ALICE IN CHAINS - AIC

Sap is the second studio EP by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on February 4, 1992, through Columbia Records.[1][3] Sap is mostly acoustic and marks the first time that guitarist Jerry Cantrell sings lead vocals in an Alice in Chains release, with the song "Brother".[4] The EP was produced by Alice in Chains and Rick Parashar and features guest vocals by Ann Wilson of the band Heart, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Mark Arm of Mudhoney. The track "Got Me Wrong" became a hit two years later after being featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 film Clerks. On January 14, 1994, Sap was certified gold by the RIAA for the sale of more than 500,000 copies.[5] Background and recording Following the tour for Facelift, Alice in Chains entered the studio to record a song for the Cameron Crowe movie Singles, but decided to turn the engagement to their advantage. As the guitarist Jerry Cantrell recalled: "So in the session that was meant for recording that one song ['Would?'], we ended up demoing about 10 songs, which included all the stuff that ended up on the [1992] Sap EP, 'Rooster' and a couple of others from Dirt.”[6] While in the studio, drummer Sean Kinney had a dream about "making an EP called Sap."[2] The band decided "not to mess with fate,"[2] and Sap was recorded and mixed in 1991 with producer Rick Parashar at London Bridge Studio.[7] The EP was recorded in four or five days in November 1991.[8][2] Music and lyrics Lead vocalist Layne Staley encouraged guitarist Jerry Cantrell to sing lead vocals on the EP.[7][4] Cantrell sings lead vocals on "Brother" and splits lead vocals with Staley on "Got Me Wrong".[8] The EP features guest vocals by Ann Wilson from the band Heart, who joined vocalist Layne Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell for the choruses of "Brother" and "Am I Inside". It also features Mark Arm of Mudhoney and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden, who appeared together on the song "Right Turn", credited to "Alice Mudgarden" in the liner notes.[9] The song was featured in the 2001 film Black Hawk Down.[10] It was guitarist Jerry Cantrell who invited Wilson, Cornell and Arm to sing on Sap.[7] Regarding the lyrical content, Cantrell said he wrote "Brother" about his relationship with his younger brother.[11] The song specifically refers to the period after Cantrell's parents divorced, when his younger brother went off to live with his father while he stayed with his mother, and Cantrell said that the song "was a way of trying to build a bridge."[11] Commenting on "Got Me Wrong", Cantrell said he wrote the song about a relationship where one person thinks he or she can change the other person, and added that the song speaks of "the different ways that men and women see each other."[11] A version of the song "Rooster" was recorded during the sessions for Sap and was to be included on the EP, but the band then decided to use the song on their second full-length album instead.[6] This version is featured on the band's 1999 box set Music Bank. The hidden track, "Love Song", described by Cantrell as "the most bizarre song we've ever recorded", was Kinney's idea. All four members switched instruments for the recording, with Kinney on lead vocals and piano, Starr on guitar, Cantrell on bass, and Staley on drums.[8] Release and reception Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [12] Rolling Stone [13] On February 4, 1992, Alice in Chains released their second EP, Sap. The band did not want any ads or promotion for the EP, they just put it in the stores to see if people would buy it.[7] Cantrell said that Alice in Chains released Sap "without any fuss or fanfare so as the real Alice fans could find it."[11] The EP was released while Nirvana's Nevermind was at the top of the Billboard 200 charts, resulting in a rising popularity of Seattle-based bands, and the term grunge music.[14] Sap was soon certified gold.