Alice In Chains - Club Nokia - 5/31/12

Courtesy of The Recording Academy/WireImage.com, photo by Kevin Winter

If the riffs are the same and the vocals sound strikingly familiar, is it still the same band? Last night at the Eighth Annual MusiCares MAP Fund Benefit Concert benefit at Club Nokia, the reformed Alice In Chains put that question to the test.

After singer Layne Staley died of a heroin overdose in 2002, people thought that the Seattle-derived grunge and metal band were finished. But founding guitarist and main songwriter Jerry Cantrell had other ideas. He reformed the act in 2006 and in 2009 they put out their first studio album in 15 years, Black Gives Way To Blue, with William DuVall taking Staley's place. The album was a commercial success, and introduced the hard rock outfit to a different generation of fans who may not have been as familiar with their early material.

Diehards may dismiss this incarnation, sans Staley and founding bassist Mike Starr, who also died of an overdose in 2011, but for our money as long as they've got Cantrell's brooding riffs and expansive guitar textures -- along with the dual melodic vocal harmonies that define the group's sound -- they're still Alice In Chains.

Now sober nine years, Cantrell along with Neil Lasher were honored by the MusiCares MAP Fund for their commitment to helping addicts with the addiction and recovery process. After a somber acceptance speech where he addressed his stormy past before telling the audience that "we really miss Layne and Mike," Cantrell led Alice In Chains through a five-song acoustic set that was reminiscent of their original Unplugged setup from 1996, down to the way the candles were carefully placed around them.

Replacing a singer whose voice is so intricately associated with a band is daunting, but not impossible. This incarnation of Alice In Chains has been performing together for half a decade, and it's clear that DuVall is up to the task.

Location Info

Venue

Map

Club Nokia

800 W. Olympic Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

Category: Music

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