ALICE IN CHAINS FINISH RECORDING NEW ALBUM
Guitar World is reporting that Alice In Chains have finished recording their new album, the band’s fifth and the followup to 2009′s hit Black Gives Way to Blue. Cantrell said, “It’s like having to deal with the sophomore jinx for the second time in our career.” Cantrell also stated that he believes the new album holds up to anything they’ve done in their career. AIC began writing their new album in 2011 but had a setback when Jerry Cantrell needed surgery on his left shoulder. After Cantrell healed, the band got back to work this year with producer Nick Raskulinecz and engineer Paul Figueroa.
The album is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2013, with AIC already announcing some festival performances.
Alice in Chains/Soundgarden tour 2013…make it Happen
Hell yeah, bring it on AIC.
Fuck yeah! Bring it on!
This should make me forget the sour taste that King Animal left in my mouth.
1st quarter release? WOW! That is unexpectedly quick and would be awesome. I remember BGWTB seemed to drag on and on longer than King Animal. Can’t wait!!
All I ever needed to hear
I hope for a AIC/Soundgarden tour.
It should much better than King Animal, thats for sure. Oceania is the best album of 2012. Now if only Tool would get in the studio already…
This is much sooner than I expected.
Oh I am so happy!
AIC Forever
What band ever did a better job of avoiding that curse than these guys?
@Yo yeah really, what do they have to worry about?
Awesome! Makes me very happy!
I’m with Oustshined’s comments above
Hopefully It’s better than BGWTB since that was loaded with Jerry solo songs.
KA is the best right now by far compared to the soft oceania and BS & BGWTB which is the worst AIC album .
I actually find Black Gives Way To Blue to be my second favorite Alice In Chains album right behind Tripod. I know a lot of people would disagree. I know so many people think Dirt is their best. If it is as good as Black Gives Way To Blue I will be very pleased. I kind of hope William has a little more solo time this time around. I think the only track on the last album that featured him predominantly on vocals was “Last of My Kind” which I think is one of the best on the album. Looking forward to it and hopefully it stays on track for being released on schedule.
So excited….whoo hoo!!,
Great news for sure! If its even 1/10th as good as King Animal, it will be a very good start to 2013.
I’ll be pre-ordering as soon as its available! I still think their stuff with Layne is something they will never be able to replicate but BGWTB was pretty darn impressive!
very exciting news.
Hope to see them in Europe really
Awesome!! Can’t wait for this!!!!
The lyrics and sound should be interesting, I think we could see some more experimental sounds since the new lineup is now established, though Jerry will stick close to his sound.
For me when it comes to the 3 albums being discussed here: Black Gives Way to Blue> Oceania> King Animal
This band lost an irreplaceable, but somehow are still AIC and managed to put out a great record three years ago. I have high expectations.
To the guy that said Dirt was their best album, Facelift is their best one.
Regardless, “A Looking in View” is a great fucking song.
Even though its actually an EP, Jar of Flies is the best. When you write, record, and mix a number one album in…..9 days or whatever (with a brand new bassist) you are at the top of your game!!! BGWTB was better than anyone expected and now that the pieces are in place, many people are going to forget about the Smoked Pumpkins….sorry to say but Billy Corgan is actually a bitch….who the fuck names an album Oceania. Fuckin fag is worse than creed.
I’ve been waiting for this news to appear for so long. I can’t wait for the album to drop
“.sorry to say but Billy Corgan is actually a bitch….who the fuck names an album Oceania. Fuckin fag is worse than creed.”
Woah. Woah. Woah.
Woah.
Woah.
Let’s not go crazy.
Wow. I really don’t understand some of your tastes. Oceania is terrible. And saying that it’s better that King Animal is pretty ridiculous, but to each his own I guess.
At least Oceania expresses true emotions, fuckface.
What the fuck does KA express?
Emotional interpretation in music and lyrics are subjective to the listener.
I’m sorry you’re a groveling Billy Corgan cocksniffer, but Oceania sounds like typical modern day pop rock compared to BGWTB and King Animal. Smashing Pumpkins had something when they had the chemistry of their original members. Not Billy’s new solo material that he’s masquerading as Smashing Pumpkins. It’s just as poppy as Cornell’s solo material.
