ALICE IN CHAINS ENTER BILLBOARD TOP 200 AT NO. 5

LEAD SINGLE "CHECK MY BRAIN" HOLDS NO. 1 SPOT ON BILLBOARD TOP ROCK SONGS AND ALTERNATIVE CHARTS

BAND TO PERFORM ON "THE TONIGHT SHOW WITH CONAN O’BRIEN" OCTOBER 30

Los Angeles, CA (October 7, 2009) – Fueled by hit single "Check My Brain," currently No. 1 on both the Billboard Top Rock Songs and Alternative Charts, new ALICE IN CHAINS album BLACK GIVES WAY TO BLUE (Virgin/EMI) entered Billboard’s Top 200 Albums Chart at No. 5 with sales exceeding 126,000 copies.

The debut comes amidst a flurry of activity surrounding the band, including heavy radio and video airplay (the "Check My Brain" video is currently featured on MTV2’s Elite 8), a sold-out U.S. buzz tour, and back-to-back performances on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" last Tuesday and Wednesday.

The album has also been drawing rave reviews from both sides of the pond: Playboy gave it four stars, calling it "Alice In Chains’ Back In Black." NPR’s "All Things Considered" lauded the album for being "unexpectedly vibrant" and sounding "liberated." Entertainment Weekly praised its "…vertigo-inducing hard rock riffology, fevered acoustic ruminations, and gloomy proclamations, delivered with admirable force and brio." Metal Hammer called it "a masterpiece" and "Alice In Chains’ finest hour." Kerrang! described the record as "spine-chilling" and HITS magazine called it "…one of the year’s most, if not exactly pleasant, certainly gratifying surprises."

Next up is an October 30th performance on NBC’s "The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien," followed by a trio of headlining radio dates in Texas, and then a headlining tour of Europe, set to kick off November 12th in Glasgow.

Alice In Chains is guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, guitarist/vocalist William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney.

posted by Chicago Music Guide  # 11:18 AM