The Cavern
Rock & Words
THE DEVIL PUT DINOSAURS HERE (Alice In Chains, 2013)
Artist: Alice In Chains (C+)
Recording Dates: Jul ‘11 – Dic ‘12
Release Date: May 28th, 2013. USA
Record Label: Capitol
Producer: Nick Raskulinecz, Alice in Chains
Rating: 7
Era: Grunge (1989-???)
Subgenre: Post Grunge (1998-???)
Best Song: Hollow
Tracklist: 1) Hollow; 2) Pretty Done; 3) Stone; 4) Voices; 5) The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here; 6) Lab Monkey; 7) Low Ceiling; 8) Breathe on a Window; 9) Scalpel; 10) Phantom Limb; 11) Hung on a Hook; 12) Choke.
This is a very strange album. It's not bad, and yet, Alice In Chains seems to have lost its magic. It's not too different from Black Gives Way To Blue. In fact, it's not too different from the albums with Staley in their classic era: we have Cantrell's powerful guitar laying down great riffs, the double and viscous vocal harmonies, William Duvall doing his thing perhaps with more technique but without that Layne feeling, while Inez and Kinney remain a great rhythm section. Thick, powerful, and dark sounds. So, what went wrong with this album? Frankly, I'm not sure. AIC had its moment, or rather, its second moment, in 2009, when they formalized their reunion with Black Gives Way To Blue, which was successful for many reasons. No one had high expectations for it; it carried an impressive emotional weight due to its dedication to Layne. It was Duvall's debut, and he poured his heart and soul into it. It compiled the best riffs and songs Jerry had written over a decade, and it was basically to please the fans. The combination of elements, but above all, the timing and the emotion, ensured AIC's return was a resounding success.
The album's success led to a huge tour, during which Jerry began to develop new riffs, tentatively for another solo album. Initially, Cantrell commented that this would be the only post-Staley album, but little by little, he began to hint that there might be a new album, so that a firm "No" softened into "I don't see why not." Duvall did the same, noting at one point that they weren't exactly working on an album, but that riffs, ideas, and fragments were emerging, in the same way that BGWTB had begun. In September 2010, they finally admitted they were working on a new album. Sessions began in mid-2011, but Jerry underwent shoulder surgery to correct a cartilage problem, which interrupted the sessions that had just begun. They resumed work on the album in 2012, when Jerry had fully regained the use of his shoulder. The production, handled by Nick Raskulinecz and Cantrell himself (though the entire band was credited), was flawless. It's perhaps AIC's most polished and best-produced album, and even earned a Grammy nomination for sound engineering… but something's missing.
The point is that AIC's moment has passed. The reunion dragged on, giving way to an undefined project. With this album, Duvall ceased to be the "guest" and became the one bearing the enormous burden of replacing perhaps the best grunge singer. Cantrell had less time to prepare the songs. And while expectations for the previous album were almost nonexistent, for this one they were very high.
The album has good riffs and good moments, no doubt about it. The spirit of AIC and its sound are there. The problem is that those moments are very intermittent. Except for "Hollow," which would stand out on any other album, the songs are almost twice as long as necessary, losing impact, getting lost in the same riff, or drowning out William, who, despite being good, doesn't have Staley's genius for delivering catchy vocal hooks. While Cantrell managed to fill Layne's shoes on the previous album, and William delivered a better performance precisely because he wanted to emulate his predecessor, on The Devil blah blah blah, Duvall seeks to distance himself and sound more like himself, while Jerry prioritizes quantity over quality.
I insist, there isn't a single awful track. The basic elements of AIC are there. But for the first time, it's fair to say that one of the band's albums feels generic, and I loathe that word. The album feels homogeneous, not due to a lack of ideas, but because the songs are too long and reuse the same riffs and melodies to salvage them.
Perhaps the most noteworthy aspect is the lyrics, especially in the title track, where Cantrell launches a furious, cynical attack on Catholic fanatics who, in their fervor, dare to swear that the devil placed dinosaur bones to confuse minds and steer them away from creationism. The album cover is also worth mentioning, as at first glance it appears to be a tricerotops skull. A second skeleton is hidden in the image, in the opposite position, and when they overlap, they create the face of a goat-like demon, completing the mockery in a rather creative way. The album was a smash hit, reaching No. 2 on the charts, but I think that was more due to the hype generated by the previous single than its own merit. Don't get me wrong, it's not a terrible album, and you can't say that any of the songs are awful in the sense of "Love Song," even with Staley. But it's missing something. Or it's too long. The fact is that, even though it's possibly the weakest album from the legendary band, it's still consistent, and it was a breath of fresh air for a very lackluster 2013.
