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Alice in Chains

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Alice in Chains
File:Alice in chains band photo.jpg
Background information
OriginSeattle, Washington, USA
Years active1987–2002, 2005-present
MembersJerry Cantrell
Mike Inez
Sean Kinney
William DuVall
Past membersMike Starr
Layne Staley

Alice in Chains is an influential rock group that was formed in the late-1980s in Seattle, Washington. Along with Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden, Alice in Chains was one of the more commercially successful bands from the Seattle grunge music scene. Unlike many of their peers, Alice in Chains owed more to heavy metal than to punk or '70s rock, but the group became closely associated with grunge due to their Seattle roots, their image, and their introspective and sometimes morbid lyrics.

History

Early career (1987–1990)

In 1987, Layne Staley met guitarist and song-writer Jerry Cantrell at a party and allowed him to stay at the Music Bank with him. Eventually, Cantrell invited Staley to join his band, Diamond Lie, which soon added Cantrell's friend, bassist Mike Starr. They recruited drummer Sean Kinney, who was dating Starr's sister, to complete the lineup.

The new group began writing original material and playing clubs in Seattle, eventually changing its name to Alice in Chains. The name derived from one of Layne Staley's former bands, Alice N' Chainz. According to Staley, Alice N' Chains would dress in drag at concerts, and he noted that he felt the name would fit a band that "dressed in drag and played speed metal." With the name change, the band shed its more "glam" image in favor of something that more closely resembled Seattle's grunge fashion.

The band signed with Columbia Records in 1989. After recording a series of demos in early 1989, the band offered its first official release in July 1990, the We Die Young EP. The title track became a moderate hit on metal-oriented radio, preparing the way for the release later that year of the group's first full LP, Facelift. The album produced an unexpected hit in the crunchy and infectious "Man in the Box," the video for which went into regular rotation on MTV. Supported by a tour opening for Van Halen and Iggy Pop, Facelift went Gold by the end of the year.

Rise to fame and grunge years (1991–1994)

The band next released an unexpected EP of acoustic compositions, Sap, which also featured guest artists Ann Wilson of Heart, who joined Staley and Cantrell for the choruses on "Brother" and "Am I Inside", as well as Mark Arm of Mudhoney and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, who appeared on the song "Right Turn" (credited in the liner notes as Alice Mudgarden). Chris Cornell also sang some backing vocals on the track "Brother."

The group received more exposure in 1992 when one of their new songs, "Would?", appeared on the soundtrack for Singles, a motion picture by filmmaker Cameron Crowe based on the lives of Seattle singles. The early release helped build anticipation for the group's next LP.

The album Dirt, released in the fall of 1992, exemplifies the group's heavy, guitar-driven, distortion-drenched sound. It was both a critical and commercial success, going Platinum by the end of the year and remaining the band's most successful album to date. However, the dark lyrics, dealing mostly with isolation and addiction, increased speculation that Staley was addicted to heroin. It is now known that this speculation was correct.

While the band was touring to promote Dirt, Mike Starr left the group due to the band's nonstop schedule and eventually joined a hard rock band called Sun Red Sun. Starr was soon replaced by former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Mike Inez. The band met in the studio once again in 1993 to record two new songs, "What the Hell Have I?" and "A Little Bitter", for the soundtrack of the Arnold Schwarzenegger film, Last Action Hero.

During the summer of 1993, Alice in Chains joined bands such as Primus, Tool, Rage Against the Machine, and Babes in Toyland for the alternative music festival Lollapalooza, where the band was very well received. It would be the last time, however, that Alice in Chains would undertake a major tour.

After their explosive performances on the Lollapalooza tour, the alternative music scene braced for another hard, angry, loud release from the Seattle quartet. In January of 1994, however, the band surprised fans and critics with Jar of Flies, which was a return to more mellow acoustic arrangements, well-developed pieces complete with subtle string arrangements, fused with exclamation points from Cantrell's signature electric guitar attack and Staley's singing.

Released as an EP, though of album quality in design and length, Jar of Flies debuted at No. 1 on album sales charts, the first EP ever to reach that position. Evolving from the alternative, progressive sound of the first track to more traditional ballads, the album seems to pay homage to Cantrell's musical roots. Although the songs were all written and recorded in a week, some critics hailed it as a mini-masterpiece.

Post-grunge (1995–1997)

The band stayed off the road for the remainder of their run, adding fuel to speculation about Staley's addiction. Nonetheless, Staley performed a few shows with Gacy Bunch (Mad Season), a "grunge supergroup" side project formed in 1995 with Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin. They later renamed themselves Mad Season and released a single LP, Above.

In November 1995, Alice in Chains returned with the release of a self-titled album, Alice in Chains, commonly referred to as "Tripod" or "Three" due to the image of a forlorn three-legged-dog on the album cover, and because it was the band's third full album. This album was a return to the sound of Dirt and Facelift, a very different sound compared to the more acoustic Jar of Flies record. For some fans this return to form was welcome, for others it wasn't so much a step forward as a step backward into more familiar ground. The album debuted at number one on the charts, but the group again failed to support it with a tour, sparking further discussion about Staley's heroin addiction. Ultimately, this would be the last official album that Alice in Chains produced.

The group surfaced again in 1996 to perform their first concert in three years on MTV Unplugged, a program featuring all-acoustic sets. Staley was in visibly poor health and also seemed to be under the influence of heroin, but nonetheless the group gave an outstanding performance, including a stunning rendition of "Down in a Hole". The group reworked their harder material with fresh acoustic arrangements and included a rhythm guitarist, Scott Olsen of Heart, to round out the sound. They also introduced a new song, "The Killer Is Me". An album of the performance was released later that year, the album debuting at number three on the charts.

