Continuing a band without a core member can leave a bad taste in the mouthes of fans (for example, the overwhelming negativity surrounding Chester Bennington replacing Scott Weiland in Stone Temple Pilots). However, for Alice in Chains their momentous and surprisingly successful comeback album, Black Gives Way To Blue was not only a stunning recreation of their signature sludgey, Black Sabbath influenced blend of alternative rock, but also gave a breathe of new life in the band.
The only thing more difficult than re-establishing an older band’s relevance in rock music is maintaining it through their music. Devil Put Dinosaurs Here didn’t exactly fail, but its evident that last time around, the revived 90’s juggernaut seemed much more believable.
Singles Hollow and Stone embody a perfect example of deep grit and showcase Jerry Cantrell’s exceptional ability to create screeching guitar hooks that have kept Alice In Chains a well established outfit for the entirety of its over 20 year career. The song Voices introduced a blues pop element not seen from Cantrell since Got Me Wrong wrapped around a killer chorus that shows some of his clever and even somewhat humorous lyrics saying “Everybody listen, voices in my head. Everybody listen, cause you’ll see what mine says.” While Choke ends the album on a triumphantly deep and dark tone telling the story of a broken man who couldn’t swallow his pride and continue to live his life.
However, this is where most of the album’s praiseworthiness comes to an end. After the glamorously sludge–blues based Voices ends, I found myself listening to songs like Low Ceiling and Hung on a Hook that presented bland repetition and uninspired edge spread across a post-grunge blueprint that overstayed its welcome well before Alice in Chains resurfaced. On the other hand, you have Phantomb Limb (new singer Will Duvall’s only creative contribution to the album) that seems like a slow and overtly boring Slayer clone while Hung On A Hook tells me that Jerry’s been listening to a little much Pantera.
Saving grace is found in the acoustic Scalpel, showing, that more often than not, Cantrell’s most interesting and attention stealing work is not when he’s plugged in, but rather unplugged. Which is perhaps the album’s biggest problem. There is hardly any come down after initial turn on leaving very few moments for a listener to really take in the album as a whole.
Yes, Devil Put Dinosaurs Here hardly leaves anything to the imagination which is what made their previous effort so great and refreshing. With no idea what Alice in Chains could have sounded like with not only a new singer, but also in the vastly different rock and alternative world of 2009 and against the odds, it stood out. While the 2013 sophomore release of the new Alice in Chains falls on deaf ears, with few killer and much filler between the beginning and end. Needless to say, Dirt left much more of an impression as a sophomore release. Now that the afterglow of success has faded, it seems the late Layne Staley’s presence is missing more than initially thought.
6/10