Alice In Chains - Check My Brain

The loss of a vocalist is difficult at the best of times. It often leads to disbanding or for most, follow up material that doesn't quite match up whether vocally or musically to the material previously released. Alice In Chains however, have a bigger job than most being one of the biggest bands of the Grunge era, achieving two number one albums and six Grammy Award nominations before the death of Layne Staley in 2002.

'Check My Brain' is the second single from the hotly anticipated new album 'Black Gives Way To Blue' with Alice In Chains now fronted by Comes With The Fall vocalist William DuVall and fans will be happy to know that DuVall is very much like Staley in his vocal delivery and with that in mind, not much has changed. 'Check My Brain' is very much balanced around an extremely cool guitar riff that makes it groove much like old Alice In Chains would, much like alot of old school grunge bands did and while this is not my cup of tea at all, I can see why any old-school rock fan would appreciate this because the talent and substance in this band still stand strong and personally, i'm hoping bands like Alice In Chains can come back and force music fans to look towards older bands to see where newer bands gain their influences.

So, to round it all up; If you liked Alice In Chains before or if you are into that older grunge rock sound but haven't found any new releases that are doing it to an exceptional standard, then check out 'Check My Brain' and the album 'Black Gives Way To Blue'. If however, you are like me and you aren't into this, then maybe it's best to stick to your Take Thats Greatest Hits album because this isn't offering anything groundbreaking from their previous material.

3/5