[5] The album was re-released on March 21, 1995, when "Got Me Wrong" became a hit after its inclusion on the soundtrack to the 1994 film, Clerks. The re-released version included lyrics and slightly different artwork. The aforementioned song, as well as "Brother," were performed live during Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged concert. In addition to the CD, the album was also released in a limited edition double vinyl along with Jar of Flies (Jar of Flies was on sides 1 and 2, Sap was on side 3, and an etching of the Alice in Chains logo was on side 4). In the UK, Sap and Jar of Flies were issued as a double CD, as Sap had not previously had a UK release. In the UK, "Brother" and "Right Turn" were initially released on the "Would" single and "Got Me Wrong" and "Am I Inside" were released on the "Them Bones" single. Hidden track "Love Song" never appeared on a UK single release and was previously unreleased when Sap was released with Jar of Flies. Track listing All tracks written by Jerry Cantrell, except "Am I Inside", containing lyrics by Layne Staley and music by Cantrell.[15] No. Title Length 1. "Brother" 4:27 2. "Got Me Wrong" 4:12 3. "Right Turn" (performed by Alice Mudgarden) 3:17 4. "Am I Inside" 5:09 5. "Love Song" (hidden track) 3:44 Total length: 20:49 "Alice Mudgarden" is Alice in Chains with Mark Arm of Mudhoney and Chris Cornell of Soundgarden. "Love Song" is a hidden track and there are no credits for it in the album. The ASCAP database lists all four members as songwriters.[16] Personnel Alice in Chains Layne Staley – vocals, drums on "Love Song" Jerry Cantrell – guitar, vocals, bass on "Love Song" Michael Starr – bass, guitar on "Love Song" Sean Kinney – drums, percussion, megaphone and piano on "Love Song" Alice Mudgarden (performs "Right Turn") Alice in Chains Mark Arm – vocals Chris Cornell – vocals Additional vocalists Ann Wilson – vocals on "Brother" and "Am I Inside" Chris Cornell - vocals on "Right Turn" Mark Arm - vocals on "Right Turn" Production Produced by Alice in Chains and Rick Parashar. Mastered by Eddy Schreyer at Future Disc Systems, Hollywood, CA Art direction by David Coleman Photography by Rocky Schenck Management by Kelly Curtis, Susan Silver

he Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is the fifth studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains, released on May 28, 2013, through Capitol Records, the band's final album released through the label.[8] Following a worldwide tour in support of its previous album, Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), Alice in Chains began work on a new album. The making of The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here lasted for more than a year and the release of the album was delayed numerous times. The band entered the studio in July 2011 to start work on their fifth album.[9] During the writing and recording sessions, guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell underwent shoulder surgery, which resulted in the delay of the album.[10] The recording sessions of The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here were completed in December 2012.[3] Peaking at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 chart and at No. 1 on the Top Rock Albums chart,[11] the album was well received by music critics, and "Hollow", "Stone", "Voices" were released as singles to promote the album. "Hollow"[12] and "Stone" reached No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks,[13][14] while "Voices" reached No. 3, and each one of the three songs stayed on the chart for 20 weeks.[15] The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here also reached the top ten in the national albums charts of Australia, Finland and Norway.[16] The album was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical in 2013,[17] and ranked No. 4 on Loudwire's 2019 list of the Best Rock Albums of the Decade.[18] The mockumentary AIC 23 was released via Funny or Die on April 3, 2013, to promote the album. Commercial The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 (the band's highest chart position since 1995's Alice in Chains, which debuted at No. 1), selling 61,000 copies in its first week of release.[51] By July 31, 2013, the album had sold 120,000 copies in the US.[52] The album also debuted at #2 on the Canadian Albums Chart, selling 7,300 copies in its first week.[53] Critical reception Professional ratings Aggregate scores Source Rating Metacritic 70/100[54] Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [55] The A.V. Club B−[56] The Independent [57] Loudwire [58] Melodic [59] Pitchfork 5.9/10[7] PopMatters 8/10[60] Rolling Stone [61] The Skinny [62] Spin 6/10[63] The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here has received positive reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has average score of 70 indicating "generally favorable reviews".