Alice in Chains lines up fall tour

With a successful six-city club trek now in the books, Alice in Chains has unveiled plans for a large-scale comeback tour.

The club tour--which featured Jerry Cantrell (guitar/vocals), Sean Kinney (drums) and Mike Inez (bass)--marked Alice in Chains' first outing in more than a decade. Handling lead vocals was William Duvall of Atlanta-based rock trio Comes With the Fall, who had worked with Cantrell during some of the guitarist's solo outings. Duvall will be back for the fall dates.

Original Alice in Chains frontman Layne Staley died four years ago of a drug overdose; Inez joined the band in 1993, replacing original bassist Mike Starr.

Fans in need of a crash-course in Alice in Chains can turn to the forthcoming album "The Essential Alice in Chains," due in stores Sept. 5. The two-CD set features 28 tracks culled from all four of the band's studio albums, as well as their two EPs and their live "MTV Unplugged" set. Rounding out the set are two tracks that appeared on the "Last Action Hero" soundtrack album.

Alice in Chains formed in Seattle during the late '80s, and released their debut album, "Facelift," in 1990. The disc spawned the group's breakthrough hit, "Man in the Box," and secured the band's place in the pantheon of early '90s Seattle-based acts--which also included Nirvana, Pearl Jam and Soundgarden--credited with ushering in the grunge scene.

Alice in Chains went on to release two additional full-length albums (1992's "Dirt" and 1995's "Alice in Chains) and two EPs (1992's "Sap" and 1994's "Jar of Flies").

Following its '92/'93 touring cycle in support of "Dirt," the group did not tour behind any of its subsequent releases--reportedly due to Staley's addiction--but did give a 1996 performance on "MTV's Unplugged," which was released in album form later that same year. The group also filled the opening slot on the first four dates of KISS' 1996 reunion tour.