Alice in Chains - London Review

Despite not being a fan of the early 1990s grunge scene, I have been a casual fan of Seattle's Alice in Chains for a number of years. I have always found Alice in Chains' sound to be more firmly rooted in classic rock and traditional metal than many of their contemporaries', and knowing that Jerry Cantrell (vocals/guitar) is a fan of bands like Queensrÿche certainly explains the band's more interesting and dynamic songwriting. Over the past couple of years I have become a much bigger fan of the band, and really enjoyed their sixth studio album Rainier Fog which was released last year. It was the first album of the band's that I bought when it was new, and I even included it in my Albums of the Year list last year. The band are semi-regular visitors to the UK, but I had never capitalised on an opportunity to see them until this past weekend. I almost bought tickets for show the band played in London last year, at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire - which is a very small venue for a band of Alice in Chains' stature, but decided against doing so when I saw the ticket price as I did not really have the funds at the time to make that sort of commitment. My enjoyment of the band has increased a lot since however, and an arena show at the Wembley Arena was extremely tempting when the band's short UK tour was announced last year. I decided to take the plunge, and have been fully immersing myself in the band's relatively short, but dense, back catalogue since. While the Shepherd's Bush Empire was a very small venue for the band, and unsurprisingly it sold out very quickly, I did wonder whether the Wembley Arena was a step too far. I was not really sure of the band's reach over here, and had visions of the majority of the venue being curtained off as was the case when Opeth played at the venue back in 2016. Thankfully that was not the case this time, as Alice in Chains managed to attract a pretty healthy crowd. While the venue was certainly not sold out, and a small portion towards the back was curtained off, there were more than enough people in attendance to justify the choice of venue over somewhere like the Hammersmith Odeon (sorry, Apollo). I would equate the turnout to similar of that of Thunder's when the British rock band headlined the venue in 2016. The Alice in Chains fanbase are clearly very dedicated too, and managed to create a strong atmosphere throughout. I sometimes find atmosphere a little lacking at arena-sized shows, but the few thousand fans in attendance certainly made themselves heard, and the band seemed to feed off this energy.

Before Alice in Chains' set however, the growing crowd was treated to around 45 minutes from the American rockers Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - a band who have been going for many years but were not a band I was really familiar with. I remember having indie-loving friends at school who were into them however, so I was surprised to see that they were chosen as Alice in Chains' support act. It turned out that the match-up was more appropriate than I had imagined it to be however, as Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's dark, bluesy garage rock fit in with the mood of the evening and managed to elicit a decent reaction from the crowd. I would not say that I became a fan of the band, but their atmospheric, fuzzy sound was certainly interesting and helped to set the tone before Alice in Chains took to the stage. While not a heavy band, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club really managed to create a dense atmosphere, with driving fuzzy basslines often dominating their songs, with dry-sounding guitars adding jagged riffs and bluesy atmospherics. There were certainly a few fans of the band in attendance, as some of the song introductions were greeted with knowing cheers, and I would not be surprised if they made a few new ones with this showing. Ultimately the band are not really my thing, and their songs did all somewhat merge into one towards the end of their set, but they did a great job of creating an atmosphere before the headliner's set - which at the end of the day is the job of a support act!

Around half an hour after Black Rebel Motorcycle Club's set finished, Alice in Chains took to the stage to a sombre piano backing and immediately launched into Bleed the Freak from their 1990 debut album. Cantrell led from the off with his murky guitar intro, while frontman William DuVall (vocals/guitar) shone vocally - especially during the song's powerful chorus. For me, the key cornerstone of the Alice in Chains sound is the vocal harmonies between DuVall and Cantrell, and luckily the sound mix allowed this element to shine. Despite a slightly muddy start, the sound was pretty good throughout the show, with Cantrell's solos cutting through the mix when required, and Mike Inez's bass sounding huge! All six of the band's studio albums were represented in the set, as well as their two acoustic EPs, which made for a varied setlist. The sludgy Check My Brain was an early highlight, and the more strident classic rock-feel of Never Fade - from the latest album - really allowed the excellent vocals of DuVall to shine. The first four numbers of the set felt a little like a warm-up by the time Them Bones and Dam That River were played back-to-back. The opening two numbers from 1992's genre-defining Dirt had an electric effect on the crowd, with Cantrell's riffs really encouraging those down at the front to get moving. From this point on, everything just hit that little bit harder, but it was one of the slower numbers, Your Decision, that was my next highlight. The ballad is one of my favourite Alice in Chains songs, and was sung perfectly by Cantrell, while DuVall added his haunting harmonies. The song also allowed DuVall to showcase some guitar talents of his own, with some tasteful bluesy leads throughout. Cantrell is the band's lead guitarist, but there were a few numbers where DuVall took the odd moment in the spotlight, usually to allow Cantrell to focus on his vocals or whichever sledgehammer riff he was churning out at the time! Stone was an example of this, with DuVall nailing that catchy chorus lead while Cantrell's riff shook the foundations. Before this however, No Excuses had given the band a chance to take a bit of a breather, and also allowed drummer Sean Kinney to lay down one of the tightest, grooviest beats of the night. I was really impressed with him throughout, but it was this song that showcased him at this best. The last portion of the set saw some real fan favourites wheeled out, with the dark We Die Young eliciting a strong reaction before DuVall nailed the dynamic Angry Chair. The main set came to a close with the chugging Man in the Box, before the band left the stage to huge cheers. An atmospheric darkness then filled the venue, before the band trooped back out for a four-song encore that started with the recent single The One You Know, before culminating in two more from Dirt in the form of Would? and Rooster. The former was the real highlight of this section, and saw Cantrell an DuVall both shining vocally, while Inez's bass drove everything. It brought a powerful set to a close, and the crowd really let their appreciation known while the band were leaving. The setlist was:

Bleed the Freak
Check My Brain
Again
Never Fade
Them Bones
Dam That River
Hollow
Your Decision
Rainier Fog
Down in a Hole
No Excuses
Stone
Red Giant
We Die Young
Nutshell
Angry Chair
Man in the Box
-
The One You Know
Got Me Wrong
Would?
Rooster

I have managed to see most of the big rock and metal bands live over the years, so it was great to finally add Alice in Chains to the list. It felt fitting to see them now too, and this show was the culmination of the last couple of years of exploring the band's catalogue. I am sure that the band will be a big fixture in my listening going forward, and hopefully I will have another chance to catch the band again in the future.