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Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains

In many ways, Alice in Chains was the definitive heavy metal band of the early '90s. Drawing equally from the heavy riffing of post-Van Halen metal and the gloomy strains of post-punk, the band developed a bleak, nihilistic ... In many ways, Alice in Chains was the definitive heavy metal band of the early '90s. Drawing equally from the heavy riffing of post-Van Halen metal and the gloomy strains of post-punk, the band developed a bleak, nihilistic sound that balanced grinding hard rock with subtly textured acoustic numbers. They were hard enough for metal fans, yet their dark subject matter and punky attack placed them among the front ranks of the Seattle-based grunge bands. While this dichotomy helped the group soar to multi-platinum status with their second album, 1992's Dirt, it also divided them. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell always leaned toward the mainstream, while vocalist Layne Staley was fascinated with the seamy underground. Such tension drove the band toward stardom in their early years, but following Dirt, Alice in Chains suffered from near-crippling internal tensions that kept the band off the road for the remainder of the '90s and, consequently, the group never quite fulfilled their potential.

Staley formed the initial incarnation of the band while in high school in the mid-'80s, naming the group Alice N Chains. Staley met Cantrell in 1987 at the Seattle rehearsal warehouse the Music Bank and the two began working together, changing the group's name to Alice in Chains. Cantrell's friends Mike Starr (bass) and Sean Kinney (drums) rounded out the lineup,and the band began playing local Seattle clubs. Columbia Records signed the group in 1989 and the label quickly made the band a priority, targeting heavy metal audiences. Early in 1990, the label released the We Die Young EP as a promotional device and the song became a hit on metal radio, setting the stage for the summer release of the group's debut, Facelift. Alice in Chains supported the album by opening for Van Halen, Poison, and Iggy Pop, and it became a hit, going gold by the end of the year. As the band prepared their second album, they released the largely acoustic EP Sap in 1991 to strong reviews.

Prior to the release of Alice in Chains' second album, Seattle became a media sensation thanks to the surprise success of Nirvana. As a result, Alice was now marketed as an alternative band, not as a metal outfit, and the group landed a song, the menacing "Would?," on the Singles soundtrack during the summer of 1992. "Would?" helped build anticipation for Dirt, the group's relentlessly bleak second album that was released in the fall of 1992 to very good reviews. Following its release, Starr left and was replaced by Mike Inez. Dirt went platinum by the end of 1992, but its gloomy lyrics launched many rumors that Staley was addicted to heroin. Alice in Chains soldiered on in the face of such criticism, performing successfully on the third Lollapalooza tour in 1993, which helped Dirt reach sales of three million.

The band released the low-key EP Jar of Flies in early 1994. It debuted at number one upon its release, becoming the first EP to top the album charts. Despite the band's continued success, they stayed off the road, which fueled speculation that Staley was mired in heroin addiction. Later that year, Staley did give a few concerts as part of the Gacy Bunch, a Seattle supergroup also featuring Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, the Screaming Trees' Barrett Martin, and John Saunders. The group subsequently renamed itself Mad Season and released Above in early 1995. Later that year, Alice in Chains re-emerged with an eponymous third album, which debuted at number one on the American charts. Again, the band chose not to tour, which launched yet another round of speculation that band was suffering from various addictions and were on the verge of disbanding. The group did give one concert -- their first in three years -- in 1996, performing for an episode of MTV Unplugged, which was released as an album that summer. Despite its success, the album did nothing to dispel doubts about the group's future and neither did Cantrell's solo album, Boggy Depot, in 1998.

Cantrell basically released Boggy Depot because he couldn't get Staley to work, but its very existence -- and the presence of Inez and Kinney on the record, not to mention Alice producer Toby Wright -- seemed to confirm that the group was on moratorium at best, defunct at worst. Staley, for his part, stayed quiet, conceding his spot on Mad Season's second album to Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan. In 1999, Sony put together a three-disc Alice in Chains box set, Music Bank, divided between the group's best work and assorted rarities. At the turn of the new millennium, Columbia Records issued Live, which plucked material from bootlegs, demos, and festival shows covering the years 1990, 1993, and 1996.