After the Unplugged show, the band opened four shows on the KISS reunion tour. Their performance on July 3rd in Kansas City was the last concert Alice in Chains gave with Staley as lead singer.

On hiatus and the death of Layne Staley (1998–2002)

Cantrell wanted to keep the band together and tried to stay in touch with Staley, but it became clear that Staley's health would not allow him to return to work any time soon. Cantrell began work and soon released his first solo album, Boggy Depot, in 1998. Since Alice in Chains's bassist Mike Inez, drummer Sean Kinney, not to mention producer Toby Wright made significant contributions to the album, many fans consider Boggy Depot to be a "lost" Alice in Chains album; the only difference between Boggy Depot and the real thing was that Layne Staley did not appear on the record.

In 1998, Staley reunited with the other members of the group for the last time to record two more songs, "Get Born Again" and "Died". These songs were released in the fall of 1999 on the career-spanning box set, Music Bank. The set contains 48 songs, including rarities, old demos, the two new recordings, and a majority of the album cuts. The group also released Nothing Safe: Best of the Box, which served as a 15-song sampler of Music Bank, as well as their first best-of compilation. The two new recordings, "Get Born Again" and "Died," would be the last songs that Staley would record, while Music Bank would be the last release of new studio material from the band. A live album, Live, and a 10-song greatest-hits compilation, Greatest Hits round out the group's official releases. Later, in 2004, Sony announced the release of a third Alice in Chains best-of compilation, The Essential Alice in Chains, a double album set including 29 songs. It has yet to be released.

Although the band never officially disbanded, Staley spiraled deeper into depression when his girlfriend died from bacterial endocarditis in 1996. He became reclusive, rarely leaving his Seattle condo. The possibility of a full-on Alice in Chains reunion finally ended on April 20, 2002, when Layne Staley was found dead in his condominium from an apparent lethal overdose of heroin and cocaine. The coroner approximated Staley's day of death as April 5th, which, coincidentally, was the same date approximated for the death of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana eight years earlier.

Jerry Cantrell, shaken by the death of his friend and bandmate, dedicated his second solo album, Degradation Trip (2002), to Staley. The album was released about two months after the passing of Staley as a single disc release and was later re-released, as originally intended and with added songs, as a double disc. While some of the songs on the album appear to be written about Cantrell's former bandmate's death, Degradation Trip was completed prior to Staley's passing.

Reunion (2005–present)

In 2005, Cantrell, Inez, and Kinney reunited to perform a benefit concert in Seattle for victims of the Tsunami Disaster that struck south Asia. The band included former Damageplan lead singer Pat Lachman as its primary vocalist. Surprise guests Wes Scantlin of Puddle of Mudd and Maynard James Keenan of Tool appeared to chip in with vocal duties, and Ann Wilson of Heart guest-starred to reprise her co-vocals on "Brother". The surviving members of the group reportedly enjoyed the reunion, and Cantrell said it felt right playing with his old band again and having Lachman as lead singer.

On March 10, 2006 the surviving members of Alice in Chains with guest vocalist Phil Anselmo of Pantera performed at the VH1's Decades Rock Live concert honoring Seattle rockers Ann and Nancy Wilson of Heart. According to the official Jerry Cantrell website, Alice in Chains has also been confirmed to be playing at several festivals across Europe this summer including the Nova Rock festival in Austria, Rock am Ring in Germany, Rock im Park also in Germany, Milan Gods of Metal in Italy, Donington Park Download Festival in England, the Provinssirock Festival in Finland, and the RDS Download Festival in Ireland. It has been announced that Comes With The Fall's William DuVall will sing lead vocals on the band's upcoming European tour. Velvet Revolver's Duff McKagan has also been announced to join as the second guitarist for the touring band. However, McKagan only joins the band for a few songs and does not play for the entire show. A few pictures of the band rehearsing can be found on the gallery page of Jerry Cantrell's official website.

Sean Kinney has mentioned in a recent interview that he would be interested in writing new material, but not as Alice in Chains. A new website also has been launched in anticipation of the band's upcoming tour dates and possible new material. The former Official Site now redirects to the newly launched site.

On May 12, 2006, the reformed lineup of Alice in Chains performed at the second annual MAP Musicare Awards show, where Metallica frontman James Hetfield was being honored. The band performed with Hetfield and Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo in a three-song set consisting of "Would?", "Them Bones", and the Metallica ballad "Nothing Else Matters". (Hetfield also performed "Would?" with Alice in Chains on June 3rd at the Rock am Ring festival.)

Special:Recentchanges.

Band members

Current

Touring members

Former members

Discography

Release Date Title Label Other information
July, 1990 We Die Young Columbia EP
August 20, 1990 Facelift Columbia US #42, 2xPlatinum
March 21, 1992 Sap Columbia EP, Gold
September 29, 1992 Dirt Columbia US #6, 4xPlatinum
January 25, 1994 Jar of Flies Columbia EP, US #1, 2xPlatinum
November 7, 1995 Alice in Chains Columbia US #1,UK #37, 2xPlatinum
July 30, 1996 Unplugged Columbia live, US #3,UK #20, Platinum
June 29, 1999 Nothing Safe: Best of the Box Columbia US #20, Gold
October 26, 1999 Music Bank Columbia 4 CD box set, US #123
December 5, 2000 Live Columbia live, US #142, Gold
August 28, 2001 Greatest Hits Columbia US #112, Gold

Singles

Samples

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References

See also

Wikiquote has quotations related to Alice in Chains.
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