Next up I’m going to take a look at one of the bands from the grunge era who in my opinion are the best ones too. That band is Alice In Chains and of all the bands to come from the Seattle area, they were certainly the darkest and the heaviest. So here we go…….
Alice ‘N Chains- so before I go into them did you know that originally, Alice was a glam metal band called Alice ‘N Chains. Originally they were called Sleze but then changed their name to Alice In Chains. You can hear a bootleg live show they did on YouTube as well as the demos. It kind of has an LA Guns vibe going for it. Anyway just a bit of a history lesson there. I’ll give it 3/10 and only for the fact that it’s early Layne Staley.
Standouts: Lip Lock Rock, Fat Girls
Facelift- the first record by them is an instant classic and honestly I have a hard time deciding which one is better this or Dirt. Both are such great records and this one has got to be one of the best debut albums ever. There are so many songs that are hits on this record. I also believe that they toured with this album for Clash of the Titans. Anyway, this album is awesome and it gets 10/10
Standouts: We Die Young, Sea of Sorrow, Put You Down
Dirt- the second album is another classic and as I said before it’s hard to decide which is the better of the two. This one feels like the songs are a bit more refined. There isn’t a whole lot more I can say that hasn’t been said about this album. This would be the last album to feature bassist Mike Starr. Tom Araya does a guest vocal spot on the song Iron Gland/Untitled. Another 10/10
Standouts: Angry Chair, Dam That River, Hate to Feel
Jar of Flies- yes I’m aware this is an EP but I feel like if I don’t review it I’ll get questions like what about Jar of Flies? Or why didn’t you review Jar or Flies? So I’ll go ahead and review it. This is an all acoustic album and I’m not much of a fan of acoustic or all acoustic music but this one is actually really good.. This is the first album current bassist Mike Inez. The songs are great and well what more can I say? It’s a 9/10
Standouts: No Excuses, Rotten Apple, Swing on This
Alice In Chains (The Dog Album)- the final album to feature Layne Staley on it. The history before that is interesting. I guess they were supposed to tour with Metallica but due to Staley’s drug abuse problems they had to cancel that tour and a spot on Woodstock 94 so the band broke up,for 6 months. During the breakup, Staley joined the supergroup Mad Season which featured Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready, John Baker Saunders from The Walkabouts, and drummer Barrett Martin from Screaming Trees. Fast Forward and Alice In Chains got back together and gave us this album. I actually really like this album and hadn’t really heard much of this album until now. I think Jerry Cantrell does a really good job on this record with the guitar parts and Layne’s voice is awesome as usual. I wish that they would play more songs off this live because it’s actually really good. Overall, a really underrated record from these guys. I give it 9/10
Standouts: Grind, Again, Heaven Beside You
As everyone knows, Layne Staley died of a drug overdose and for a longtime the band was inactive. Fast forward to 2006, we get a new album with a new singer/guitarist named William Duvall and the new album is………
Black Gives Way to Blue- so here we have the first Alice album without Layne Staley and I have to say as great as Layne was, Duvall is awesome. I know that there are some Layne purists out there and say that the band died with him but the answer is no they didn’t. They evolved and evolved into something wonderful and awesome. William really makes the older material his own but at the same time paying respect to Layne and the new stuff is just as badass and awesome. Now onto the album itself. The album is a great first album with a new singer. The songs are cohesive and actually feel like Alice In Chains songs. I could even hear Layne singing these songs if he were still alive. To those that say it’s not good I would encourage you to give this album another listen. I give it 9.5/10
Standouts- Check My Brain, Last of My Kind, A Looking in a View
The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here- the second one with William is where I feel like they really started coming into their own as this new form of Alice In Chains. This record is a fantastic follow up to Black Gives Way and the songs are so good. I’ve noticed that Alice has this formula of a perfect blend of acoustic guitars and electric guitars which works extremely well and this record is no exception. This time however, they seem to use more acoustic guitars than the last album. I will say that I’m more of a fan of the last record but I also really like this one. I give this a very strong 9/10
Standouts: Stone, Breath on a Window, Phantom Limb
Rainier Fog- so this one is their newest one and I’m starting to think that this is one of those few bands that doesn’t know how to make a bad album. This is another fantastic album. One thing I noticed is that there aren’t as many acoustic guitars mixed with the songs. Out of the albums with William, I feel like this is their best one so far and am excited for the next record.
Standouts- So Far Under, The One You Know, Drone
This band is a rare example of a group who,lost an iconic member and were able to bounce back. The albums they made with Layne and William are fantastic and there isn’t a single bad record from either era. As I said before, they didn’t die with Layne they evolved with William plus people seem to forget that at the end of the day this is Jerry’s band. That being said, if you ever get the chance to see them live definitely do so.
Final Grade: A+
Album Rankings:
- Dirt
- Facelift (either one could be swapped)
- Rainier Fog
- Black Gives Way To Blue
- Alice In Chains (The Dog Album)
- Jar of Flies
- The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
- Alice ‘N Chains demo
Sinister Reviews 