William DuVall

Early career (1983–1992)

DuVall's music career started in the early 1980s Atlanta hardcore punk scene. He first performed with Awareness Void of Chaos.

In 1983, DuVall helped found the controversial Atlanta-based hardcore punk band Neon Christ, contributing guitars and lyrics to the band's albums.^[5] Other members of this band were vocalist Randy DuTeau, bassist Danny Lankford, and drummer Jimmy Demer. Neon Christ had strong ties to hardcore luminaries Corrosion of Conformity and Bl'ast. With a couple of short East Coast tours and two albums, the politically-pointed band started gaining popularity. The band used its popularity to support many charitable causes including working to free Fela Anikulapo Kuti.

The band disbanded in 1986, reuniting for a one-time show featuring the original members on December 24, 2004. Currently, the members are said to be filming a documentary, which concluded with a February 2, 2008 show at Lawrenceville, Georgia's punk haunt The Treehouse.^[6]

After Neon Christ originally broke up, DuVall was briefly the second guitarist in the popular Northern California hardcore punk band Bl'ast,^[5] contributing a small bit of writing to their second album, It's In My Blood,^[7] released on the hardcore punk–alternative label SST Records, founded by Greg Ginn of hardcore punk band Black Flag. DuVall did not, however, stay with the band long enough to record on the album.

In 1987, DuVall formed the Final Offering with vocalist Randy Gue (a former Neon Christ roadie),^[8] Corrosion of Conformity bassist Mike Dean and drummer Greg Psomas.^[9] However, Psomas's heroin habit hindered them from working consistently.^[5] Dean would go back to work with Corrosion of Conformity; Psomas died of an overdose in 1994.^[5]

DuVall spent the late 1980s with a Jimi Hendrix-inspired band, No Walls. Other members of this band were jazz bassist Hank Schroy and drummer Matthew Cowley.^[9] They released one album^[5] in 1992.^[9] He also spent the late 1980s in college earning a degree in philosophy, with a specialization in religion.

Mid career (1992–2007)

In 1994, DuVall co-wrote the song "I Know" for fellow Atlanta musician Grammy-nominated Dionne Farris; this song won DuVall an ASCAP award.^[5]

In the late 90s, DuVall founded the band Madfly with Nico Constantine, Bevan Davies and Jeffery Blount. He served as guitarist, singer and songwriter. Their efforts included two albums, Get the Silver and White Hot in the Black, the former was released on Killing Floor Recordings, the latter through Blackheart Records and distributed nationally by Mercury Records/PolyGram.

In 1999, DuVall, Bevan, and Nico moved on to form Comes With The Fall, adding Adam Stanger as their bassist. CWTF released their first cd Comes with the Fall in 2000, and their second cd The Year is One in 2001. CWTF began touring as both the opening band and as part of Jerry Cantrell's solo band for his Degradation Trip tours in 2001 and 2002.^[10] Follow up releases: Live 2002 CD, companion to their Live Underground 2002 DVD; The Reckoning EP in 2006 and Beyond the Last Light CD in 2007. CWTF's entire catalog was produced by William's DVL Recordings label.

Present career (2006–present)

William DuVall, Jerry Cantrell and Sean Kinney performing at an Alice in Chains concert in 2007

In early 2000, DuVall met Alice in Chains guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell in Los Angeles through a mutual acquaintance who introduced Cantrell to Comes with the Fall's self-titled first album.^[10] Cantrell started hanging out with the band and occasionally joining them onstage.^[9] The following year, Comes with the Fall was both the opening act on Cantrell's tour for his second solo album, Degradation Trip, and also the singer's backing band,^[10][11] with DuVall singing Staley's parts at the concerts from 2001 to 2002.^[12]

DuVall joined Alice in Chains as lead singer during the band's reunion concerts in 2006,^[13][14] and made his first public performance with the band at VH1's Decades Rock Live concert honoring Heart, in which he sang Alice in Chains' "Rooster".^[15] According to Cantrell, it only took one audition for DuVall to get the gig.^[16] For his first rehearsal with the band, DuVall sang Alice in Chains' "Love, Hate, Love". After they finished, drummer Sean Kinney looked at his bandmates and said, "I think the search is pretty much over".^[17] According to bassist Mike Inez, DuVall didn't try to emulate Staley, and that's what drew them to him.^[18] DuVall revealed that Ann Wilson of Heart was supposed to sing "Rooster" at the show, but during the camera-blocking rehearsals, he was there on stage and Ann hadn't made it downstairs yet, so they said, "Would you sing 'Rooster' for the camera blocking?", and he sang it.^[15] When Ann cameback and saw him singing, she told DuVall that he should sing the song instead. DuVall thanks Ann Wilson for giving him a spot on the TV show, because that moment served as the coming out party for this incarnation of Alice in Chains, and it wouldn't have happened if Ann hadn't done that.^[15]