Deviate,
I just see more emotional rawness in the songs on Oceania. Pinwheels, Violet Rays, Panopticon, One Diamond One Heart, there are real stories there of heartbreak and lost love that make for great songs. This is coming from someone who hated most of the Teargarden songs.
I’m not saying I think King Animal sucks, there are songs I like on it, songs that I think are decent, and songs that I don’t like. I just prefer Oceania. I can basically listen to that album all the way through and only skip like 1 song. When I put on King Animal now I seem to gravitate towards just listening to 4-5 songs.
Okay guys, now tour the U.S. like Soundgarden’s doing.
Totally gonna see them if/when they do.
The upcoming album is going to be so great. I predict they’ll go the path they have since the beginning and come out with something that sounds entirely different from their other albums but still great.
This is so exciting I can’t wait until we get a solid release date.
I hope they get some publicity like Soundgarden has recently but maybe not to the extent (ha as if they would anyway they always get overshadowed by other acts)
It’s nice to see they’re still going strong.
Rock on AIC! \m/
i guess i just dont have much in common with you guys on here… King Animal reigns supreme and is an utterly amazing album top to bottom, through and through. but i guess it might be a good thing you guys arent into it if you actually enjoy new SP. makes me feel even better about my taste!!
Deviate,
Iha and D’arcy had nothing to do with Corgan being able to achieve great things musically. He essentially recorded all of the parts on Siamese Dream barring the drums. The Zwan album is further proof of that, with it being better than at least a couple Smashing Pumpkins albums. The one original Pumpkin who elevates Corgan musically is Jimmy Chamberlin, but Corgan can still make good music without him. The drumming just isn’t as good, unfortunately. I could give a shit if something has a poppy vibe to it, if it sounds good then great. Oceania sounds good, just like the poppier songs on Euphoria Morning were great.
King Animal has a couple of amazing songs (A Thousand Days Before and Bones of Birds) along with some other good ones, but too much of it seems to lack adventure for me to consider it a four star great album.
Spoonman,
Acting as if your taste is better than anybody else’s here is self righteous. I’m not saying my taste is better than anyone else’s, I’m just explaining my view point/opinion. If you are passionate about King Animal and don’t like Oceania/or merely prefer King Animal over Oceania it would be better to explain your thoughts on both albums than saying that.
You all know this,
But this made my fucking day…
YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES YES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I know what you mean, Brett, and I respect that. I just think the earlier Smashing Pumpkins material had more emotion/power as well as dynamics that that of this “brand new bag” Billy has. I can say the same for a few of the songs on King Animal, but I feel like it’s a more complex album overall compared to Oceania when comparing the final products. Maybe it’s just because there’s such a huge 16 year gap since Soundgarden’s last album, and it sounds like picking up where they left off, which was a sound that I liked. Rather than evolving into something that sounds completely unlike what Soundgarden sounded like. Which is what Billy thinks everyone should do. Never sound the same. Like playing for a different audience with every release.
Man I listened to a couple of songs on oceania and thought I was listening to elevator music, and you call that better than king animal. Please!!…king animal has variety and more creativity over any of the bands who reunited.
Deviate,
I respect your views, good comment.
pa,
Listen to Oceania in full before judging it, at least a few times. I’ve listened to both King Animal and Oceania more times than I can count.
