I have an idea: let's create a thread about Alice In Chains

[Ivan May]

Whilst Nirvana and Pearl Jam got a big piece of the grunge pie, Alice In Chains is also often viewed as one of the leaders of the flannel rock movement. Though they have never won any Grammys and have yet to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall Of Fame, vocalist Layne Staley was a very mannered singer and songwriter, who was the leading man. His other band mates included Jerry Cantrell on guitar and occasional lead vocals, bassists Mike Inez and Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney. Their debut album, Facelift, was released in the 1990s and still stands as one of the decade's best nu metal albums. Facelift is the debut studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released by Columbia Records on August 21, 1990. The tracks "We Die Young", "Man in the Box", "Sea of Sorrow" and "Bleed the Freak" were released as singles. "Man In The Box" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal in 1992. Facelift became the first album from the grunge movement to be certified gold on September 11, 1991. The album peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard 200 chart, was certified platinum and has gone on to be certified double-platinum by the RIAA for shipments of two million copies in the United States. It took a year to catch on, but once MTV started playing the video of the album's first single, Man In The Box, success was outside the box for them. Layne guested on an album by Heart, and Jerry Cantrell starred in the film Jerry Maguire which was also directed by Cameron Crowe. They starred in the film Singles with Cameron Crowe, Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda, and also helped Crowe direct the music video for their single Would? Their second album Dirt was released in 1992, and featured the singles Rooster, Them Bones and Would? They never quite scaled such heights again, firing bassist Mike Starr (who died of a drug overdose in 2011) and replacing him with former Ozzy bassist Mike Inez. The group still continues to write and record to this day (though William DuVall now handles lead vocals, with Layne having overdosed in 2002), and have been a profound inspiration on bands such as Nickelback, Screaming Trees, My Chemical Romance, Evanescence and Paramore.

 

It really is hard to believe that Layne Staley has been dead for 20 years. His voice, a very soulful yet tortured soul, was part of the reason why I loved Alice In Chains so much. I have a few AIC CDs in my collection as well as a live Alice In Chains record.

 

[Caevan O’Shite]

I love Alice In Chains! Especially their vocal harmonies, which evoke 'twisted Hard Rock from Mars' for me. Often just so wrong in such a GREAT way!

Of course, the guitar, and bass and drums, everything, is always pretty damn good, as well.

[hurricane hugo]

Love them; I was at this show:

 

 

[desertbluesman]

I never really listened to Alice In Chains back in the day. I was not much into metal or grunge. I was more into blues based rock, also the psychedelic stuff of the late 60's and early 70's. After that not much, other than a few hard rockers like Van Halen, Satriaini, Steve Vai, and hard jazzers John McLaughlin, Al DiMeola.

[skipclone 1]

Overall I liked AIC better than either Nirvana or Pearl Jam and maybe second only to Soundgarden. Very dark but tasteful songwriting,  arranging and chops-those drums on 'No Excuses'. 

[Dannyalcatraz]

AIC is one of the best bands in their genre, and it’s a testament to their musicianship and vision that they’re able to continue after losing such a talent as Lane Staley.