Initially, Cantrell and the other veteran members of Alice in Chains had said this reunion didn't necessarily foretell a future for the band and that this was just a tribute to Staley and their fans. Drummer Sean Kinney went further, saying at that time he would have liked to change the name and adding, "I don't see continuing as Alice and replacing somebody."^[19] DuVall expressed similar sentiments with regards to the task of filling in for Staley.^[9] However, the reformed Alice in Chains generated enthusiasm from their fans to convince them to keep the name. DuVall claims to have met Staley's family, who have all purportedly given the band their blessing.^[20]

In 2007, Alice in Chains began touring with Velvet Revolver and Kill Hannah. The ReEvolution tour was in two parts. The first took in many European cities and the Eastern United States. The second part, also referred to as "The Libertad Tour", is primarily a cross-country tour that spread into three cities in Canada. For the first time in 15 years Alice In Chains toured Australia as second headliner under Nine Inch Nails on the Soundwave Festival. Personally, it was DuVall's first visit to Australia. It had since been advertised on the official Alice in Chains website that the band – now with DuVall officially noted as lead singer – was working on new material with an album, now known as Black Gives Way to Blue, released on September 29, 2009.^[21] The recording process was completed on Cantrell's 43rd birthday, which is also the same day that DuVall's son was born, on March 18, 2009.^[22] In the album, DuVall shares vocal duties with lead guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, who sings lead vocals on most of the songs.^[23][24][25] "Last of My Kind" is the only song in the album that features DuVall on lead vocals without harmonizing with Cantrell.^[26] Duvall also wrote the lyrics to the song.^[24][27] DuVall also wrote a song called "Tongue Tied" about his friend Sean Costello, who died by suicide in 2008,^[28] but the song was cut from the album.^[29]

William DuVall and Jerry Cantrell performing with Alice in Chains in 2006

In 2008, DuVall performed vocal duties with MC5/DTK at the Meltdown Festival curated by Massive Attack.^[30]

In 2011, Alice in Chains took time off after touring more than 30 countries and mourning the death of their original bass player Mike Starr, according to his long-time replacement Mike Inez.^[31] However, DuVall stated that there was a possibility of another album in the near future, commenting, "It would be fairly safe to say that you don't come this far and do all this work just to stop for another 15 years."^[32]

In March 2011, it was announced that Alice in Chains would begin recording a new album at the tail end of 2011.^[33] In May 2013, the album The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here was released.^[34] DuVall sings lead vocals on the songs "Hung on a Hook" and "Phantom Limb".^[35] DuVall wrote the lyrics and the guitar solo for "Phantom Limb",^[36][37] the first solo he wrote for Alice in Chains.^[36]

Cantrell is the primary lead singer of Alice in Chains' post-Staley albums, while DuVall takes Staley's role while performing the old songs in live concerts.^[38]

In the meantime, DuVall has reunited with his former Neon Christ bandmates to do a documentary film called All Alone Together: Neon Christ and Atlanta Hardcore, which he said director Edgar Johnson had first pitched to him back in 2005.^[8][39] In 2016, he released the album Broken Lines with the supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra founded by lead guitarist Ben Weinman of The Dillinger Escape Plan, and also featuring guitarist Brent Hinds of Mastodon, drummer Thomas Pridgen of The Mars Volta, and bassist Wielbert Collinson of Dethklok and Zappa Plays Zappa.^[40]

In February 2018, Framus Guitars released the "William DuVall Talisman Signature" model^[41] designed by DuVall.^[42]

Alice in Chains' sixth studio album (and the third with DuVall),^[43] is titled Rainier Fog and was released on August 24, 2018.^[4] The album's second single, "So Far Under", was written by DuVall,^[44] who also played the guitar solo on the track.^[45] The third single, "Never Fade", was co-written by DuVall and Cantrell, who also share lead vocals, with DuVall singing the verses and the pre-chorus, while Cantrell sings the chorus.^[46] The song was inspired by the deaths of DuVall's grandmother and the late Soundgarden lead vocalist Chris Cornell.^[47]