It’s hard to believe, but it has already been four years since Alice in Chains released their last album. The band seems aware of this, too, as guitarist Jerry Cantrell revealed the band is entering the studio next month to record a follow-up.

Their previous album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, was the second to feature then-new vocalist and guitarist William DuVall. Replacing late-vocalist Layne Staley in 2006, the forthcoming album will be the band’s third release with him.

Founding member Jerry Cantrell discussed the forthcoming recording sessions:

“We are just gearing up to make a record. We’ll be moving up to Seattle in about a month and record the record over the summer out there in the same studio we recorded our third record in. So it’ll be kind of fun — go home, make a Seattle record. Hometown boys in a hometown studio.”

It would be a safe assumption to guess the new Alice In Chains album will be available sometime later this year. Expect news sometime this fall or winter.