check Your Brain has one of the most memorable guitar riffs in all of Alice in Chains' music. This was the single to announce Alice in Chains' comeback in 2009 and it raced up to # 1 on both the mainstream rock and the Alternative Rock chart, which is the only time Alice in Chains got to #1 on the Alternative Rock chart. Lyrically the song deals with the idea that living in California isn't so bad once you get used to it. The subject matter as you can tell is much lighter than the norm with Alice in Chains, but that may also be a sign of maturity as well. Alice in Chains doesn't want to always linger on the morose and depressing. Sometimes it's good to enjoy the moment and not be as cynical and that's pretty much the message of Check My Brain.
4. The One You Know (2018)
The first single off Alice in Chains' 2018 album Rainier Fog features another great riff that announced itself right out of the gate. The way Jerry almost chops this riff up gives it swing and a bounce that I find very appealing. It also delivers another rock-solid chorus and the production is on point as it always is with this band. There's much else to say about this one, but it's definitely a good headbanger for sure.
3. Rainier Fog (2018)
The third single off Rainier Fog was the title track and it's my favorite because of that bridge. As I've discussed before, Alice in Chains excel at juxtaposition whether it be darkness & light, euphoria & depression or pop & rock. Some of the group's most effective moments are when a surprisingly melodic moment happens in the middle of a heavy dark song such as the chorus to Angry Chair. Rainier Fog has a nice driving feel to it that rocks, but it's the key change during the bridge that lifts this song up. Rainer Fog gets so melodic all of a sudden that it's as if the sun is breaking through the clouds briefly. For me this is the best example of Alice in Chains doing this with William Duvall and it gets me every time I hear it.
2. Voices (2013)
Now we've reached the point in this countdown where the top 2 songs are going to be ballads and I really had to think about which ballad should be #1 and which should be #2. Musically I might prefer Voices more to my #1 pick, but my #1 pick also makes me feel a lot more emotional listening to it, which to me means it's a top tier Alice in Chains. Still Voices is a really good ballad with lots of great atmosphere. I especially love how the song opens and closes with that faded echoey guitar that seems to be played off in the distance. I also really like the nighttime vibe of the music video, which also has a quick shot of pictures of Seattle musicians who had passed by that point including Kurt and of course Layne. This might be my most played song from the William Duvall years of Alice in Chains so it just misses the top spot but I do love it.
1. Your Decision (2009)
I was very hesitant to accept Alice in Chains getting back together with a new singer. Once I heard Check My Brain on rock radio though my stance began to soften and eventually, I did go out and buy the album. The moment that I was totally won over though was when I first heard Your Decision driving into work. I started tearing up listening to Your Decision and that's when I knew that the Alice in Chains I had known and loved really and truly was back. Black Gives Way to Blue may not have featured Layne's vocals, but he was the absent center of that album. Black Gives Way to Blue was about the rest of Alice in Chains mourning and trying to move past their grief over Layne's death. While many of the tracks are not directly about Layne per se most of them still feel like they are connected to Layne in some manner. Your Decision hit the hardest for me though, because it seems to be the one song where Jerry really lets his emotions spill out. Here is a good chunk of the lyrics which made me tear up on my first listen:
"Overwhelmed, you chose to run
Apathetic to the stunned
It's your decision
It's your decision
You feed the fire that burned us all
When you lie
To feel the pain that spurs you on
Black inside
No one plans to take the path that brings you nowhere
Here you stand before us all and say "it's over, it's over"
It might seem an afterthought
Yes it hurts to know you're bought
It's your decision"
Layne was an addict who never kicked the habit and it's a tragedy that he died as young as he did, but it was also a tragedy for those around him too. The band felt helpless in the face of Layne's addiction, an addiction that fed Layne's creativity, but it also took his life at the end. I also really like the way the band is subtly referencing the song Over Now as well. As I stated in my last article, Over Now was the final song off the final album Alice in Chains did with Layne Staley and as a result it feels like an impossibly sad goodbye to Layne and even Alice in Chains as a band. Yet, it wasn't the end of Alice in Chains and this song is a great example of how the band is still telling the same story, but they've shifted perspective now that Layne is dead. To me this song really helps bridge the gap between Alice in Chains' two eras and it's the most emotionally charged song they've done with William Duvall in my opinion. So, for those reasons and more Your Decision is my favorite Alice in Chains songs from 2009-2022.