The album opens with “Hollow”, which would be the first single. The track showcases the band's classic elements and therefore stands out considerably: a great double harmony, a mammoth riff that crushes everything in its path, and that darkness and apocalyptic aura that won't work as well on the rest of the album. The main riff is led by Mike Inez's deep, distorted bass, which Jerry mirrors and then breaks away at the end to finish with high notes, reminiscent of the best tracks of the 90s. At the half-minute mark, they slow the tempo while maintaining the riff, making the song denser and preparing the entrance to that greenish, toxic, hypnotic double harmony. William isn't Layne, but he displays a lot of attitude on this track, and manages to raise the tension and explode it in the chorus “Crowned with a COOOOOLD, blue sky!!!” At track 3, we have a bridge where Duvall and Cantrell inject even more anguish, desperately screaming “Sileeeence, So loooooud, Sileeeeence, I can't tell my up from down,” while Jerry lays down licks and sets up the superb solo. The lyrics are pessimistic and dark, showing that even the most sacred things have been violated and mutilated deep down. “Hollow” works well because the guitar work is spectacular without stealing the spotlight, delivering the precise arrangements at the precise moment. The melody is slow, perhaps not chewy, but hypnotic. It has very calculated time signature changes, and when it's time to scream, Duvall delivers convincingly. By far the best track on this album.
We continue with “Pretty Done”, which has an urgent, twin-guitar riff with tritones, giving it an apocalyptic siren feel. It sounds great at first, but the riff builds the whole song and starts to become tiresome and repetitive. The melody is more agile than in “Hollow,” but somehow less memorable, and also repetitive. William sings listlessly, “I’m pretty doooone,” and we begin to feel the same way about the song. Fortunately, almost every track has at least something interesting or worthwhile, and that comes around the two-minute mark when Cantrell introduces a tempo change and a new, brilliant, and powerful riff, giving the song a breather. If it had lasted three minutes, it might have worked, but past four and a half, it becomes repetitive and tiresome.
Then comes “Stone”, with a good, dark, stoner riff, regaining the menacing aura. Again, Inez's bass is the foundation, while Cantrell takes off to add flourishes and licks and those things only he knows how to do, from slides to spidery, oriental-tinged guitar solos. When the verses kick in over that foundation, the song threatens to follow the pattern of the previous track and fizzle out, but they manage to add key changes and arrangements that give it more variety. At the second track, we have a false ending, but the guitar returns with a spectacular arrangement. Kinney adds tension and sets the stage for a devastating bridge where William belts out "Cold and dry a stone." Then comes perhaps the best solo on the album, with hints of power metal, but without losing Cantrell's signature style: emotive and powerful. The lyrics continue to be a veiled critique of religions, without mentioning any in particular, or even mentioning religion itself, but rather those "cold stones" that believe themselves immovable and want to impose themselves on everyone: "What makes you want to carve your initials in me?"
The acoustic touch, a staple of any Alice In Chains album, arrives with “Voices”. A fluid, relatively upbeat, and kaleidoscopic track, it boasts the album's catchiest chorus, making it the third single. Jerry takes the lead vocals, beginning with a gentle acoustic strum that explodes into the brilliant chorus, now featuring double harmonies and electric arrangements. The song was one of the first he wrote for the album, before his surgery. The lyrics are, unsurprisingly, quite ambiguous, referring either to his convalescence or to the feeling of going mad and hearing voices in his head: “Everybody listen, Voices in my head, Everybody listen, Does yours say what mine says?” But they also offer subtle hints that he's not talking about madness: “I've gone cold, hard to deal, Used to stand where I kneel.” The track flows quite smoothly, blending acoustic strumming with powerful choruses, catchy melodies, and incisive lyrics. In my opinion, it's the other strong track on the album that maintains AIC's original identity.
