This is the only Alice In Chains album I have ever purchased, and for a very good reason. I hate the droning sound that comes with this band. I don't mind on certain songs, but for the most part it just sounds like a cross between a vacuum and a whining teenager. Even with the change of vocalist, R.I.P. Lane Stanley, it hasn't changed. Which leads me to the bright side of this album. It sounds exactly like Alice In Chains still.
Everything I just said in the first paragraph sums up All Secrets Known. This is your very standard and typical Alice In Chains song. I can't tell this song from most songs on any other album. I'm sure there are a couple million fans of the band that would like to smack me for saying that, including Robson, the biggest fan of the band I know. However, it's still true.
I picked up this album pretty much exclusively for Check My Brain. It's my favourite Alice In Chains song, and I know and accept that means I'm not a real fan, but I would never claim to be anyway. However, this song has groove and a little more than just the standard drone. "So I found myself in the sun, oh yeah / A hell of a place to end a run, oh yeah / California, I'm fine / Somebody check my / brain / California's all right / Somebody check my brain / Check my brain / I walk these streets, I creep and I fall, oh yeah / When she sang I answered the call, oh yeah / California, I'm fine / Somebody check my brain / California's all right / Somebody check my brain / Aaaaah tears that filled my bong / Aaaaah years expended gone / I hung my guns and put em away, oh yeah / The trick of the trade, and by the way, oh yeah / California, I'm fine / Somebody check my brain / California's all right / Somebody check my brain / Aaaah tears that filled my bong / Aaaah years expended gone / Aaaah tears that filled my bong / Aaaah years expended gone / Check my brain, check my brain..." The only downside to this song is that it's the second shortest track on the album.
The third track on the album is Last Of My Kind. I'm not big on this one. Aside from the chorus I find this song very boring, and when it does pick up it's pretty stock sounding still. Also the song didn't need to be almost six minutes.
Your Decision is your basic accoustic/electric Alice In Chains song. I don't mind this one, and will even throw it on for myself every now and then, but for the most part if it wasn't for the guitar soloing I'd have less use for this track than I do. A Looking In View is the longest track on the album. It's just a smidge over seven minutes, of pounding, droning, thumping, whining, snarling, and slithering. One of the details I like about this song is that you don't really notice how long the song actually is. I find it feels more like five minutes, and that's always a good thing.
When The Sun Rose Again is the most atypical Alice In Chains song on this album. This song could be found on any album that contains an accoustic track from this band. It's a cool enough track to listen to, but it's almost like they weren't even trying to be original on this one. Even Jerry Cantrell's electric guitar work sounds like a solo he's done before.
I just don't care for Acid Bubble, which really sucks since it's the second longest track on the album at 6:56. It's one of the tracks that I will skip, just because I find it really boring and lame.
I like Lesson Learned on it's own, but at track eight I find I'm not as into the song. It's the droning that I keep mentioning. At this point I'm just starting to get both bored and annoyed with it.
What I just said about the last song applies to the next track, Take Her Out. This album suffers huge from the constant consistent sound. You mix Black Gives Way To Blue in with at least a few other tracks on random and it's pretty good. On it's own forget it. It starts to get on my nerves.
"Give away your love and then remove another tomb / Painted words adorn the walls, echoing untrue / I feel cold... / Promises abound, you rarely find it to begin / Maybe I'm afraid to let you all the way in / I guess so... / I excuse myself / I'm used to my little cell / I amuse myself / In my very own private hell / I excuse myself / I'm used to my little cell / I amuse myself / In my very own private hell / Lately I'm beside myself, pretending unconcerned / Standing at a corner where I threw you on a turn / I'll move on... / Flowers on a cross remain, marking an ending scene / Damn it all if blood you spill, turn the grass more green / Life is short... / I excuse myself / I'm used to my little cell / I amuse myself / In my very own private hell / I amuse myself / In my very own private hell". I find these lyrics very personal, to my life. I also love the music on Private Hell. It breathes and mesmerizes in a good way that turns the drone in on itself. This is my third favourite track on this album.
The album finishes with the title track, which is my second favourite song on the album. It's hard to say good-bye to friends, especially when they meant so much to you on so many levels, but this song says fairwell to Lane Stanley in a way that honestly brings sweet tears to my eyes. "I don't wanna feel no more / It's easier to keep falling / Imitations are pale / Emptiness all tomorrows / Haunted by your ghost / Lay down, black gives way to blue / Lay down, I'll remember you / Fading out by design / Consciously avoiding changes / Curtains drawn, now it's done / Silencing all tomorrows / Forcing a goodbye / Lay down, black gives way to blue / Lay down, I'll remember you".
If you've been paying attention you already know what I do and don't like about this album.
7/10 - content
7/10 - production
6/10 - personal bias
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