Looks like they’ve picked up a new singer- William Duvall. Part of me is glad that AIC is back in action, but I don’t think I’ll be able to get into them without Lane Staley (RIP). Duvall does a decent job of singing my old faves, but cannot hold a candle to Lane. I almost think it’s sacriligious for anyone but Lane singing Would? or Nutshell, etc. But I’m willing to give the guys a try with new material.
So what do my fellow Alice In Chains fans think of the new singer? Is it still AIC without Lane?
BTW- I caught the new AIC on a Heart concert on VH1. The dude that opened the set with Would? was not William Duvall & he sounded f-ing TERRIBLE! Then a black guy (Duvall) did the rest of their short performance. When I heard that AIC was going on tour, I shouted, “NOOOOOO!!!” at my car radio, thinking the group would be fronted by the white guy I’d seen on TV. Then I did a bit of research & found that the new singer was the black guy who was pretty good… Don’t know who the white dude was, but I’m SO glad they didn’t stick with him.
Now that this thread has had another reply (so I’m not bumping), I’d like to acknowledge the fact that I misspelled Laynerepeatedly. Christ, I feel like a dolt. :smack:
And I’m with you, Mahaloth… I’ll always compare any substitute to the real thing. Makes me wish they came up with a new name for the band instead of still calling themselves AIC.
The other guy singing with AIC during the Heart VH-1 concert was Phil Anselmo formerly of Pantera and a pretty amazing vocalist in his own right until, like many other frontmen, he ran off the rails with substance abuse issues.
I believe Duvall was the frontman for Days of the New ("I finally found a reason, I don’t need an excuse; I have some time on my hands - You are the one to abuse…or something like that). I think he has a great voice - I think he had some problems with crystal meth and that led to DotN fading. Let’s see if Jerry can keep this frontman on the straight and narrow.
Do I wish Layne was still alive and with AIC? Absolutely - Down in a Hole, Rooster and a few others are truly amazing songs. But things move on and Jerry couldn’t make the charts with his solo work and so reviving AIC is a logical career move. Gotta put food on the table.
Jerry is a brilliant guitarist (and a damn good vocalist, too) so if he can make this work, more power to him…
Jerry is a great vocalist…but the real problem isn’t with him. Layne was simply an unbelievable singer. Not a great guy, but an amazing singer and just not replaceable.
It’s pointless. Reforming Alice in Chains for a tour is okay…Jerry is half the band. If they record a new album, however, that’s just lame.
Imagine if John, George, and Ringo released a Beatles album without Paul’s involvement.
Imagine 15 tracks of “Over Now” by AIC. Nice track…but we need Layne.
My buddy just lent me an A/C album to listen to this a.m. - Stoned and Dethroned.
Never knew them before.
Just about 1 time thru and it sounds pretty good.
Gonna have to give it a few more listens.
I’m not seeing the difference. Cantrell was writing just about all of the band’s music at the end - Staley was just doing some of the lyrics - so it probably doesn’t matter if it’s Alice in Chains or Cantrell solo. That said, I’m not interested in this band. I might try to see them if Maynard James Keenan was handling the vocals, but whether they’re in Alice in Chains or not, I don’t like any of the Staley imitators out there.