William Duvall

William Bradley DuVall, born on September 6, 1967, in Washington, D.C., began his musical journey in the early 1980s Atlanta hardcore punk scene. His initial foray was with the band Awareness Void of Chaos, and by 1983, he co-founded the influential hardcore punk band Neon Christ, where he contributed guitars and lyrics. Neon Christ gained popularity through East Coast tours and two albums, utilizing their platform to support various charitable causes. After Neon Christ disbanded in 1986, DuVall briefly joined the northern California hardcore punk band Bl’ast. Later, he formed the Final Offering in 1987. DuVall spent the late 1980s with the Hendrix-inspired band No Walls, releasing a self-titled album in 1992 and recording at Jimi Hendrix’s Electric Lady Studios under Vernon Reid’s mentorship. In the late 1980s, DuVall also earned a philosophy degree from Georgia State University.

In 1994, DuVall co-wrote “I Know” for Dionne Farris, a song that peaked at No. 4 on Billboard’s Hot 100 chart and earned him an ASCAP Pop Music Award in 1996. He then founded Madfly in the late 1990s, serving as guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and releasing two albums, “Get the Silver” and “White Hot in the Black.” In 1999, DuVall, along with Bevan Davies and Nico Constantine, formed Comes with the Fall (CWTF), releasing their debut album in 2000 and “The Year Is One” in 2001. After CWTF relocated to Los Angeles in 2000, DuVall met Jerry Cantrell of Alice in Chains. CWTF subsequently toured as the opening act and backing band for Cantrell’s solo album “Degradation Trip” from 2001 to 2002, with DuVall performing Layne Staley’s parts.

DuVall officially joined Alice in Chains as lead singer in 2006 for their reunion concerts, making his public debut with the band at VH1’s “Decades Rock Live!”. The band, with DuVall as co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist, released “Black Gives Way to Blue” in 2009, “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here” in 2013, and “Rainier Fog” in 2018. He has contributed lead vocals and songwriting to several tracks on these albums, including writing the lyrics for “Last of My Kind” and “So Far Under.” In 2016, DuVall also became the lead vocalist for the supergroup Giraffe Tongue Orchestra, releasing the album “Broken Lines.” In 2019, he released his first solo album, “One Alone,” an acoustic project. DuVall has received three Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains and was tied at No. 10 on Total Guitar/MusicRadar’s “15 best rock guitarists in the world right now” poll in 2018. He has also directed the documentary “Ancient to Future: The Wisdom of Milford Graves” and contributed vocals to The Hu’s “This Is Mongol” in 2023.