Veteran pop-rocker Elton John [ tickets ] makes a guest appearance on Alice In Chains' forthcoming album, "Black Gives Way to Blue."

John plays piano on the album's title track, which a press release describes as "a heart-stirring tribute to Alice in Chains [ tickets ]' late lead singer, Layne Staley."

"We were thinking about adding piano to the track and a friend suggested we call Elton," AIC guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell said in a press release. "I remember laughing and saying, 'Yeah, I'll get right on that.' But I decided it was worth trying and wrote Elton an email explaining what that song means to us--that it's a real, raw openhearted song for Layne. We sent him the track and got a call shortly after saying he thought it was beautiful and that he wanted to play on it. We were blown away.

"Elton John is a huge influence on me as a songwriter and having him on that song is an amazing honor for us," Cantrell continued.

"I've long been an admirer of Jerry Cantrell and when he asked me to play on 'Black Gives Way To Blue,' I was very flattered and couldn't resist," John added. "It was a great recording session with Alice In Chains for a beautiful song."

"Elton was finishing his Red Piano run in Vegas, so we flew there and hung out for a few hours," Cantrell explained. "Walking into a studio and seeing the sheet music for that song on Elton's piano made it meaningful on so many different levels. The whole experience was pretty magical."

Scheduled for a Sept. 29 release, "Black Gives Way to Blue" will be Alice in Chains' first new studio release in more than a decade, and will mark the debut of the group's new frontman, singer/guitarist William DuVall. The band--Cantrell, DuVall, drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Inez--recorded the set with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Rush, Foo Fighters) at Studio 606 in Northridge, CA, and at Henson Studios in Hollywood, CA.

"A Looking in View," the first single from "Black Gives Way to Blue," is streaming at AIC's website, as is the song's companion music video. The site also features the album's complete track listing and cover art.

As previously reported, AIC plans to mount a pre-release tour that kicks off in early September and, so far, is scheduled to visit 16 cities from coast to coast. The group will warm up for the run with an Aug. 22 appearance at the first-ever Epicenter show at the Fairplex in Pomona, CA, a gig that will also feature Tool and Linkin Park. The itinerary appears below.