NOTE: I’ve stopped putting “album review” — what else will it be??
Alice in Chains
The Devi Put Dinosaurs Here
Virgin / EMI
12 tracks long
Length: 65:09
Producer: Nick Raskulinecz
Following on from Black Gives Way to Blue in 2009, which was a monumental return since Layne’s death, I was quite looking forward to their new album. I have always been an Alice in Chains fan ever since hearing Dirt (which left a mark me in my early teens) and from then on I have always approached every album with a childlike-frenzy of anticipation.
Since learning of Layne’s death in an abrupt way, I think it’s fair to say that Alice in Chains have gone to being my favourite band to emerge and survive from the grunge scene that spawned other such like-minded bands as Nirvana, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, Mudhoney, and another favourite band of mine L7. There’s plenty more to this list but these are the bands that I like.
Their new album, without sounding over zealous, is my most anticipated album of 2013. The name of the album certainly raised a few eyebrows but the songs I have heard (‘Stone’, ‘Hollow’ and the leaked ‘Phantom Limb’) have allowed my anticipation to grow. My dad has said that this album could be the album of 2013 and he isn’t far wrong in his predictions, with him liking the three songs that have only been available.
When I first listened to this album, with much a bated breath as any, I was surprised by the amount of density in this album. Unlike Black Gives Way to Blue where I felt most of the guitar tones and vocal lines were a touch on the sad side (the closing song title-track springs to mind) this album definitely has a lot happier tones in it. There are softer songs throughout this album, whilst there are fewer guitar-heavy grunge-esque songs like the opening of the album ‘Hollow’, ‘Pretty Done’ and the lead single / music video ‘Stone’. But when they seem as they do, they hold such a fine quality that only Alice in Chains can do.
I think it’s fair to underline the genius songwriting on this album in that there is enough musical finesse to keep any borderline rock fan happy, whilst the most avid Alice in Chains fan will snap this up like an impulse buy. Is this an album which deserves to sit there at the top of nest in 2013? I have not told the truth, I was at first a little disappointed by this album. At first I thought they were too many acoustic songs and not enough heavier songs, but over time and further listening to this album, it became clear to what they are aiming for.
Let me revisit my teens for a minute here. “Dirt” I had poured over for weeks an album. It is an album that any time I put on regardless of time or place, can take me back to my teens, and with The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is an album that I think in the years past its release date, will take me back to when I first heard it. “Dirt” to me is their best release to date with Layne’s death proving how vital he was to the band — not only his vocals, but the sound he managed to create. It’s no secret, not to me anyway, that Jerry is the real genius behind Alice in Chains signature sound, penning most of their iconic guitar lines and lyrics.
That being said, I’m beginning to really love this album after repeated listens. I feel that I will be picking the bones of this album apart, never enjoying it as a whole piece but rather favouring the songs that are mentioned above, whilst I seem to contemplating on whether this really is a good album. Furthermore, the truly beautiful thing is that some of these songs (‘Lab Monkey’ ) I can relate to with the lyrics, with just goes to show (I hope) how deeply I’ve listened to this album.
To end, for me being a long-time fan and all that Jazz I’ve grown to really love this album. “Love” is a not word that I use lightly in this case, as I again reiterate that I felt “disappointed” by this album — but over time — I think this could be Alice in Chains best output and carries on the momentum that Black Gives Way To Blue started. Again: does it deserve to at the top of the pile in 2013? Yes, yes it does.
RATING: 5 / 5
