10 Bands That Got Over Losing A Lead Singer
2. Alice in Chains
For a band that was all about heaviness, it's strange to think of Alice in Chains as being reliant on their vocal chemistry. Since most of the other metal bands rely on the chunky riffs, the idea of someone actually making it to the top through the sheer practice of choral singing didn't seem like the best fit until you heard Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell harmonize for the first time. It was a match made in heaven...but it looked like Heaven wanted one of them back.
After a long battle with drug addiction, Staley was found dead in his apartment in Seattle in 2002, with Alice calling it quits shortly afterward. The group had already been on hiatus at this point, so this was just the morbid turn of events that most people were ready for but didn't want to accept.
Once the touring tributes wrapped up, it looked like Alice was done...until we got a listen to William DuVall sit in on one of the sessions. Having the same kind of raspy tone as Layne, Cantrell brought him to an Alice rehearsal, which turned electric once they started to come up with new material. Ever since the new releases like Black Gives Way to Blue, this is the true career reset that people were waiting for.