As if the group hadn't been repackaged as many times as possible with its limited repertoire, a ten-track best-of set, Greatest Hits, appeared in July 2001. With no sign of the group reclaiming their spot atop the alt-metal heap (and such copycat acts as Godsmack, Days of the New, Puddle of Mudd, and Creed taking the Alice in Chains formula to the top of the charts), Cantrell completed his sophomore solo effort, Degradation Trip, in 2002. But just two months before the album's release, in April 2002, the news that every Alice in Chains fan had been fearing for years had finally come to pass: Layne Staley was found dead due to a lethal overdose of cocaine and heroin. Although understandably grief-stricken, Cantrell launched his solo album's supporting tour according to schedule, opting to open shows in the summer for another Alice in Chains-influenced band, Nickelback. Alice in Chains spent the next few years in limbo, eventually reuniting in 2005 for a benefit show with Damageplan vocalist Pat Lachman filling in for the deceased Staley. After rotating through a handful of different singers, the group eventually settled on Comes with the Fall vocalist William DuVall, who appeared on the group's 2009 comeback record Black Gives Way to Blue.

Stephen Thomas Erlewine & Greg Prato
AllMusic.com
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Alice in Chains – The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
A comment was added to The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here by Bloodawakened.
It's cut and dry. Two significant lies told from birth. Dinosaurs are a lie Jesus is a lie Both inventions of Satan, who is very much real...
3 months ago

