Alice in Chains has released their first new song in five years. I saw them on that previous tour, by the way, and the album was good , however, it lacked aggression. This newest track also lacks aggression, and is rather laid back. The opening riff is like – one note. It promises to build up to something, then doesn’t. The chorus opens up finally with some solid vocal harmonies. However, the guitar is still that laid-back melodic stuff they started doing on Junk (Bury Me Softly), rather than that tuff old school sound from Facelift we all want, like the classic track And We Die Young. As an old fan of this band, I really wish these guys would factor back in more of their metal and hard rock elements, and stay away from trying to be a pure rock band.
I also feel the guitarist shies away from doing an outright guitar solo, which would add balls. That Jerry Cantrell , the old singer, passed away has always taken away a raw, visceral element which I enjoyed about this band, and has left it too polished sounding. Typically, I will still buy the albums from these guys and go to the concert tour, and yet I feel that with some more solos, some more involved riffage, and more aggression, they could really put a dent into the current paradigm in rock. But they never quite live up to the promise of their first three albums.
I would also say that the subject matter of the music video here is probably overthought out, and the effect of it is underwhelming. It starts off with a homeless guy in a bathroom at a laundry-mat , and then involves some dingy girl stealing a rat. At the end she makes out with the bum dude and trades the rat for a cell phone or something. Leaving me thinking – huh??