Layne Staley

A complete album-by-album guide to the career of this month’s Metal Hammer cover stars!

Find the full story behind the Alice In Chains reunion, the creation of their incredible new album ‘Black Gives Way To Blue’ and life after Layne in this month’s issue of Metal Hammer – on sale now.

he four members of Alice in Chains are always amazed every time someone says, "Wow, you guys sound like Alice in Chains!"

The pioneering grunge band has just released "Black Gives Way to Blue" -- it's first studio album since singer Layne Staley died from a heroin and cocaine overdose in 2002 -- and fans are understandably playing a game of compare and contrast.

With his scruffy blond goatee and pain-laced baritone, Staley may have been the face and voice of Alice in Chains, but in many ways, guitarist Jerry Cantrell has been the unsung heart of it, writing much of the band's catalogue and singing half of the droning harmonies that would become group's trademark.

These days, when Cantrell shares the mic with new vocalist William DuVall, the blend is uncannily familiar. DuVall's voice can sound eerily like Staley's, but instead of being borne of desperation, it suggests a certain soulfulness that becomes more apparent on live acoustic tracks.

We caught up with DuVall and Cantrell, along with bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney, as they shot the video for their current single, "Check My Brain," on a Hollywood soundstage. The song is currently No. 1 on both Billboard's Rock Chart and Alternative Chart.