Mike Inez: Alice in Chains’ New Album Felt Like a ‘First Date’

Alice in Chains stand as one of the most influential and successful bands of the '90s, true superstars of the Seattle grunge music movement. But that was more than a decade ago. So when the band returned last year with 'Black Gives Way to Blue,' their first new album in more than a decade and the studio debut of new singer/guitarist William DuVall, they knew they'd be reintrioducing themselves to fans.

"It feels like a first date all over again," bassist Mike Inez told Noisecreep when we spoke with him and Jerry Cantrell at the Revolver Golden Gods Awards in Los Angeles. Like any new relationship, there's been a getting to know each other period; call it the small talk portion of the evening. But with the album having now been out a few months, the relationship between fans and 'Black Gives Way to Blue' has entered the honeymoon phase.

"We've been touring, people are getting to know [the record], and the crowds have been great. The shows been great, and great magazines like Revolver are recognizing the record. It doesn't get much better than that," Cantrell says. "We got a Grammy nomination, we had number one singles back to back, that's pretty great."

The honeymoon continued with the album taking home Album of the Year at the Revolver awards (which will air on VH1 Classics May 22), but with everything that went into making this record, the awards are just a bonus for the band. "We know more than anybody what it took, and it was a serious task. It was not a light undertaking at all," Cantrell says of making the record. "We already won with this record when we finished the thing and decided to put it out."

Inez is enjoying the bonus round big time. "It's really nice to travel around the world and people really get it, 'cause once you finish a record, you put your heart and soul and your sweat and your blood and your spit and your semen into the damn thing. And when you let it out of the cage, you never know where it's gonna fly -- and we never in a million years would've thought Grammy nominations, two number one singles, continuous world tours," he says. "It's the gravy."