[54] Chad Childers of Loudwire wrote: "With their new album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, the veteran rockers prove they can sustain their excellence. While all the things you would expect from Alice in Chains — sludgy guitars, haunting melodies, dark lyrics — are on the disc, the band shows they can still put a fresh spin on their sound." He went on to say that "while Alice in Chains definitely does "dark" well, songs like 'Low Ceiling' and 'Breath on a Window' offer a catchier, faster-paced alternative and deliver the perfect change of pace needed mid-album" and gave the album four and a half out of five stars.[58] Johan Wippsson of Melodic magazine felt that "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here is overall a good and stable record, but will not count it as one of the band's best."[59] Dave Kerr of The Skinny awarded the album four out of five stars and wrote: "Featuring an even split of melodic slowburners and lead-heavy bangers with blindsiding tempo-shifts that arrive like eleventh hour twists to the plot, songs such as Phantom Limb and Breath On A Window carry the familiar hallmarks of AiC's heyday without entirely surrendering to the predictability they might imply. Brooding, doomy riffs usher in soaring two-part harmonies which reiterate that, against some odds, Cantrell has found a worthy foil in co-vocalist William DuVall. A significant addition to their intimidating catalogue."[62] Stephen Erlewine of AllMusic gave the album a more mixed review saying: "This has a digital sheen that was missing even from Black Gives Way to Blue, and it gives the album an expansive feel, so the patented churn doesn't seem quite so claustrophobic as before. Then again, perhaps that expansiveness is just a sign of age: Alice in Chains are now firmly entrenched in their middle age and settling into what they do best: retaining their signature without pandering and, tellingly, without succumbing to the darkness that otherwise defines them." He went on to give the album three out of five stars.[55] Jon Dolan of Rolling Stone gave a similar impression, writing: "It's the band's second LP since the 2002 death of singer Layne Staley, and though new vocalist William DuVall doesn't have his predecessor's talent for shaping Seattle sludge into molten-dread anthems, founder Jerry Cantrell's expressively torpid guitar steps up to become its own kind of lead voice, chugging mordantly on 'Hollow' and wailing like My Bloody Valentine on 'Pretty Done.'" He also went on to give the album three out of five stars.[61] Stephen M. Deusner of Pitchfork Media also gave a mixed review, writing: "[The title] song is six-and-a-half minutes long. It doesn't need to be. Chop it in half and you could double its impact. But the same could be said of just about any track on Dinosaurs, which typically lumber past the five-minute mark. The result is an album that feels much longer than its bloated 70 minutes, that often buries its best moments, that exhausts its most intriguing ideas either by stretching them out or simply repeating them." He then adds "On the other hand, Dinosaurs actually does have some intriguing ideas to exhaust, mostly about how you play mainstream rock in 2013."[7] Track listing All songs written by Jerry Cantrell, except where noted No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Hollow" 5:43 2. "Pretty Done" 4:35 3. "Stone" 4:23 4. "Voices" 5:42 5. "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" Cantrell, Mike Inez, Sean Kinney 6:38 6. "Lab Monkey" 5:59 7. "Low Ceiling" Cantrell, Kinney, Inez 5:15 8. "Breath on a Window" 5:18 9. "Scalpel" Cantrell, Kinney, Inez 5:21 10. "Phantom Limb" William DuVall, Cantrell, Kinney, Inez 7:07 11. "Hung on a Hook" 5:34 12. "Choke" Cantrell, Kinney, Inez 5:44 Total length: 67:17 Personnel Jerry Cantrell – lead vocals, lead guitar William DuVall – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar solo on "Phantom Limb" Sean Kinney – drums, percussion Mike Inez – bass Production Produced by Nick Raskulinecz and Alice in Chains Engineered by Paul Figueroa Mixing by Randy Staub Mastering by Ted Jensen Artwork by Ryan Clark Photography by Kabacchi & Ballista Management by Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group and Susan Silver Management

