Alice in Chains

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L-R: Sean Kinney, Jerry Cantrell, Layne Staley, Mike Inez

A Grunge/metal band from Seattle, Washington. Alice in Chains was one of the biggest acts of the early '90s. Founded in 1987 by frontman Layne Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell, they are most known for their dark, gloomy sound and vocal harmonies between Staley and Cantrell. They were arguably the first band of the grunge scene to achieve commercial success with their debut album Facelift. During this time their anthemic hit "Man In The Box" received significant play on MTV's Headbanger's Ball block, giving them an audience among metal fans. Their next release was an acoustic EP called Sap, probably best known for the song "Got Me Wrong", which was featured in Clerks.

Their follow up full-length album, Dirt, was released in 1992, and became a success with the mainstream audience, due in part to Nirvana's release of Nevermind and the breakout of grunge. They released another acoustic EP in 1994, titled Jar of Flies, which quickly topped the Billboard 200 charts making it the first ever EP to reach the number one spot (and remained the only EP to gain this distinction until Linkin Park released Collision Course with Jay Z in 2004). One year later they released their self-titled final studio album which reached number one again, and is often considered the last album of the grunge era.

The group's self-titled 1995 album dealt came around the same time that Layne Staley's heroin addiction began to overwhelm the singer and caused tension within the band (culminating in the song "Heaven Beside You", which had Cantrell blasting Staley over his addiction). By 1996, the group disbanded and Cantrell released a solo album, Boggy Depot. In 1999, the group reunited to produce a greatest hits album/box set with several new songs. Despite teasing a full-on reunion, Staley's heroin addiction culminated in him dying from an overdose in early April 2002. Staley's corpse would not be discovered until two weeks later (April 20, 2002), ironically on the eight year anniversary of the death of fellow grunge singer, Kurt Cobain's death). After Staley's death, Alice in Chains officially disbanded.

Even after his death, Layne Staley remains a major inspiration for many artists today, with many singers such as Sully Erna of Godsmack (the band claims that their name is not a reference to the AIC song of the same name, but even if it's genuinely not, the connection is hard to avoid making), Aaron Lewis of Staind, and Chester Bennington of Linkin Park citing him as a major influence. In addition, he was an inspiration for Jerry Cantrell's second solo album, Degradation Trip and Metallica's Death Magnetic.

The band reformed in 2005 for a tsunami benefit concert and began touring with a number of guest vocalists, including Phil Anselmo, Maynard James Keenan, James Hetfield, Chester Bennington, Sebastian Bach, and Ann Wilson. They chose William Duvall as their official new vocalist in 2006 and released their first new album in 14 years, Black Gives Way To Blue, in September of 2009. The album peaked at #5 on the Billboard chart and has sold in excess of 500,000 copies.

On the 8th of March 2011, the band suffered its second Author Existence Failure when former bassist Mike Starr was found dead in Salt Lake City.

Members:

  • William Duvall - vocals, guitar
  • Jerry Cantrell - vocals, guitar
  • Mike Inez - Bass
  • Sean Kinney - Drums

Former Members:

  • Layne Staley - vocals, guitar 1987-2002
  • Mike Starr - bass, 1987-1993

In addition to several demos, compilations and live albums, the band has released the following:

  • 1990 - Facelift
  • 1992 - Sap
  • 1992 - Dirt
  • 1994 - Jar of Flies
  • 1995 - Alice in Chains
  • 2009 - Black Gives Way to Blue
Alice in Chains provides examples of the following tropes:
  • Ate His Gun: "Dirt" mentions this. And scraping brains from the walls.
  • Black Sheep Hit: "No Excuses".
  • Bowdlerise: In the radio and video edit versions of "Man in the Box", the word "shit" is censored and rewritten in the lyrics, so that they say "Buried in my pit" in the first verse, and "Shove my nose in spit" in the second verse.
  • Careful with That Axe: Layne's screams at the beginning of "Them Bones" and one in the middle of "Sickman".
  • Concept Album: Every song on Dirt is in some way about death, depression or addiction.
  • Doom Metal: They could be seen as a more Alternative Metal take on the genre. Especially in Dirt and Alice in Chains.
  • Drugs Are Bad: Very, very bad.
  • Dual-Meaning Chorus: There are multiple theories on the meaning of the chorus in "Would?"
  • Gone Horribly Right: After his parents' divorce, Layne became convinced that his father would return if he became a celebrity. Fast-forward 15 years, Layne is a famous rock star, his father does get in contact with him...and then both of them fell into heroin abuse.
  • Grief Song: "Get Born Again" and "Died". And especially "Over Now". And for some, the entirety of Black Gives Way to Blue.
  • Important Haircut: About the same time Layne began using heroin, he cut off his signature dreadlocks.
  • In Name Only: To no one's surprise, there are some that categorically refuse to accept the "new" Alice in Chains, deriding Duvall's voice and songwriting talents as less than Staley's, even before the album was released. And even though Cantrell has always been the group's primary songwriter.
  • Lyrical Dissonance: "No Excuses" sounds like an upbeat song, but it's actually about Layne's addiction alienating him from the band. There's also "Shame in You".
  • Madness Mantra: "Love Song"
  • Meaningful Echo: A tragic, Real Life one. In his last interview, he essentially said goodbye to the world and talked about how he wished his life ended differently.

"This fucking drug use is like the insulin a diabetic needs to survive. I'm not using drugs to get high like many people think. I know I made a big mistake when I started using this shit. It's a very difficult thing to explain. My liver is not functioning and I'm throwing up all the time and shitting my pants. The pain is more than you can handle. It's the worst pain in the world. Dope sick hurts the entire body." ... "I know I'm near death, I did crack and heroin for years. I never wanted to end my life this way. I know I have no chance. It's too late. I never wanted [the public's] thumbs' up about this fucking drug use. Don't try to contact any AIC (Alice in Chains) members. They are not my friends."

    • Now, read the lyrics to "Would?" and this.
  • Metal Scream: Sometimes used really effectively by Layne.

Heeeeeeere, here comes the rooster,
AH YEAH!
YOU KNOW HE AIN'T GONNA DIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!

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