Seattle band Alice in Chains played their heavy metal slow and gritty. It’s no wonder they were so often lumped in with the grunge rock crowd.
Their distinctive sound sprung from the vocal pairing of lead vocalist Layne Staley with Jerry Cantrell on harmony, and from the grinding, bending, twisting guitar that churned beneath. Together, the distinctive vocals and guitar gave the music an eerie, creeping sound unlike anything else in metal and alt-rock. The song “Rain When I Die” almost epitomizes their sound, although I think the title track from Dirt might very well be their best, most harrowing song.
Lyrically, too, they tackled darker themes than most metal acts (like many of the other bands from the Seattle scene, most of whom had some heavy metal roots). The typical metal tropes of sex and drugs and wild times are transfigured into confessions of alienation and substance abuse.
Indeed, drug and alcohol use plagued the band from the outset, with Staley spending much of the band’s peak years in and out of rehab, and eventually overdosing in 2002. Their use of drugs as a subject matter was meant to be cautionary; they knew the problems drug use could cause, firsthand.
This playlist focuses on their peak, most notably the excellent Dirt album and Jar of Flies EP.
Cover Art:
- Dirt, “We Die Young” single back cover: Source Discogs.com, Fair Use.
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