The album's title track comes next. In "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here", Cantrell seems to unleash all his rage against religious fanaticism. It begins with a slow, acidic arpeggio, like flaming drops. Slide guitars play in the background, along with a slow, deep rhythm section that picks up slightly when Duvall enters. The double harmonies create a desolate feeling, and at the end of each line, William breaks away to deliver another verse. The melody is somewhat weak, but the song improves for the chorus, which is mid-tempo but one of the catchiest, with the vocals mirroring the guitar line. At some point, it evokes a sense of déjà vu, and that's because it bears a certain resemblance to "Love, Hate, Love" from their debut album. If we listen to them together, we notice the abysmal difference between Staley and Duvall. In short, the merit lies primarily in Jerry's merciless critique. “The devil put dinosaurs here, Jesus don't like a queer, The devil put dinosaurs here, No problem with faith, just fear.” The guitar unleashes its arpeggios and that kind of slide across the arm that gives it a sinister feel. The track also features a great guitar solo that fades into a nice arpeggio. The problem is that it drags on far too long, reaching 6:40, becoming repetitive and tiresome, with about two minutes too many.
“Lab Monkey” starts with a great bass line and off-beat drums that give it great intensity. The song is very slow, with a rather forgettable melody. At times the guitar shines, but they again overuse the main riff, and it becomes increasingly swampy. At 2:25 there's an interlude that maintains a slow pace and doesn't compensate, and even the wah-wah solo sounds flat. And the lyrics, well, they're more whiny than usual. It's not terrible, but it's one of the weakest points of the album.
Continuamos con “Low Ceiling”, que lleva un buen riff y una melodía más agradable y rítmica. Es un tema inusualmente soleado para la banda, incluso la letra. Supongo que la escribió después de su convalecencia y hace referencias también al regreso de la banda, hablando de alguien que se levanta y encuentra que ahora los techos son demasiado bajos. Incluso el requinto suena predecible, me gustan más los licks que hace después de. Pero el tema en general es algo olvidable y difuso. Y largo.
Then there's "Breath On a Window", which confirms the dip in quality in the second half of the album, a dip that never recovers. It's also almost a copy of "Lesson Learned," even in the same key. Is AIC recycling themselves? Well, at least it has an interesting instrumental bridge with a time signature change, but it also feels like filler.
"Scalpel" is the second acoustic track, which is welcome, not because it's as good as "Voices," but because it breaks with the distorted and homogeneous tone we'd been hearing for a while. It's the closest thing to a ballad, and it builds gradually, exploding into some interesting and catchy choruses. However, especially the verses, it feels too light and even saccharine for the band.
With "Phantom Limb", they seem to want to turn things around, showing their heavier side with an almost thrashy riff. This is the only track on the album where William Duvall is co-credited as a writer. It has potential, but once again they overuse a good riff to the point of exhaustion. The only redeeming feature is the bridge that starts around the 3-minute mark, which sounds forced and could have been a standalone song instead of just a fragment. In short, 7 unnecessary minutes that could have been two good 3-minute tracks.
“Hung on a Hook” starts to make us feel this way. At this point, the album is like a swamp we're sinking into. Slower and slower, thicker and thicker. Duvall's melody is weak, although he tries to inject his style, and his performance is what makes the track somewhat salvageable. The guitar clings to arpeggios as its only resource, but it sounds repetitive. Not just the guitar, but the tricks as well. The tracks and the album ultimately leave us with a generic and unimaginative AIC, stretching out to 5:30 for the sake of it, not because it's necessary. I might mark it as a favorite one of these days.
“Choke” at least attempts to change the mood towards the end, with a softer, acoustic finish. It's not a standout track, though; it's slow, and Inez struggles to find something to do between the two keys. It picks up a bit later, but there are no hooks. In the end, it fades from memory just as quickly as it arrived, reinforcing the feeling of an album lacking in variety, with flashes of brilliance, perhaps overproduced, and definitely too long.
I insist, it's not terrible. But it does leave a bittersweet feeling when you finish it. It's not the Alice In Chains we're used to. Despite two or three good tracks, the rest is mediocre to average, with forgettable melodies, and there are even two blatant self-plagiarisms. The standout tracks are some of the lyrics; when Cantrell isn't overly self-indulgent and offers critiques, he does it brilliantly.
Ultimately, the album would serve to keep Alice In Chains relevant. But something changed compared to the previous record. Despite retaining their characteristic elements, this album no longer sounds like grunge. It's more of a mix of stoner rock, metal, and alternative... I don't know. It also shows that the reunion wasn't just a one-off thing, but that they intend to stay together for the long haul. Which isn't always necessarily a good thing. And finally, it shows us that the devil put dinosaurs here... assuming the devil is that ego, that need for applause, and that the dinosaurs... well, the dinosaurs are now Alice in Chains.
By Corvan
Nov/7/2015
