A song was recently uploaded on YouTube that claims it is an unreleased recording featuring late Alice In Chains singer Layne Staley, but obviously there are many fake ‘unreleased’ tracks from deceased musicians that pop up on YouTube. Several Alternative Nation readers sent me the link, so I thought I would look into it to either debunk it or see if it could be the real deal.
I checked in with Layne expert David de Sola, who wrote Alice In Chains: The Untold Story, and based on his extensive research for his book he doesn’t believe it is actually Layne singing.
Layne’s early collaborator Tim Branom told Alternative Nation, “I think it’s just a sound-alike band like Jar of Flies. Some notes do sound like him, but most don’t. And the technology is newer. I can hear the kick drum is a more recent sound. I worked with Layne for a few months on his vocals at my house. So I’m pretty familiar with his voice because I actually had to teach him how to scream.”
So there you have it, it is a soundalike! This is definitely the the closest I’ve ever heard someone sound like Layne Staley, so it is definitely worth listening to. If anybody knows the identity of the singer, let us know in the comments. Maybe Alice In Chains should call him in for a guest appearance someday?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6JahwlLANA