wasnt trying to be self righteous, well maybe i was im not sure. im just so frustrated by the KA hate thats all. im having a hard time relating and i guess i really dont even want to… im just gonna try and stop bitching. i do think that people were expecting too much out of King Animal and couldnt be pleased with what it was. sorry for constantly coming off like a dick about this!! it kinda seems like i take the KA hate personally haha just because i love it so much. Been Away Too Long-great rocker that never fails to send my blood pressure through the roof and what all openers should be. Non-State Actor is a clever blend of new and old SG that makes me feel like a fucking giant when its blasting through my car. By Crooked Steps took awhile to grow on me (actually until i saw it live at JKL) but now i cant get enough of it mainly due to Cornell’s weathered vocals that i find to be perfect for new SG. A Thousand Days Before is a song i wake up to almost daily and makes me feel sunshine even at night haha. Blood On The Valley Floor is exactly what i thought it would be and KA needed a track like this to connect it to old school KA plus Chris’s vocals make me feel like im on top of a mountain. Bones of Birds is great because of the dark trippy aspect and though i would never pick it for a single its definitely perfect for late night zoning out. Taree is probably my favorite on the album because i relate to it lyrically through and through plus its perfectly weird SG. Attrition has probably earned me a few speeding tickets that will be coming in the mail shortly, this song just let me know they are still having fun with music and at the end of the day SG just straight up knows how to rock. Black Saturday is another one i relate to totally lyrically, sometimes its like Chris can get inside my head and speak for me, plus the trippy bridge hypnotizes me every single time. Halfway There is a song i didnt like immediately because i thought it was out of place but once i accepted it for what it is as art i fell in love with it too, dont be mad a song for what it is not but instead embrace the art for what it is. Worse Dreams is great because of how dark it is. i cant tell you how many late nights already that has been blaring in my car as i fly down the 101. Eyelid’s Mouth is my other favorite on the album besides Taree because the chorus is pretty much the embodiment of my kinda rock and roll plus the phaser on the second verse just knocks it out of the park. and what better way to end but with Rowing. everyone i have shown this song too has fallen in love with it and lyrically this is what music should be. too many songs glorify having it easy and just partying all day, but what about an anthem for us who have to bust our asses to survive day in and day out? thats what rowing is and it keeps me going through demanding stretches at work. overall i love the production and the fact King Animal is not over compressed. you can also tell they spent a lot of time adding layers and thinking through song structure.
so as you can tell i love this album and here is why. sorry for getting defensive/assholeish…
Wow, NuChains has really been working hard. Dirt will always be their best album, to me.
I tried but I can’t. Corgans voice just doesn’t do it for me from an emotional point of view, it just doesn’t. It’s just too whiny for me but i do respect your opinion.
Wow!
40 posts since 4:20PM – EST
I love it.
AIC Forever
^^^^4:20PM
i love it
What I love about these guys is everyone of their albums sound completely different, yet they still have the Alice sound in them. Idk how to explain it but they can do something not many artists can. I also love how they are not pretentious. No shit talking to other bands about “who’s real and who’s not”, no politics shoved down fan’s throats, just humility. Their like STP but better because they’re sober.
^^^sobriety has nothing to do with it..plus i must say AIC and STP made their best music when they were FAR from sober
@spoonman oh definitely, but I never have to worry about Alice showing up an hour late to a show because Jerry got drunk, or something like that. I love both bands very much though
I fully agree with spoonman. King Animal is such a dynamic record.There are so many layers to it both vocally and instrumentally. I think the reason why a lot of SG fans dislike it so much is due to the fact it is not nostalgic enough for them. I love the record personally. BGWTB is a good record as well but I would love to hear more of William this time around and maybe an instrumental track. This is great news. I cannot wait.
Awesome news!!! can’t wait to hear it. Hopefully more details will start finding their way to the surface soon.
Yes! Doing my happy dance!
Awesome, can’t wait to hear it. I am interested to see if it will be a departure from BGWTB. Meaning, Jerry Cantrell had the majority of lead vocals. Duvall sang lead a couple of songs on his own, but on the others it felt like his vocals were turned down compared to Jerry’s when they did the dual harmonization.
BGWTB is probably my third fav album by AIC. it sits behind Tripod and Dirt, althou if EPs were thrown in the mix, itd be probably on the 4th position.
Tripod
Jar Of Flies
Dirt
Black Gives Way to Blue
Facelift
Sap
However, I still think it came out better than SG’s KA. I like KA and probably as much as BadMotorFinger, but it surely didnt beat SuperUknown or Down On The Upside. I think KA lacks the mood/atmosphere of the previous two albums and the mid part in the album came out flat, plus Black Saturday demo is far more superb than the final cut.