Rainier Fog (pronounced: /reɪˈnɪər/) is the sixth studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains, released on August 24, 2018, through BMG, the band's first release on the label.[1] The title was inspired by Mount Rainier, a volcano that overlooks the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area, and the title track is a tribute to the Seattle music scene.[10] This is the band's third album with William DuVall sharing lead vocals with Jerry Cantrell, and the first Alice in Chains album in 22 years to be recorded in their hometown of Seattle. The album was partially recorded at Seattle's Studio X, the same studio where the band recorded their 1995 self-titled album.[4] Rainier Fog is also Alice in Chains' third collaboration with producer Nick Raskulinecz, marking their first time recording three full-length albums with the same producer. The tracks "The One You Know", "So Far Under", "Never Fade" and "Rainier Fog" were released as singles to promote the album.[1] A 10-part sci-fi web series titled Black Antenna was released in 2019 as a companion piece to the album. A full-length feature film with the same title was also announced, but as of 2020 no release date has been set. Rainier Fog debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart.[11] It also debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Top Rock Albums, Alternative Albums and Hard Rock Albums charts.[11] The album became Alice in Chains' first top 10 in the UK, peaking at No. 9.[12] Rainier Fog was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Rock Album in 2019.[13] It won a 2018 Metal Storm Award for Best Alternative Metal Album Track listing All lyrics are written by Jerry Cantrell, except where noted; all music is composed by Cantrell, except where noted No. Title Lyrics Music Length 1. "The One You Know" 4:49 2. "Rainier Fog" 5:01 3. "Red Giant" CantrellMike InezSean Kinney 5:25 4. "Fly" CantrellKinney 5:18 5. "Drone" CantrellInezKinney 6:30 6. "Deaf Ears Blind Eyes" 4:44 7. "Maybe" 5:36 8. "So Far Under" William DuVall DuVall 4:33 9. "Never Fade" DuVallCantrell 4:40 10. "All I Am" 7:15 Total length: 53:21 Personnel Jerry Cantrell – lead guitar, lead vocals William DuVall – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, guitar solo on "So Far Under" Mike Inez – bass Sean Kinney – drums Additional performer Chris DeGarmo – acoustic guitar on "Drone" Production Produced by Nick Raskulinecz and Alice in Chains Recorded by Paul "Fig" Figueroa at Studio X, Seattle, Washington, & Henson Studios, Los Angeles, California, & Casa de Cantrell, and Nathan Yarborough at Dark Horse Studios/Rock Falcon Studio, Franklin, Tennessee Additional recording by Steve Olmon Additional pre-recording at Synergy Studio, Seattle, Washington Mixed and additional recordings by Joe Barresi at JHOC, Pasadena, California[4] Mastered by Dave Collins Art director/designer by Ryan Clark for Invisible Creature, Inc.[48] Band photography by Scott Dachroeden Management by Velvet Hammer Music and Management Group and Susan Silver Management

Unplugged is a live album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on July 30, 1996, by Columbia Records. It was recorded on April 10, 1996, at the Brooklyn Academy of Music's Majestic Theatre for the television series MTV Unplugged. The show was directed by Joe Perota and first aired on MTV on May 28, 1996. Home video releases of the MTV broadcast were released on VHS in October 1996, and on DVD in October 1999. The MTV Unplugged was Alice in Chains' first concert in two and a half years, and contains live, acoustic versions of the band's biggest hits and lesser-known songs. A new song, "The Killer Is Me", was performed for the first time during the concert. The acoustic version of "Over Now" (originally released on Alice in Chains' 1995 self-titled album) was released as a single. The album debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard 200 chart, and has been certified platinum by the RIAA. The performance was released on DVD on October 26, 1999, and re-released as a CD/DVD package featuring unaired footage on September 18, 2007. The home video release has received gold certification by RIAA. Track listing No. Title Writer(s) Original release Length 1. "Nutshell" Layne Staley/Jerry Cantrell/Mike Inez/Sean Kinney Jar of Flies 4:57 2. "Brother" Cantrell Sap 5:27 3. "No Excuses" Cantrell Jar of Flies 4:57 4. "Sludge Factory" Staley/Cantrell/Kinney Alice in Chains 4:36 5. "Down in a Hole" Cantrell Dirt 5:46 6. "Angry Chair" (Cut from MTV Broadcast, included on the re-release) Staley Dirt 4:36 7. "Rooster" Cantrell Dirt 6:41 8. "Got Me Wrong" Cantrell Sap 4:59 9. "Heaven Beside You" Cantrell/Inez Alice in Chains 5:38 10. "Would?" Cantrell Dirt 3:43 11. "Frogs" (Cut from MTV Broadcast, included on the re-release) Staley/Cantrell/Kinney/Inez Alice in Chains 7:30 12. "Over Now" Cantrell/Kinney Alice in Chains 7:12 13. "Killer Is Me" (Cut from MTV Broadcast, included on the re-release) Cantrell 5:23 Total length: 71:26

