Alice In Chains, "Check My Brain"

70 Billboard Rating

After more than a decade of studio silence following original frontman Layne Staley's death, the iconic Seattle band Alice in Chains returns with a new singer and a refurbished sense of focus. "Check My Brain" -- the lead single from the group's forthcoming Virgin Records debut, "Black Gives Way to Blue" -- follows the summer buzz track "A Looking in View." "Brain" is faithful to the grunge terrain Alice in Chains mapped out in 1995. Written by guitarist/chief songwriter Jerry Cantrell, who shares lead vocal duties with William DuVall, the song revolves around Cantrell's distaste for his relocation from rainy Seattle to sunny Los Angeles. The band's classic, downtuned stomp could easily pass for an unreleased track from the "Dirt" era and is sure to keep longtime fans feeling pleasantly dystopic. --Ronald Hart

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