Alice In Chains has set "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" as the title of its new album. The band's fifth studio Lp and second without original vocalist Layne Staley was once again produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones) and is scheduled for release in May. Fueling excitement is the first track "Hollow", which was initially released as a lyric video but has taken on a life of its own, hitting No. 1 in America on the Mainstream Rock radio chart and closing in on No. 1 on the Active Rock radio chart.

The band posted the lyric clip on their official site back on December 18 and it quickly went viral. As word spread among fans, radio programmers nationwide bypassed traditional procedure and began playing the song on air. Rather than wait to receive an official edited track from the record company, stations played the almost-six-minute-long version of "Hollow" in its entirety. Over the course of the weeks that followed, the song's radio spins increased exponentially, making it the No. 1 Top Gainer at Active Rock for six consecutive weeks.

The song was amplified by the Vevo premiere of an official companion video, which was shot by award-winning director Roboshobo (a.k.a. Robert Schober; Metallica, Mastodon). The stunning sci-fi-themed clip is already nearing the one-million-views mark.

"I don't think you'll be surprised by anything you hear," b>Alice In Chains guitarist Jerry Cantrell told Revolver about the new Cd's musical direction. "It's us. But it's also really unique. It's got all the elements of any record we've put out, but it's unlike any record we've put out. Basically, it's the next chapter in the Alice In Chains book, and it's going to be a big one."

The new disc will follow up 2009's "Black Gives Way To Blue", which ended a 14-year gap between studio efforts for the group and featured singer/guitarist William DuVall.

"In my opinion, that record stood up to anything else we've put out in our career. Hopefully, the new album will connect with people in the same way," Cantrell told Guitar World.

DuVall told The Pulse Of Radio while the band was touring behind that album that he was seeing a new generation of Alice fans at the shows. "There's a lot of young people showing up, so that this thing has become a generational band now," he said. "So you've got people, 15, 16, 17 years old, that are coming of their own volition. I mean, they're not being brought there by their parents or anything. They're coming on their own. They're bringing their friends. So that's one thing that's a real sign that perhaps you're onto something."

Alice In Chains began working on new material in 2011, but the sessions for the album were delayed when Cantrell had to undergo shoulder surgery.