Black Gives Way to Blue is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on September 29, 2009, on the 17th anniversary of the release of their second album, Dirt.[1] It is their first record without original lead singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002, and their first album with new vocalist and rhythm guitarist William DuVall sharing vocal duties with lead guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell, who sings lead vocals on most of the songs.[5][6][7][8] The title track is a tribute to Staley featuring Elton John on piano. This is the first Alice in Chains album released on Virgin Records and their first venture away from Columbia, who handled all of their previous releases. The album debuted at No. 5 on the Billboard 200,[9] and was certified gold by the RIAA on May 26, 2010,[10] with shipments exceeding 500,000 copies in the U.S. and over 1 million copies sold worldwide.[11] "Check My Brain" and "A Looking in View" were both nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2010 and 2011, respectively.[12] Black Gives Way to Blue won Revolver magazine's Golden Gods Award for Album of the Year in 2010. The span of nearly fourteen years between the self-titled album and Black Gives Way to Blue, marks the longest gap between studio albums in Alice in Chains' career. The band reunited in early 2006, with DuVall as their new singer.[13] By April 2007, Alice in Chains had been writing and demoing songs for the album,[14] but the band did not show further signs of progress until October 2008, when they announced that they had begun recording with producer Nick Raskulinecz in the studio.[15] The album was recorded at Foo Fighters' Studio 606 in Northridge and at the Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles, produced by Raskulinecz and Alice in Chains.[16] The band did not have a record label at the time of the recording and the album was funded by Cantrell and drummer Sean Kinney.[17] The writing and recording process was completed on Cantrell's 43rd birthday, on March 18, 2009.[18] Musically, the album sees the band return to the heavy metal/hard rock style of Dirt and Facelift instead of the murky dark mood that their third album showcased with more grunge-fuzz pedal elements; some songs are noted for their acoustic elements.[19] It also includes songs which Cantrell described as "the heaviest he's ever written".[ Track listing All tracks are written by Jerry Cantrell, except where noted No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "All Secrets Known" 4:42 2. "Check My Brain" 3:57 3. "Last of My Kind" CantrellWilliam DuVall 5:52 4. "Your Decision" 4:43 5. "A Looking in View" CantrellDuVallSean KinneyMike Inez 7:06 6. "When the Sun Rose Again" 4:00 7. "Acid Bubble" 6:55 8. "Lesson Learned" 4:16 9. "Take Her Out" 4:00 10. "Private Hell" 5:38 11. "Black Gives Way to Blue" 3:03 Total length: 54:12 iTunes bonus tracks No. Title Length 12. "Black Gives Way to Blue" (Piano Mix) 3:01 13. "Your Decision" (Live) 4:48 Total length: 62:01 Japanese bonus No. Title Length 12. "Down in a Hole" (Live at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre, 7 July 2009) 6:46 Total length: 60:56

Alice in Chains (occasionally informally referred to as The Dog Album and Tripod) is the third studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on November 7, 1995, by Columbia Records, and was the follow-up to the highly successful Dirt (1992). This is the band's first full-length studio album to feature bassist Mike Inez and their last studio album to feature original lead vocalist Layne Staley before his death in 2002. It is also their final studio album to be released through Columbia. As with their previous releases, the album's songs focus on heavy emotional content and subject matter such as drug addiction, depression, religion, broken relationships, and the internal tensions within the band. The album's music relies less on metallic riffs and more on melody and texturally varied arrangements, integrating some of the more delicate acoustic moods of their EPs.[4] Alice in Chains debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 189,000 copies,[5] and stayed on the chart for 46 weeks.[6] The tracks "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Again" were released as singles. