# New Alice In Chains- Your thoughts? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 18, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255 "2006-08-18T18:00:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 11\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/1 "2006-08-18T18:00:37Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/2 "2006-08-18T18:54:46Z")
> [@Kitchen Wench](#): > > Is it still AIC without Lane? Nope. Not for me, it isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/3 "2006-08-18T22:25:33Z")
> [@Kitchen Wench](#): > > So what do my fellow Alice In Chains fans think of the new singer? Is it still AIC without Lane? No, it definately is not. Alice in Chains is Layne Staley & Jerry Cantrell. They are the essential. Jerry mainly writes. Layne mainly sings. I’d listen, but the whole time I’d be comparing Duvall to Staley. ---
**Author:** ![Kitchen\_Wench](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/f08c70/32.png) [@Kitchen\_Wench](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kitchen_Wench)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 10:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/4 "2006-08-18T22:43:04Z")
Now that this thread has had another reply (so I’m not bumping), I’d like to acknowledge the fact that I misspelled _Layne_ **repeatedly**. 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. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2006, 11:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/5 "2006-08-18T23:02:48Z")
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… ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/6 "2006-08-19T04:24:17Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > 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. ---
**Author:** ![Dinsdale](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/97f17d/32.png) [@Dinsdale](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dinsdale)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2006, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/7 "2006-08-19T20:38:23Z")
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. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 12:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/8 "2006-08-20T00:12:18Z")
I wasn’t even interested when Cantrell sang. I’m certainly not interested in the new guy. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 12:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/9 "2006-08-20T00:22:10Z")
I wasn’t even interested when Cantrell sang. I’m certainly not interested in the new guy. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/10 "2006-08-20T00:23:39Z")
I’m so not interested that I thought I’d double post to emphasize how uninteresting I find all this. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [August 20, 2006, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/new-alice-in-chains-your-thoughts/369255/11 "2006-08-20T03:13:01Z")
> [@Mahaloth](#): > > 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. 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.