Overall, BGWTB > KA > Oceania
Forget AIC/SG tour, let’s go back a few years and do the VR/AIC mini tour right!!! There was so much potential, granted it was after Libertad and before BGWTB….
I will go further with hopes: Alice In Chains/Pearl Jam/Soundgarden tour, obviously also Temple Of The Dog! Ahah
Shaun,
I’m not in love with King Animal actually because I don’t think it moves the sound forward enough. The nostalgic aspects I’m actually not as big on. My problem with the songs on the album I’m not big on is they aren’t daring enough, they sound like playing it safe. I really love my favorites on the album though.
YES DOWNLOAD FEST, YES RIO……EAST COAST DATES ASAP!!!!! PUUHHHLLEEAAZE…Oh…and another Vegas show too!!!!
These guys have never had a bad album.
I hate Billy Corgan so much that I refused to listen to Oceania. Dammit, I’m going to have to listen to it now.
Hoping for a more stripped down sound this time around, akin to their 1995 self-titled record. As great as I thought Black Gives Way to Blue was, the album sounded a bit too “metal” for their own good.
I’m w mikewails and take it farther…….hardly a bad song imo (excepting their early glam days)
Very excited about this. You guys should check out COMES WITH THE FALL, the band William DuVall was in before AIC. I highly recommend the album “Beyond the Last Light”. Listen to “Pale Horse Rider” and “White Hot”.
FIRSTLY I THINK THIS WEBSITE SOULD BE TAKEN OFF THE WEB ITS NOW 2012 WE HAVE NO RESON TO EVEN BE LISSENING TO RUBISH ROCK MUSIC LET ALONE A WEBSITE TALKING ABOUT IT SECONDLY AIC JUST HAPPEN TO BE THE WORSE BAND POSSIBLE IN HISTORY AND THINK ITS JUST WRONG THAT SCUMY PEOPLE LIKE YOU LOT ARE LOOKING FOWARD TO THIS EVENT ONE WORD ..SAD !!!!!
Spoonman, your an idiot. Oceania is up there with Adore and the Machina albums. King Animal sounded like Soundgarden are too old to rock, and didn’t even touch Superunknown or Badmotorfinger. Also, Chris Cornell’s voice isn’t good anymore.
Boy, for someone who uses a mountain of immature profanity and genitalia-related insultery (me), there seems to be an inordinate amount of childish, completely uninformed backlash a la teenage-hipster-style regarding the excellent KING ANIMAL (many of you). The same people who praised the album two weeks ago are now squarely on the other side of fence because, true to adolescence, you have more fun tearing things down. Yes, you.
Right. Bieber is far more talented musically than any of the bands listed here.
I knew 2013 will be something
I am very happy to see Brett stand up for SP and for Oceania. The people who don’t like Oceania just don’t get SP in my opinion and they probably never really liked the band or understood the SP spirit. Sure now they’ll say shit like “At least when the original members where there.. and blah blah blah” but I’m pretty sure most of those people never were true fans of the band.
I agree that even though I love Soundgarden and I appreciate “King Animal”, BGWTB and Oceania are definitely stronger albums. I prefer Oceania to BGWTB though but other than that I pretty much agree all the way with what Brett said.
I cannot wait for this new Alice in Chains albums. And like someone said earlier, I hope William has more moments of him singing alone. He’s proven he is awesome on BGWTB!
Aaaaall good people!
I gotta add I find it kinda cool that Oceania is brought up pretty much in every thread concerning a new album for either PJ, AIC or SG. It generates passion.
Violet Rays and Pinwheels are the best songs of the new decade up to now IMO.
Awesome news. Cant wait to hear it.
I hope they will tour the hell out of it.
@Outshined,get ur own name
So it’s OK to slate Thin Lizzy, but new Alice In Chains is cool?
“Black Gives Way To Blue” was nothing more than a glorified Cantrell solo album with an AiC sticker – It was just on a par with “Degredatin Trip” & “Boggy Depot”, nothing more, nothing less.
Cantrell may have been the songwriter, but it was Staley’s voice that really gave them the edge, and it was the only thing that ever separated Cantrell’s solo material from AiC material.