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and has sold over three million copies worldwide The Nona Tapes To help promote the album, Columbia asked the band to do an EPK (Electronic Press Kit), a common marketing tool in the '90s in which they should talk about themselves, but they did not want to do that. The band took the money from the label and made the mockumentary The Nona Tapes instead.[22] Directed by Rocky Schenck, it features Jerry Cantrell disguised as a female journalist, Nona Weisbaum, interviewing his bandmates playing fictionalized versions of themselves during a car ride in Seattle. The music video for "Grind" is also featured at the end.[23] Columbia did not like The Nona Tapes at first and told the band they had wasted their money doing it. However, it became a cult hit and Columbia decided to sell it, but the band was against it. The video was eventually released on VHS in December 1995.[22] In 2006, The Nona Tapes was released on DVD and came as a bonus with the compilation The Essential Alice in Chains.[24] Release and reception Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [4] Entertainment Weekly C link NME 5/10[26] People (favorable)[29] Q [25] Rolling Stone [27] Select [28] Although not as successful as Dirt, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 46 weeks.[6] It has since been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[30] The band opted not to tour in support of Alice in Chains, adding to the rumors of drug abuse.[9][31] When asked about the frustration of not touring to support the record, Cantrell provided some insight into how Staley's addictions led to repercussive tensions within the band: "Very frustrating, but we stuck it out. We rode the good times together, and we stuck together through the hard times. We never stabbed each other in the back and spilled our guts and do that kind of bullshit that you see happen a lot."[32] It was noted for being a break away from the externally applied grunge label affixed to the group.[33][27] Rolling Stone described the album as a "musical rebirth",[27] and The New York Times remarked that in contrast to the raw distortions associated with grunge, Alice in Chains' sound was "cleanly delineated and meticulously layered."[33] Jon Wiederhorn of Rolling Stone called the album "liberating and enlightening", noting that the songs "achieve a startling, staggering and palpable impact."[27] In reviewing Alice in Chains's discography, Bill Adams of Ground Control Magazine wrote that, "If indeed Jar of Flies turned out to be the gateway that got so many more people hooked on Alice in Chains, it can only be said that the band's self-titled album implies withdrawals or a sense of significant unease or discomfort. The signs that something is just not right appear everywhere both on and in Alice in Chains; the front cover features a photo of a three-legged dog (one too few) while the back cover presents a picture of a three-legged mandolinist (one too many). The album's liner notes feature images of ghastly, contorted fairies with no flesh on their arms, sinister, personified bottles swimming through black oceans, cartoons of mutant animals standing on trial, synthetic limbs and more. They are images of turmoil, disease and discomfort, and it's difficult to look at them."[34] Alice in Chains included the singles "Grind", "Heaven Beside You", and "Again", all of which had accompanying music videos. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996 and 1997, respectively.[35][36] The music video for "Again" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.[37] Track listing All lyrics are written by Layne Staley, except "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Over Now" by Jerry Cantrell. No. Title Music Length 1. "Grind" Cantrell 4:44 2. "Brush Away" Cantrell, Mike Inez, Sean Kinney 3:22 3. "Sludge Factory" Cantrell, Kinney 7:12 4. "Heaven Beside You" Cantrell, Inez 5:27 5. "Head Creeps" Staley 6:28 6. "Again" Cantrell 4:05 7. "Shame in You" Cantrell, Inez, Kinney 5:35 8. "God Am" Cantrell, Inez, Kinney 4:08 9. "So Close" Cantrell, Kinney 2:45 10. "Nothin' Song" Cantrell, Kinney 5:40 11. "Frogs" Cantrell, Inez, Kinney 8:18 12. "Over Now" Cantrell, Kinney 7:03 Total length: 64:47 Notes "Over Now" contains an excerpt of "Good Night" by Ted Lewis. The Japanese edition of the album features two remixes of "Again" (the "Tattoo of Pain Mix" and the "Jungle Mix", also known as the "Club Mix") as bonus tracks. Personnel Alice in Chains Layne Staley – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar on "Head Creeps", guitar parts on "Brush Away" Jerry Cantrell – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Over Now" Mike Inez – bass Sean Kinney – drums Production Produced by Toby Wright and Alice in Chains Recorded by Toby Wright and Tom Nellen, assisted by Sam Hofstedt Mixed by Toby Wright, assisted by John Seymour Mastered by Stephen Marcussen Studio coordinator – Kevan Wilkins Audio technicians – Darrell Peters, Walter Gemienhardt Artwork guide – Sean Kinney Art direction – Mary Maurer Design – Doug Erb Photography – Rocky Schenck, Rob Bloch Management – Susan Silver

