Close on 15 years ? and one dead singer ? later, Alice Chains can't afford to mess around any longer. So on their first studio effort since 1995, the group hit the ground running ? exactly where they left off.

"There's no going back/ To the place / We started from" promises William Duvall on imposing opener 'All Secrets Known' but the chugging detuned guitar riffs, double-tracked stoner vocals, and anguished lyrics of pain and suffering are just one plaid shirt away from grunge-era Seattle.

The words clearly don't mean a damn thing. "Hope / A new beginning / Time / Time to start living" is the first thing out of the new singer's mouth, but he's clearly living in the shadow of a dead man. Lane Staley has been gone for almost a decade, yet the original frontman looms large over 'Black Gives Way To Blue' ? right down to his childhood idol, Elton John, showing up on the bleeding-heart title track.

Not that Duvall's bothered. No wannabe tribute singer discovered on YouTube, he's inhabited the group's old hits out on the road for the past five years ? allowing him now to sound at once fresh and familiar (albeit without quite the same torment of a tortured crack and heroin addict). The rest of the clearly reinvigorated band follow suit. Guitarist ? and chief songwriter ? Jerry Cantrell complements his signature six-string drone with fluid flourishes that belie the old grunge ethos of outlawing guitar solos. Exhibit A: the expansive instrumental breakouts on light-and-shade epic 'Private Hell'.

And the rhythm section ? drummer Sean Kinney, bassist Mike Inez ? have lost none of the necessary brute force ? witness the dangerous churning that is 'Last Of My Kind' ? while acquiring surprising restraint. It's their nuanced playing that sets generic lighter anthem 'Your Decision' alight, transforming the breakup ballad into a bonafide rock classic. But they ? and Cantrell ? remain most comfortable when grinding their way through epic bone crunchers like 'Acid Bubble' and sonic storm 'A Looking View', proving that despite continually looking back over their collective shoulder, Alice in Chains remain a surprisingly vital prospect.