43
DuVall has become voice of Alice in Chains
By John Benson
The deck was definitely stacked against Alice in Chains, which for roughly a decade remained on hiatus until original vocalist Layne Staley died of heroin addiction in 2002.
However, in 2006, the Jerry Cantrell-led outfit decided to move ahead, naming William DuVall as its new singer, ostensibly replacing the much-loved Staley whose vocals defined not only the hard-rock band but in a sense the grunge genre itself.
This year, DuVall marks his 10th year in Alice in Chains. That’s actually longer than Staley worked with the group. Overall, the new singer toured with the band for three years before recording 2009 album “Black Gives Way to Blue” and 2013’s “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.”
Looking back, DuVall feels as though the outfit handled its second chapter in proper fashion.
“I think several years of touring before we ever stepped into a studio was essential,” said DuVall, calling from Minneapolis. “We built up our own chemistry as a unit, which we then discovered after jumping on stage after stage night after night was unique. That momentum carried into the studio. So it was a completely natural process that is hard to see how it could have played out any other way.”
While “Black Gives Way to Blue” had its moments, it pales in comparison to 2013’s “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here,” which for diehard fans of Alice in Chains sounded as though it could have been recorded in 1993.
From the “Jar of Flies”-esque “Voices” and the grunge-y “Hollow” to the bass-heavy “Stone” and the mellow “Choke,” the band released what could easily be viewed as one of its high watermarks.
Furthermore, you’d have to go back to Van Halen adding Sammy Hagar to find another rock outfit with a new singer that equaled or eclipsed its past creative output and success. That’s a testament to “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here,” which DuVall chalks up to experience.
“‘Black Gives Way to Blue’ was extremely fraught not only with internal emotions and issues but a lot of external noise,” DuVall said. “There was sort of a debate raging outside about us with everyone saying everything from ‘How dare they?’ to ‘Go for it. Please do it.’
“There was a lot of that, and part of our effort was to shut out as much of that external noise as possible and get down to what we felt we had to do.”
Alice in Chains will be in Warren on Tuesday for show at Packard Music Hall. Fans should be ready to hear some new tunes as well as the group’s hits such as “Man in the Box,” “Rooster” and “Would?”
While one would think after a decade in the band performing the classic-era Alice in Chains tunes would be easy, DuVall said the opposite is true. He points to songs such as “Again,” “Them Bones” and “Rooster” as not only physically demanding but also emotionally challenging. Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way.
“All I can say is that it’s been a good 10 years, and as far as my role, I think that’s going to be an ever-evolving thing,” DuVall said. “We’re just going to keep moving forward.”