Black Gives Way to Blue is the fourth studio album by Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 2009, on the 17th anniversary of the release of their second album, Dirt. It is their first record without original lead singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002, and their first album with new vocalist and rhythm guitarist William DuVall sharing vocal duties with lead guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, who sings lead vocals on most of the songs.
The title track is a tribute to Staley featuring Elton John on piano. This is the first Alice in Chains album released on Virgin Records and their first venture away from Columbia, who handled all of their previous releases.
The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the RIAA on May 26, 2010, with shipments exceeding 500,000 copies in the U.S. and over 1 million copies sold worldwide. Check My Brain and A Looking in View were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2010 and 2011, respectively.
The span of nearly fourteen years between the self-titled album and Black Gives Way to Blue, marks the longest gap between studio albums in Alice in Chains‘ career. The band reunited in early 2006, with DuVall as their new singer.
By April 2007, Alice in Chains had been writing and demoing songs for the album, but the band did not show further signs of progress until October 2008, when they announced that they had begun recording with producer Nick Raskulinecz in the studio.
The album was recorded at Foo Fighters‘ Studio 606 in Northridge and at the Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, produced by Raskulinecz and Alice in Chains. The band did not have a record label at the time of the recording and the album was funded by Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney.
The writing and recording process was completed on Cantrell‘s 43rd birthday, on March 18, 2009. Musically, the album sees the band return to the heavy metal/hard rock style of Dirt and Facelift instead of the murky dark mood that their third album showcased with more grunge-fuzz pedal elements; some songs are noted for their acoustic elements. It also includes songs which Cantrell described as “the heaviest he’s ever written”.
Tracklist:
- All Secrets Known
- Check My Brain
- Last of My Kind
- Your Decision
- A Looking in View
- When the Sun Rose Again
- Acid Bubble
- Lesson Learned
- Take Her Out
- Private Hell
- Black Gives Way to Blue
iTunes bonus tracks - Black Gives Way to Blue (Piano Mix)
- Your Decision (Live)
Alice in Chains
Jerry Cantrell: lead and backing vocals, lead guitar
William DuVall: backing vocals, rhythm guitar, lead vocals in “Last of My Kind”
Mike Inez: bass, backing vocals
Sean Kinney: drums, percussion
Additional performers
Elton John: piano on “Black Gives Way to Blue”
Lisa Coleman: vibraphone on “Black Gives Way to Blue”
Chris Armstrong: tabla on “When the Sun Rose Again”
Stevie Black: string arrangement, performance, and engineering on “Your Decision” and “Private Hell”
Production
Produced by Nick Raskulinecz and Alice in Chains
Recorded by Paul Figueroa with additional engineering by Nick Raskulinecz, assisted by John Lousteau, Martin Cooke, and Kevin Mills
Mixed by Randy Staub
Mastered by Ted Jensen
Art direction by Alice in Chains & Matt Taylor
Artwork and design by Matt Taylor
Band photography by James Minchin III
Package interior photography by Rocky Schenck
Illustrations pages 7 & 11 by Emmanuel Polanco
Management by Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group and Susan Silver Management