@UberNaw,the original line up was the best but it was never just laynes voice it was the harmonized vocals of layne and jerry that made the band great
it may not have been dirt/jar of flies but black gives way to blue is still a great album.
@grungy BGWTB was their worst album? really? I have reason to believe you are deaf
I am with the King Animal > Oceania crowd although I do like the latter album a lot. Maybe Soundgarden could have pushed boundaries a bit more on this record but they basically did move the sound forward, to me KA sounds like Down On the Upside’s blend of loud and soft, less outwardly experimental but with a bit more focus and cohesion, there are lots of layers but more of the tracks have a punch to them. Maybe this does involve SG dipping back to the old bag of tricks a bit, but they aren’t the first great band to do this. Non-State Actor is the prototype for new SG, dynamism blended with power more seamlessly than anything on DOTU, which had to alternate these track by track.
Also, BGWTB is a great record but I don’t know why this album escapes the same sorts of criticisms that KA gets: Jerry’s guitar sounds are basically the same as they ever were, which is a good thing but not exactly fresh and novel. I actually really like Duvall’s voice and guitar in the band, maybe that’s why BGWTB seems so new and shiny to people.
It took all band member various contributions to make all of the AIC albums as great as they are. Sure what one likes best varies by personal taste, but every person who has been in that been is and was talented. Looking forward to another album.
And interestingly, I agree with Iso^^^^. Why does everyone want put everything down all of the time? Sometimes all of the BIG ragging based opinions make one look very SMALL.
IMO BGWTB was really a collection of the styles from each of their previous albums. All the songs were really good and it is definitely one of my fav albums. They covered both their acoustic and hard rock roots. Structurally I think the album was alot like Tripod which had some heavy songs but also some songs filled with despair and gloom – which is why I really seem to connect to the album.
BGWTB wasn’t as much their comeback album as it was the logical evolution of them as a band to announce some of them made it and others didn’t and the music reflected that. All of their albums are great about capturing a piece of time in their lives as a band and putting it to music – Facelift – they were all young, they sung about relationships and that type of pain – it had a younger fuck you type attitude. SAP also explored complexities of relationships and lyrically it displayed an evolution in their songwriting, Dirt was pure pain – whether it was from drugs and their effects on the body and pshyce/failed relationships – really raw and powerful. Tripod is just dark and damn right depressing – capturing that moment – a low point in the members personal lives and putting it to music. I don’t think I have heard any album as dark and bleak as that.
I can’t wait to hear the next album – Honestly I hope its pretty epic – 70+ minutes would be great – a double album would be better.
And to the guy who was crapping on BGWTB and comparing it to Boggy Depot and Deg Trip – fuck you man!!! Those two albums are amazing in their own right. Deg Trip is probably second to Tripod in terms of pure depression and the bleak outlook on life. Really gut wrenching and ballsy songwriting and lyrics – nothing like the cookie cutter bullshit out these days.
And Corgan turned me off to the pumpkins because he runs his mouth to much and his nasally whiny voice just gets real old. For those who trash Alice in Chains calling them the Jerry Cantrell band – Corgan is capitalizing on the smashing pumpkins name way more – he is the only one left in that band and he surrounds himself with younger musicians because he has some complex about being older so having those younger band mates probably eases that.
Lots of typos that got spel corrected there…ooops.^^^^
@ GenXLady:
“Why does everyone want to put everything down all of the time?”
Peace
AIC Forever
Oh and is there anyone else here who is dying to know the title of the new record? I don’t know why this is so important to me — but it is.
Peace
@GwynnKatie…
. Don’t get me wrong, I love reading everyone’s thought out opinions. That is really interesting stuff, and everyone has a right to their opinions. It’s the tear it down, “they suuuuck” sort of stuff that gets annoying to me.
My main opinion? I am just glad all of these older bands are putting out music still!
^ Exactly. Glad they’re still around, and still releasing new music.
Life is good.
This is their 7th album- not their 5th. Count much…
Including EP’s, correct.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRCATiP3cQw&feature=g-high-u
Can’t wait! I hope AIC do a real world tour for their upcoming record, and visit many countries that they have yet to set foot on!
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