EMI Music reports:

Among the many highlights on Black Gives Way To Blue, the new album from ALICE IN CHAINS, is a special guest performance by ELTON JOHN. The two rock legends collaborated on the album’s stunning title track, 'Black Gives Way To Blue', a heart-stirring tribute to Alice In Chains’ late lead singer Layne Staley. The album arrives in stores September 29th.

“We were thinking about adding piano to the track and a friend suggested we call Elton,” recalls guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell. “I remember laughing and saying, ‘Yeah, I’ll get right on that.’ But I decided it was worth trying and wrote Elton an email explaining what that song means to us - that it’s a real, raw openhearted song for Layne. We sent him the track and got a call shortly after saying he thought it was beautiful and that he wanted to play on it. We were blown away. Elton John is a huge influence on me as a songwriter and having him on that song is an amazing honour for us.”
“I’ve long been an admirer of Jerry Cantrell and when he asked me to play on ‘Black Gives Way To Blue’, I was very flattered and couldn’t resist,” says John. “It was a great recording session with Alice In Chains for a beautiful song.“

About the collaboration, Cantrell says, “Elton was finishing his Red Piano run in Vegas, so we flew there and hung out for a few hours. Walking into a studio and seeing the sheet music for that song on Elton’s piano made it meaningful on so many different levels. The whole experience was pretty magical.”

Black Gives Way To Blue is Alice In Chains’ first new studio release in more than 10 years. The quartet (guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney, bassist Mike Inez and guitarist/vocalist William DuVall) recorded the album with producer Nick Raskulinecz (RUSH, FOO FIGHTERS) at Studio 606 in Northridge, CA and Henson Studios in Hollywood.

Black Gives Way To Blue tracklisting:

'All Secrets Known'

'Check My Brain'

'Last Of My Kind'

'Your Decision'

'A Looking In View'

'When The Sun Rose Again'

'Acid Bubble'

'Lessons Learned'

'Take Her Out'

'Private Hell'

'Black Gives Way To Blue'

On August 22, the band will join TOOL and LINKIN PARK for the first-ever Epicenter show at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA, to be followed by a headlining tour set to kick off September 4th, that includes a sold out stop in Toronto on September 15th at the Opera House. For show information, please visit aliceinchains.com.

Over the course of their remarkable career, Alice In Chains has garnered multiple Grammy nominations, sold more than 17 million albums worldwide, wrote and recorded 11 top 10 hit singles and stood atop Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart with two #1 records.

Tour dates are as follows (additional shows to be confirmed):

August

22 - Pomona, CA - Epicenter

September

4 - Washington, DC - 9:30 Club
5 - Philadelphia, PA - Theatre of Living Arts
7 - Boston, MA - Paradise Rock Club
8 - New York, NY - The Fillmore
11 - Nashville, TN - WBUZ Buzzfest
12 - Indianapolis, IN - X-Fest
13 - Dayton, OH - X-Fest
15 - Toronto, ON - The Opera House
16 - Cleveland, OH - House of Blues
17 - Detroit, MI - St. Andrews Hall
19 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
20 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave
21 - Minneapolis, MN - First Ave
24 - Seattle, WA - Moore Theater
26 - Portland, OR - Roseland Grill
28 - San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore

As previously reported, Alice In Chains played an intimate gig at Scala in London, Engand on August 4th. Among the setlist for the show were the new songs 'A Looking In View', 'Acid Bubble' and 'Check My Brain'.

Fan-filmed footage of the band performing 'Acid Bubble' and 'Check My Brain' can be viewed below.