Alice In Chains

Rainier Fog

BMG

Seattle icons in search of a third wind The rock ’n’ roll battlefield is littered with the corpses of bands who have struggled to replace key members, with only a few seemingly going onto bigger and better things with new blood.

When Alice In Chains regrouped with new vocalist and guitarist William DuVall following the death of Layne Staley, whose tortured voice perfectly encapsulated the darkness of the band’s output, few could have imagined that they’d hit past heights. But in Black Gives Way To Blue the band equalled anything from the heralded Seattle scene’s 90s heyday. Its follow-up The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here had its moments, but nearly a decade on from that victorious renaissance Rainier Fog really needed to summon up some fresh lightning.

The One You Know and the title track deliver kicks to the temple with that sinister, familiar tone and DuVall and Jerry Cantrell’s fraught dual vocals. The slower acoustic strum of Fly is full of soulful menace, while the self-styled Drone is augmented by Jerry Cantrell’s minimalistic but penetrating lead play. Though there’s a slightly monotone dip mid-album there are enthralling moments of joy from the guitarists that penetrate the murky atmosphere here, not least the subtle melodies underneath Maybe and the debilitating churn of So Far Under. Finally the nefarious groove of Never Fade sets up the type of simple but effective chorus that the band do so exceptionally before All I Am wrings every last bit of remaining emotion from the album as it slowly carves itself across the soul like a knife.

Over a quarter of a century on from when their home city ruled the musical world, Alice In Chains continue to be a going concern where others have faltered and Rainier Fog shows they still have a dark power to excite and enthrall. [AR] Standout track: Never Fade For fans of: Soundgarden, Tool