tapes
Tape	Songs	Comments	Author
My Favorite Things A few of my favorite songs	163	1	JeffKaos71
Viva la Grunge! The best of the best of Grunge... and some others. Enjoy!	15	5	TKirby
dumdumdum songs for my friend	12	0	corntastic
Meaningful. These are the songs that really moved me emotionally, for one reason or another.	12	3	NeverXMind
High School Reminiscing This is sure to show my age lol. As the title suggests, this is to be a list of songs that remind me of my high school days (years 7-12). ...	26	3	0phelia
Fuzzy Mix I love all types of music, so my tape will probably be very ecclectic, but filled with songs that move me.	44	0	fuzzball73
music bank you'll see by the name that aic will feature here, but nods also go to nirvana, green day, pearl jam, foo fighters, suondgarden, rhcp, smash...	35	1	feminist92
All That Was Left Were Ashes I had a long relationship end(was engaged to be married)I went to the store after an argument and came home to find that she took her son an...	12	2	MrBinet
My List List of songs I listen to the most depending on my mood and my well-being at the time.	33	0	OpinionHead
Songs you cry yourself to sleep to Sad :'(	15	3	Krista47
Songs I listen to on my Zune	69	0	Genesisfan
Go 90's Or Go Home (biotch) Rage Against The Machine, Nirvana, Green Day, Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, Foo Fighters, Stone Temple Pilots, The Offspring & Smashing Pump...	25	3	KyleMartin
Grunge/post-grunge madness. The most amazing grunge and post-grunge songs of the late 80's and 90's. (Not in order of best to worst)	30	1	NeverXMind
My favorites, volume 1. A fairly good collection of grunge/punk/alt-rock (my favorites, of course).	30	1	XNeverMind
Play it again! Song I can never tire of. Essentially, my favorites, of all time.	6	10	bellababy
the meaning of lyrics... I live for lyrics........ I can find the perfect song for how i am feeling. Usually a vast variety based on my mood when I am song searchi...	23	2	andawake
ALPHABET ROCK a-z sweetness	26	1	salvatorevalestra
A Fit of Desperation When confronted with overwhelming odds, these songs may help come to your aid when nothing else will do. Look out when people and animals ar...	14	2	minimalistliving
Songs from another day This is a collection of music that reminds me of the past. More specifically my past.	30	0	salvatorevalestra
90's Compilation EP Longview - Green Day Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana Everlong - Foo Fighters Hello Time Bomb - Matthew Good Band Jeremy - Pear...	10	2	KyleMartin
tape	25	0	rlreid
I like 'em...OK all kinds of faves I don't know where to start	409	1	ky24seehus
Many a long night Just songs the form some reason I think sound particularly good at night.	11	0	PintoMelovich92
the beat bands ever!! the songs from the best bands ever!!!	22	2	trachal
listen to this music Volume 1 A continuation of the music I think people should at least know about. Please listen to it, it'll change your life.	30	8	iforgetwhat8wasfor
My Personal Mix Volume One Anytime I need to just calm down or think I always turn to my music collection. These are just some tunes when I need to take a step back an...	10	0	PickSlide
"I just happened to be nowhere near your neighborhood." Amazing songs featured in the "Singles" movie soundtrack.	12	3	XNeverMind
My mixtape. A mix of songs that I enjoy.	29	2	NeverXMind
Contemplation	62	0	DizzyD312
Awesome As F**k This mixtape is awesome as fuck, full of rockin' tunes!	19	0	KyleMartin
Halloween's Creepiest and Most Unnerving Songs All the songs that Ultimate Guitar users have voted to be the creepiest!	42	1	OuTbREaK
My Music Taste is Better Than Yours Just a jumble of songs that prove my taste is perfect.	103	2	AndyWood
The Amazing Mixtape Amazing music, amazing taste. Featuring the famous and the undiscovered, waiting to be discovered by you. Enjoy!	81	2	ICollectCDs
to be added songs to add to my collection	30	0	sierrakristine
To Hell With The Man The man, aka The Establishment or Authority Figures, can piss off. A proper list of protest songs.	16	1	minimalistliving
Stuff I like Just a bunch of songs/lyrics I like a lot, genres will vary from trash metal to hip hop, anything really.	37	4	Roerbakmie
Bollocks 99% is shit	23	1	whoshat
Down and Out A (mostly) grunge mixtape, some post grunge songs, made for when your feeling like crap? -Not sure, but of coarse there could be a million s...	17	0	runtuffmarine
MY TAPE Some random good songs (Indie and Rock). Meaningful lyrics.	47	0	brunobr
good songs with meanings any good song with a good meaning	23	0	TiCooN420j4l
Play Me LOUD! Part 2 Driving with the windows down and the stereo up :)	20	1	Tillbe
Someone LIke Me	11	0	XXdiehardXX
The Absolute Best of Layne Staley! Layne Staley's best contributions to both Alice In Chains and Mad Season!!	25	1	KyleMartin
1992 My fave songs from my birth year.	24	0	feminist92
Songs at My Funeral	9	2	salvatorevalestra
My Top Songs	16	1	Soloidus
Just some favourites Just some favourite songs I like >.>	30	3	sparkpluggs
JohnnyLurg's Favorite Songs Vol. 6	30	1	JohnnyLurg
muffins	13	0	felishhh
My Personal Mix Volume Two For when I DON'T want to calm down. Whether I'm really pissed or trying to focus, these songs keep me in whatever mood I'm in.	6	1	PickSlide
if you like music, then music likes you. My mixtape containing my favorite songs from my life.	6	1	blkfrncsno13
Bipolar Mood Music What to listen to when you are having a "special" relationship with your moods	16	0	morninglemon
LIFE LIFE	10	1	LZMJJPJ
Inadequate when feeling beneath the world.	22	0	rednowwonder
Songs about War Songs about war. Whether it's a war raging within yourself or a war between countries.	8	0	Postmark
My favorites, volume 9.	19	1	XNeverMind
Songs at My Funeral Oh yeah, here are the songs I'd want played at my funeral.	4	2	JeffKaos71
the mix in me a mix of my favorite songs	10	2	billythesav
golden words	7	0	bmo1409
Test Mixtape test	1	2	brian
grungeish	3	2	rednowwonder
Trippy and powerful? Subtlety and disillusion, not all is what it seems. (Hope that isn't to pretentious, cause it sounds really pretentious to me.)	8	2	magicguy38
Remember When? Take a trip down memory lane......	3	0	LadyOwl610
My Life's Malaise In The Words of Alice In Chains: A Pathos For those of you who don't like them too much, this is how I broke it up without dragging it out (so you can just listen to the first 5 trac...	17	1	JohnnyMontrose
It's just so astonishing!!! Blah-blah & Blah!	10	0	rashelton2002
My Favorite Songs These are my favorite songs	13	0	carieb

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