Saw them live with DuVall at Download and thought they sucked. But then, I think AiC suck anyway so I wasn't expecting much. But even so, as a live band they were dull as hell so whichever.
As a huge AIC fan, I'm interested in some new stuff, but I'm not sure they can thrive as a group without Layne. Nothing against DuVall, its just that Layne Staley's voice in harmony with Cantrell's was a huge part of Alice in Chains.