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Master List |
Alice in Chains BIO
Alice in Chains was the definitive
heavy metal band of the early '90s. Drawing equally from the heavy
riffing of post-Van Halen metal and the gloomy strains of post-punk, the
band developed a bleak, nihilistic sound that balanced grinding hard
rock with subtly textured acoustic numbers. They were hard enough for
metal fans, yet their dark subject matter and punky attack placed them
among the front ranks of the Seattle-based grunge bands. While this
dichotomy helped the group soar to multi-platinum status with their
second album, 1992's Dirt, it also divided them. Guitarist Jerry
Cantrell always leaned toward the mainstream, while vocalist Layne
Staley was fascinated with the seamy underground. Such tension drove the
band toward stardom in their early years, but following Dirt, Alice in
Chains suffered from near-crippling internal tensions that kept the band
off the road for the remainder of the '90s and, consequently, the group
never quite fulfilled their potential.
Staley formed the initial incarnation of the band while in high school
in the mid-'80s, naming the group Alice N Chains. Staley met Cantrell in
1987 at the Seattle rehearsal warehouse the Music Bank and the two began
working together, changing the group's name to Alice in Chains.
Cantrell's friends Mike Starr (bass) and Sean Kinney (drums) rounded out
the lineup,and the band began playing local Seattle clubs. Columbia
Records signed the group in 1989 and the label quickly made the band a
priority, targeting heavy metal audiences. Early in 1990, the label
released the We Die Young EP as a promotional device and the song became
a hit on metal radio, setting the stage for the summer release of the
group's debut, Facelift. Alice in Chains supported the album by opening
for Van Halen, Poison, and Iggy Pop, and it became a hit, going gold by
the end of the year. As the band prepared their second album, they
released the largely acoustic EP Sap in 1991 to strong reviews.
Prior to the release of Alice in Chains' second album, Seattle became a
media sensation thanks to the surprise success of Nirvana. As a result,
Alice was now marketed as an alternative band, not as a metal outfit,
and the group landed a song, the menacing "Would?," on the Singles
soundtrack during the summer of 1992. "Would?" helped build anticipation
for Dirt, the group's relentlessly bleak second album that was released
in the fall of 1992 to very good reviews. Following its release, Starr
left and was replaced by Mike Inez. Dirt went platinum by the end of
1992, but its gloomy lyrics launched many rumors that Staley was
addicted to heroin. Alice in Chains soldiered on in the face of such
criticism, performing successfully on the third Lollapalooza tour in
1993, which helped Dirt reach sales of three million.
The band released the low-key EP Jar of Flies in early 1994. It debuted
at number one upon its release, becoming the first EP to top the album
charts. Despite the band's continued success, they stayed off the road,
which fueled speculation that Staley was mired in heroin addiction.
Later that year, Staley did give a few concerts as part of the Gacy
Bunch, a Seattle supergroup also featuring Pearl Jam's Mike McCready,
the Screaming Trees' Barrett Martin, and John Saunders. The group
subsequently renamed itself Mad Season and released Above in early 1995.
Later that year, Alice in Chains re-emerged with an eponymous third
album, which debuted at number one on the American charts. Again, the
band chose not to tour, which launched yet another round of speculation
that band was suffering from various addictions and were on the verge of
disbanding. The group did give one concert -- their first in three years
-- in 1996, performing for an episode of MTV Unplugged, which was
released as an album that summer. Despite its success, the album did
nothing to dispel doubts about the group's future and neither did
Cantrell's solo album, Boggy Depot, in 1998.
Cantrell basically released Boggy Depot because he couldn't get Staley
to work, but its very existence -- and the presence of Inez and Kinney
on the record, not to mention Alice producer Toby Wright -- seemed to
confirm that the group was on moratorium at best, defunct at worst.
Staley, for his part, stayed quiet, conceding his spot on Mad Season's
second album to Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan. In 1999, Sony put
together a three-disc Alice in Chains box set, Music Bank, divided
between the group's best work and assorted rarities. At the turn of the
new millennium, Columbia Records issued Live, which plucked material
from bootlegs, demos, and festival shows covering the years 1990, 1993,
and 1996.
As if the group hadn't been repackaged as many times as possible with
its limited repertoire, a ten-track best-of set, Greatest Hits, appeared
in July 2001. With no sign of the group reclaiming their spot atop the
alt-metal heap (and such copycat acts as Godsmack, Days of the New,
Puddle of Mudd, and Creed taking the Alice in Chains formula to the top
of the charts), Cantrell completed his sophomore solo effort,
Degradation Trip, in 2002. But just two months before the album's
release, in April 2002, the news that every Alice in Chains fan had been
fearing for years had finally come to pass: Layne Staley was found dead
due to a lethal overdose of cocaine and heroin. Although understandably
grief-stricken, Cantrell launched his solo album's supporting tour
according to schedule, opting to open shows in the summer for another
Alice in Chains-influenced band, Nickelback. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine &
Greg Prato, All Music Guide
Alice in Chains Tickets
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Alice in Chains Tickets
Alice in Chains Concert Tickets
Alice in Chains
07.29.06
Columbia Meadows Saint Helens, OR
Alice in Chains
08.03.06
Hampton Beach Casino
Hampton, NH
Alice in Chains
08.04.06
Starland Ballroom Sayerville, NJ
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Straub Chrysler Jeep Bethlehem, PA
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