Grunge heavyweights Alice in Chains defied naysayers by making a huge commercial splash with their comeback album, 2009's 'Black Gives Way to Blue'. According to longtime friend of the band, Heart's Ann Wilson, the guys are quietly plugging away on the next batch of "amazing" songs.

Many believed that Alice in Chains died along with Layne Staley in 2002...and for almost a decade; it was true. The band reunited to tour with friend of the band and Comes with the Fall vocalist William Duvall in 2006. After more than two years of successful shows and renewed fervor for the band, AIC decided hit the studio and see what happened. The result was the massive 'Black Gives Way to Blue', their first album since 1995's self-titled outing and the last they would record with Layne Staley.

Speaking to Ultimate Classic Rock, Ann Wilson of Heart let the cat out of the bag on what the band has been up to:

"I saw those guys just yesterday. I went over to visit them in the studio where they were working on some new stuff – they sound amazing! How can Jerry not sound amazing, but I mean, it really does – they’re a monster."

This is the first confirmed report that the band is underway on getting the next album out, which makes sense since they have been suspiciously inactive since wrapping their tour in 2010. Alice in Chains will be playing a couple of shows this year (literally, they're playing two) and hopefully Youtube footage from those gigs will give us a sneak peek at some of the new material.

More From Banana 101.5