Legendary singer Elton John will make a guest appearance on the new Black Gives Way To Blue album by American rock titans Alice in Chains.

John contributes to the title track, which is a tribute to the Alice in Chains' late lead singer Layne Staley.

"We were thinking about adding piano to the track and a friend suggested we call Elton," said guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell. "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."

John said: "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.

"It was a great recording session with Alice In Chains for a beautiful song."

Black Gives Way To Blue is released on September 29.