Alice in Chains thoughts...

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Rozy157

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Oct 23, 2003
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You know, I was pretty skeptical when Jerry was putting the band back together, but after watching the Decades Live show with Anselmo and William Duvall on vocals and I had such a rush of emotions it's really hard to describe. The hair was standing up on the back of my neck, but at the same time I was very sad. It really reminded me what a great band AIC was and what a waste it was to lose one of the most amazing rock vocalists of all time to a shit ass drug. God, what a great band that was...

I was in highschool from 91-94 when the Seattle sound hit, so I guess I tend to connect with that music on a little different level, especially since I grew up not far from where it all started. It makes me wonder when the "next big thing" is coming?

Anyway, I'm spinning "Facelift" right now and Cantrell's riffs are ripping my head off. I guess I'm curious to what the groups thoughts are regarding this.

Cheers
 
i am seeing them on july 4th in london, i cant wait, been listening to alice since 91, but never got to see them live......

its for sure going to be an emotional night, it will never be the same without layne, at the same time seeing jerry, sean and mike back together is gonna be awesome, i really miss aic, they got me through very hard times, it will be sad layne not being there, but i think the healing beings proper with alice being back...... i certainly feel i can listen to their abums again without feeling as bummed as i have been since 02

like i say its gonna be a crazy emotional night esp depending on what songs they play, but i cant wait

seeng jerry do his solo thing was cool enough, but the best parts of the night was when he was playing alice.....

man i hope they play dirt pretty much right through ;)
 
Alice In Chains are my absolute favorite band. I really only started to love them this past summer, but I actually had started listening them about a week before Layne died. I'm beyond thrilled that they are going back on tour but it is gonna be a little weird without Layne. After seeing the Decades Rock thing I was a little upset cause William DuVall seeemed to be struggling in Rooster and was a little off. I dont know whether it was because I'm so used to hearing the Layne versions or what but he just didnt sound too good i think. I actually really enjoyed Phil Anselmo doing Would though, I'm actually really curious to see how he'd sound on a few other of their songs.
 
Gawwwdd... Alice N Chains.. I was into them big time back inthe day .. went to see them live at Glasgow Barrowlands... oh those were the days :headbang:
 
Unfortunately, I don't share the reverence for AIC as much as everyone else around me seems to. I don't want this post to seem like I'm speaking ill of the dead, but that's not the case at all. These are simply my opinions of the band's live performances.

See, while I was introduced to them in 1991 simply by word of mouth (I was stationed in Japan at the time and picked up their CD, Facelift, on a lark), I didn't get to see them until 2 years later. One of the guys I was stationed with, as well as another friend of mine, had seen them opening for Van Halen 2 years prior and wasn't impressed with them.

I saw them at the Bren Events Center at the UC Irvine campus with Masters of Reality and, I think, Junkyard (the memory is a little hazy - this was 13 years ago). I was left truly unimpressed by the lethargic nature of the band's performance. I saw them again a few months later on the Lollapalooza tour of 1993. Their performance was a little better, but still unimpressive by any measure.

I was just left with the impression of a band that had no life in them onstage; and I've seen plenty of bands and artists that you would think would have put their better performance days behind them blow AIC completely out of the water, before and since.

This is not to say that I'm not a fan of the band's music. Their studio releases are some of my favorite albums. I think that in this case, Jerry should have just left AIC alone, or done something under a different name as this just doesn't ring true to me. :(
 
No life on onstage? Can't agree--my first concert in 1993, and it crushed
 
Another that has hit me lately, was while listening to the album "Dirt." I listened to the whole album the other day for the first time in years (probably since Layne died, if not earlier,) and if you really listen to the lyrics on that album it's almost terrifying when you consider how Layne met his demise. It's like he was laying the roadmap for the rest of his life because he knew how it would end. Heavy shit, man.
 
if you really listen to the lyrics on that album it's almost terrifying when you consider how Layne met his demise. It's like he was laying the roadmap for the rest of his life because he knew how it would end.
Click to expand...

He knew he was a drug addict, knew he was slowly commiting suicide and, like a lot of addicts did not prevent the worst case scenario from happening.
He wrote dark and haunting music because that is how he was living his life at times. At least for fans of the band he left his music behind to listen to.
 
I'm glad AIC is back in any incarnation. I just wish Jerry would've released his latest solo album before this reunion stuff. (looks like he's not going to release it at all now and I've been anxiously waiting for it to come out this summer)
 
Rozy157 said:
Another that has hit me lately, was while listening to the album "Dirt." I listened to the whole album the other day for the first time in years (probably since Layne died, if not earlier,) and if you really listen to the lyrics on that album it's almost terrifying when you consider how Layne met his demise. It's like he was laying the roadmap for the rest of his life because he knew how it would end. Heavy shit, man.
Click to expand...

for sure, thats the saddest thing bout it, swhy i havent been able to listen to dirt for a long long time, it was too depressing.....
 
AIC is one of my all time favorite bands, I went into a daze for a while when Layne died, heard the news on the radio and my heart just sunk. Such a shame. I havnt heard anything from the reformed band, but I doubt it will compare.
 
For the life of me, I don't know why I got rid of their third record. I just wasn't into it back in 96. Lately though, I've been yearning for early to mid-90s rock/metal. Especially Soundgarden (avoided them for years because of oversaturation, and Audioslave blow), Alice, early Pumpkins, Mad Season, Temple of the Dog, Screaming Trees, Pixies, etc. You used to be able to find copies of Facelift and 3-legged Dog anywhere for nothing. Not anymore, it seems.
 
I saw them tuesday night at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC and it was one of the best shows I've seen in ages. At one point I closed my eyes and listened to William Duvall, and I could have sworn it was Layne Staley. It kind of made me sad too, that Layne isn't here, because it seems so fucked up that drugs can undercut someones life. I really wish someone would have gotten into his head to show him what he was throwing away. Nevertheless, I though William Duvall sounded great, and he looks really cool too. Jerry even stagedived at the end and I got one of his guitar pics. I saw a dude who looked like Zack Wylde in the crowd, but I'm not too sure it was him. If anyone is thinking of going to see them on this tour, stop thinking and go. They played awesome and the spirit is still there. :headbang:
 
also, I cried when they played "would." When you listen to the lyrics at the end, it really hit me hard. That whole "Dirt" album as someone already mentioned is very haunting. It must've been hard for Layne to carry that around with him.
 
thanks for the review karina, cool to read it was so good, seen duvall with his own band and he semed a good frontman, goes without saying that no ones ever gonna come close to layne, but good to hear he's up to it....can't wait for this show, roll on july 4th.... know what u mean too, for me, if they play dirt or junkhead its gonna be pretty emotional
 
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