Exploring the Songs on Alice in Chains' 2019 Summer Tour Setlists

Fresh off a spring tour celebrating their new album, Seattle-based quartet Alice in Chains have embarked on a co-headlining trek with Korn! No, you don't have to "Check Your Brain," you read that right.

The epic, 30-date co-headlining trek kicked off July 18 in Austin, Texas and is expected to wrap up September 4 in Mountain View, California. Underoath, Ho99o9 and Fever 333 have been providing support throughout the run.

AiC have become a staple in rock since their 1990 breakout, Facelift, which features the unwaveringly awesome "Man In The Box." After disbanding in 2002 following the death of original frontman Layne Staley, the band slowly began to regroup from 2005 to 2009, and have since released three full-length albums.

Their latest, Rainier Fog, is a landmark album for a few reasons: it's their first under BMG, their third with William DuVall sharing lead vocals with guitarist Jerry Cantrell and is the first record in 22 years that was recorded in their hometown of Seattle.

So far on tour, they've given us a healthy mix of classic songs from Dirt, Facelift and Jar of Flies and have been spoiling us with cuts from Rainier Fog. Fans have heard staples "Man In The Box," "Would?," "Rooster" and "We Die Young," as well as newer songs like "The One You Know," "Never Fade," "Hollow" and "Stone."

You can rock with us by following our Alice in Chains Setlist Playlist on Spotify, and keep reading for a closer look at some songs the band has been featuring on tour!

"Never Fade"

"Never Fade" is the third single off of Rainier Fog, released August 10, 2018. Upon its initial release, it peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart and has been played live 39 times so far.

The song serves as a tribute to the "benevolent ghosts" that haunted DuVall during the writing process: Chris Cornell, Layne Staley and DuVall's grandmother, who died while the band was recording the album at 105.

“I think there was some residue from the past lingering, but the ghosts were benevolent, they were there to help, not hinder,” DuVall said in an interview.

“I wrote the lyrics to the song 'Never Fade' right there in Studio X. I thought, ‘I’m not leaving this room until I chase this song down.’ I sang about the history, all the songs that had been written, all the arguments among bands and discussions about the future. I was thinking about my grandmother, who’d just died a few months earlier; thinking about Layne Staley, thinking about [Soundgarden’s] Chris Cornell, who’d just passed a month before – just letting it wash over, and at the end, I walked out into the dawn and felt I’d had a significant spiritual experience. It couldn’t have happened anywhere else.”
Alice in Chains, "Never Fade"

"Them Bones"

This song is the opening track (and second single) on AiC's sophomore album, Dirt. Originally released in 1992, it has also been featured on 1999's Nothing Safe: Best of the Box and Music Bank, 2001's Greatest Hits, 2006's The Essential Alice in Chains and a live version exists on 2000's Live.

Speaking of the song's off-putting time signatures, guitarist and writer Jerry Cantrell said:

"Off-time stuff is just more exciting — it takes people by surprise when you shift gears like that before they even know what the hell hit 'em. It's also effective when you slow something down and then slam 'em into the dash. A lot of Alice stuff is written that way — 'Them Bones' is a great off-time song."

"Them Bones" is one of the band's most well-known songs to date. It's been featured in tons of video games like Grand Theft Auto, Madden NFL 10 and Guitar Hero.

Alice in Chains, "Them Bones"

"Rainier Fog"

The new album's title track holds a special place in AiC's hearts. Excerpts from the lyrics are featured on Rainier Fog's album cover, and Cantrell has the full lyrics inscribed on the bottom of his signature Dunlop Cry Baby Wah pedal!

The original demo for the song was recorded at Cantrell's house in Los Angeles with Guns N' Roses bassist Duff McKagan, who played bass on it.

Cantrell told Classic Rock Magazine that lyrics like "Hear your voice on waves we rode, echoes inside my mind/Disembodied just a trace of what it was like then/With you here we shared a space that's always half-empty" pay tribute to Layne Staley as well as Mike Starr.

Alice in Chains, "Rainier Fog"

"No Excuses"

Released as the lead single on 1994's Jar of Flies, "No Excuses" marked the band's first song to debut at No. 1 on the Mainstream Rock charts and spent 26 weeks there.

"No Excuses" (and the entire Jar of Flies album) veered away from the band's traditional, heavier sound and introduced fans to a softer and more subtle sound.

Fans speculate that the song has two meanings: one centers around Staley's battle to overcome his drug addiction and the other around Cantrell and Staley's unstable relationship and friendship. But in the end, they agree to "love each other anyway," even if they change.

Staley died of an overdose two years after the song's release.

Alice in Chains, "No Excuses"

Keep an eye out for Black Antenna, a sci-fi series executive produced by the band that was inspired by Rainier Fog!

You can check out Alice in Chains' remaining North American tour dates below, and make sure to go grab your tickets over at Live Nation. You have "No Excuses!" 😉

Alice in Chains 2019 North American tour dates:

08/14 – Toronto, ON @ Budweiser Stage *
08/16 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH @ Blossom Music Center *
08/17 – Burgettstown, PA @ KeyBank Pavilion +
08/18 – Cincinnati, OH @ Riverbend Music Center +
08/20 – Noblesville, IN @ Ruoff Home Mortgage Music Center +
08/21 – Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre +
08/23 – Maryland Heights, MO @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre +
08/25 – Denver, CO @ Pepsi Center +
08/27 – Albuquerque, NM @ Isleta Amphitheatre +
08/30 – Irvine, CA @ FivePoint Amphitheatre +
08/31 – Phoenix, AZ @ Ak-Chin Pavilion +
09/02 – Chula Vista, CA @ North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre +
09/04 – Mountain View, CA @ Shoreline Amphitheatre +

* = with Ho99o9
+ = with Fever 333

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Last updated: 28 Mar 2024, 13:01 Etc/UTC