Black Gives Way to Blue

Black Gives Way to Blue is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 2009, through a joint venture between Virgin and EMI Records. Its release fell on the 17th anniversary of the release of their second album, Dirt. It is their first record without founding lead singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002, and their first album with rhythm guitarist William DuVall. It is the band's first venture away from Columbia Records, who handled all of their previous releases. The span of nearly fourteen years between the self-titled album and Black Gives Way to Blue marks the longest gap between studio albums in Alice in Chains' career.

After ceasing activity following Staley's death, the band reunited in early 2005 to play a benefit show, subsequently deciding to reunite to play live full-time. DuVall joined the band in Staley's place in 2006. Work on the album began in April 2007, but recording did not begin until October 2008 with producer Nick Raskulinecz. The album was recorded at Dave Grohl's Studio 606 in Northridge and at the Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, produced by Raskulinecz and Alice in Chains. The slow progress was partly due to the fact that the band did not have a record label at the time of the recording; the album was funded by Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney. The recording process was completed on March 18, 2009, Cantrell's 43rd birthday. The band had signed with Virgin and EMI by late April.

Musically, the album sees the band return to the heavy metal/hard rock style of Dirt and Facelift instead of the murky dark mood that their third album showcased with more grunge-fuzz pedal elements; some songs are noted for their acoustic elements. It also includes songs which Cantrell described as "the heaviest he's ever written". Most of the lead vocal performances on the album were recorded by Cantrell; DuVall contributed lead vocals to "Last of My Kind", as well as backing vocals throughout the album.

The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200, and was certified gold by the RIAA on May 26, 2010, with shipments exceeding 500,000 copies in the U.S. and over 1 million copies sold worldwide. It spawned four singles: "A Looking in View", "Check My Brain", "Your Decision", and "Lesson Learned". "Check My Brain" and "A Looking in View" were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2010 and 2011, respectively. Black Gives Way to Blue won Revolver magazine's Golden Gods Award for Album of the Year in 2010.