Alice in Chains has just released the video for their latest single, "Hollow," online, from their upcoming fifth studio album, and their second without late frontman Layne Staley. I've gotta say, I've become pretty open-minded about the new lineup. Though vocalist William DuVall is certainly no Staley, their new sound is good. Staley wasn't the only talented member of AIC; Cantrell is possibly one of the best guitarists alive today, and the heavy blues feel was the course the band was going to take anyway - see "Heaven Beside You" off their self-titled 1996 album if you don't believe me. And hey, surviving members Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney were respectful enough to Staley's memory to wait more than ten years before reforming the band.
I will always be a diehard fan of old school Alice, particularly their first two albums, 1990's Facelift and 1992's Dirt. But the new stuff is solid, with soaring blues melodies and chugging riffs that take over where Staley's powerful vocals left off, helping to carry DuVall's less immediate voice.
Bonus: check out my favorite AIC concert vid with the old lineup: their title hit, "Man in the Box," in Seattle in 1991, just before Facelift broke the band onto the grunge mainstream.
