Hailed by Spin as “one of the catchiest songs of Alice In Chains’ history,” lead single “Check My Brain” has blanketed rock and alternative radio and rocketed straight to No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock Songs Chart and No. 1 on the R&R Rock Chart.
The riff-driven track appears on the band’s highly anticipated new album, Black Gives Way To Blue (Virgin/EMI), available September 29th. Playboy gave the disc four stars, calling it “Alice In Chains’ Back In Black,” Revolver praised the record for its “dense tapestry of heavy guitars and soaring melodies” and Reuters wrote “the heavy guitars, submerged vocals and thunderous rhythm section assures fans that the band has lost none of its menace.”
The “Check My Brain” video premiered yesterday on MTV2’s “Unleashed,” airing every hour on the hour. It also debuted on MTVu, as well as on MTVMusic.com, MTV2.com and MTVu.com. The clip was directed by Alex Courtes, whose credits include U2’s “Vertigo,” Wolfmother’s “Woman” and the White Stripes’ “Seven Nation Army.” The video can be seen here:
The band (guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, guitarist/vocalist William DuVall, drummer Sean Kinney, bassist Mike Inez) has been previewing songs from the album during their current sold-out buzz tour, which wraps September 30th at the Avalon in Los Angeles. Alice In Chains will celebrate the release of Black Gives Way To Blue with a special two-night performance on “Jimmy Kimmel Live” on September 29th and 30th. Next up is a headlining tour of Europe, set to kick off November 12th in Glasgow.
Tour dates are as follows:
Sept. 15 Toronto, ON The Opera House - SOLD OUT
Sept. 16 Cleveland, OH House of Blues - SOLD OUT
Sept. 17 Detroit, MI St. Andrew’s Hall - SOLD OUT
Sept. 19 Chicago, IL House of Blues - SOLD OUT
Sept. 20 Milwaukee, WI The Rave - SOLD OUT
Sept. 21 Minneapolis, MN First Ave - SOLD OUT
Sept. 24 Seattle, WA Moore Theater - SOLD OUT
Sept. 26 Portland, OR Roseland Grill - SOLD OUT
Sept. 28 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore - SOLD OUT
Sept. 30 Los Angeles, CA The Avalon - SOLD OUT
Nov. 12 Glasgow, Scotland Barrowland
Nov. 13 Birmingham, UK Birmingham Academy
Nov. 14 Manchester, UK Manchester Academy
Nov. 16 London, UK The Forum
Nov. 17 London, UK The Forum
Nov. 19 Tilburg, Holland 013
Nov. 20 Antwerp, Belgium Trix Zaal
Nov. 21 Weisbaden, Germany Schlachthof
Nov. 23 Dortmund, Germany FZW
Nov. 24 Prague, Czech Rep. Lucerna
Nov. 25 Warsaw, Poland Stodola
Nov. 27 Budapest, Hungary Petofi Csarnok
Nov. 29 Vienna, Austria Gasometer
Nov. 30 Munich, Germany Thearterfabrick
Dec. 2 Milan, Italy Alcatraz
Dec. 3 Fribourg, Switzerland Fri-Son
Dec. 4 Paris, France Bataclan
Alice in Chains have just posted their newest single, “Check My Brain,” online. The single comes off the highly anticipated album Black Gives Way To Blue - scheduled for release on September 29th. Check it out:
Alice In Chains is back… here’s the first look at the band since Layne Staley died:
Hmmm, interesting…
ALICE IN CHAINS are giving fans a sneak preview of their highly anticipated upcoming album BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE (Virgin/EMI) by posting a brand-new song online. The seven-minute-long track, titled “A Looking In View,” is currently available for free download on www.aliceinchains.com or for pure listening enjoyment on www.myspace.com/aliceinchains. A companion video for the song is forthcoming and its trailer is available on the band’s official website. “A Looking In View” will appear on BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE, in stores September 29th.
About “A Looking In View,” Alice In Chains vocalist/guitarist Jerry Cantrell says, “The song basically speaks to any number of things that keep you balled up inside. A cell of our own making with an unlocked door that we choose to remain in. Focusing our attention inward instead of reaching out to a much larger world. I think this is common to us all. It’s funny how hard we fight to hang on to a bone we can’t pull through a hole in the fence, or how difficult it is to put down the bag of bricks and move on.”
On July 18th, Alice In Chains will be sharing the stage with Kid Rock at Comerica Park in Detroit, to be followed by festival shows with Metallica overseas, including an August 1 date at Marlay Park in Dublin and an August 2 show at the Sonisphere Festival at Knebworth. They’ll wrap up the international trip with a string of headlining dates, set to kick off August 4th with a sold-out performance at London’s Scala. On August 22, they’ll join Tool and Linkin Park for the first-ever Epicenter show at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA, to be followed by a headlining tour set to kick off September 4th at the 9:30 Club in Washington, DC. Tickets for the U.S. shows will be available Friday, July 10th. For information, please visit www.aliceinchains.com.
BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE is the band’s first new studio release in more than 10 years. The quartet (guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney, bassist Mike Inez and vocalist/guitarist William DuVall) recorded the album with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters) at Studio 606 in Northridge, CA and Henson Studios in Hollywood.
Over the course of their remarkable career, Alice In Chains has garnered multiple Grammy nominations, sold more than 17 million albums worldwide, wrote and recorded 11 top 10 hit singles and stood atop Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart with two No. 1 records.
Tour dates are as follows (additional shows to be confirmed):
Date City Venue
July 18 Detroit, MI Comerica Park (with Kid Rock)
Aug 1 Dublin, IE Marlay Park
Aug 2 Stevenage, GB Knebworth House - Sonisphere
Aug 4 London, GB Scala
August 6 Cologne, DE Essigfabrik
August 8 Berlin, DE Columbia Club
August 10 Hamburg, DE Grunspan
August 12 Amsterdam, NL Melkweg
August 22 Pomona, CA Epicenter
Sept. 4 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
Sept. 5 Philadelphia, PA Theatre of Living Arts
Sept. 7 Boston, MA Paradise Rock Club
Sept. 8 New York, NY The Fillmore
Sept. 15 Toronto, ON The Opera House
Sept. 16 Cleveland, OH House of Blues
Sept. 19 Chicago, IL House of Blues
Sept. 20 Milwaukee, WI The Rave
Sept. 21 Minneapolis, MN First Ave
Sept. 26 Portland, OR Roseland Grill
Sept. 28 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
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