Alice in Chains vocalist Jerry Cantrell joined in a conversation with SiriusXM and revealed that the band made a significant decision by continuing its music career after Layne Staley passed away.
Layne Staley gained a reputation as the lead vocalist of Alice in Chains, especially when grunge music started to spread worldwide. His unique singing style and their harmonized vocals with Jerry Cantrell considerably impacted the rock scene in the early ’90s. When the band’s debut album entitled ‘Facelift’ came out, Staley received many positive reviews with his vocal style in the single named ‘Man in the Box’ and announced his name to the whole world.
However, Staley struggled with drug addiction and depression during these times his fame expanded. Unfortunately, the vocalist passed away because of an overdose on April 5, 2002, at 34. He has still been considered one of the most influential figures in the music industry. Alice in Chains continued its music career after Staley’s passing. The group released ‘Black Gives Way To Blue’ in 2009. The album’s title track was a tribute to Layne Staley.
Jerry Cantrell revealed during a recent conversation that it was a significant decision to continue after Layne Staley passed away. As Cantrell stated, it was a challenging process for all of the members, but they decided to go on by inviting William DuVall to the band. The vocalist also noted that the song ‘Black Gives Way To Blue’ was a farewell to Layne Staley and a welcoming to the group’s new beginning. According to Cantrell, although the song was short, it had an important place for the band.
About continuing after Staley, Jerry Cantrell explained in his words:
“It was a big decision for the band to decide to continue after the loss of Layne. We went through that process together and invited William in. I wrote this song; I felt it needed to be written. It was ‘Black Gives Way To Blue,’ the title track to that record. It’s saying goodbye to Layne and hello to our future and honoring all of that. It’s just a short two-minute tune, but it’s very impactful and emotional and needed to be said.”
You can watch the entire conversation and listen to ‘Black Gives Way To Blue’ below.