Facelift is the debut studio album by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released by Columbia Records on August 28, 1990.[1] The tracks "We Die Young", and "Man in the Box" were released as singles. "Man in the Box" was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal in 1992.[5] Facelift became the first grunge album to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), achieving this feat on September 11, 1991.[6][7] The album peaked at No. 42 on the Billboard 200 chart,[8] and has been certified triple-platinum by the RIAA for shipments of three million copies in the United States.[6] Background and recording Local promoter Randy Hauser became aware of Alice in Chains at a concert, and offered to pay for demo recordings. However, one day before the band was due to record at the Music Bank studio in Washington, police shut down the studio during the biggest marijuana raid in the state's history.[9] The final demo – dubbed The Treehouse Tapes – found its way to managers Kelly Curtis and Susan Silver, who also managed the Seattle-based Soundgarden. Curtis and Silver passed the demo to Columbia Records' A&R representative Nick Terzo, who set up an appointment with label president Don Ienner. Based on The Treehouse Tapes (sold by the band at shows), Ienner signed Alice in Chains to Columbia in 1989.[9] Alice in Chains became a top priority for the label, who released the band's first official recording in July 1990: the promotional EP We Die Young. Its lead single and title song became a hit on metal radio. After its success, the label rushed Alice in Chains' debut album into production with producer Dave Jerden.[10] "I told Jerry Cantrell, ‘Metallica took Tony Iommi and sped him up. What you've done is you've slowed him down again,’" Jerden recalled. "He looked at me and said, ‘You got it.’ That's how I got the gig."[11] Drummer Sean Kinney claims to have played this album with a broken hand: I almost didn't play on the record - they started rehearsing with the drummer from Mother Love Bone, Greg Gilmore. I was sitting there playing with one hand, guiding him through it. Dave Jerden came in and they started to try to do it. He was like, 'Screw it - pull the plug. This is not going to be the same.' Luckily, we took a tiny bit of time off. I had that cast on for a while, and was like, 'I can't miss this.' I cut my cast off in the studio and kept a bucket of ice by the drum set. Kept my hand iced down and played with a broken hand. I tried not to do that again - your first big break, and you fuck it up.[12] Facelift was recorded at London Bridge Studio in Seattle and at Capitol Studios in Hollywood from December 1989 to April 1990.[13] Footage from the Facelift sessions can be found on Alice in Chains' Music Bank: The Videos DVD Release and reception Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating AllMusic [2] Classic Rock [23] Kerrang! Favorable [24] Q [25] Rolling Stone Album Guide [26] Facelift was released on August 28, 1990, peaking at number 42 in the summer of 1991 on the Billboard 200 chart.[27] It was the first album from the grunge movement to reach the top 50 in America on the Billboard 200, and the first to be certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on September 11, 1991,[6][7] followed by Nirvana's Nevermind on November 27, 1991.[28] Facelift included the singles "We Die Young", "Man in the Box", and "Sea of Sorrow", all of which had accompanying music videos. The album was a critical success, with "Hollywood" Steve Huey of AllMusic citing Facelift as "one of the most important records in establishing an audience for grunge and alternative rock among hard rock and heavy metal listeners."[2] Facelift was not an instant success, selling under 40,000 copies in the first six months of release, until MTV added "Man in the Box" to regular daytime rotation.[29] "Man in the Box" hit number 18 on the Mainstream Rock charts, with the album's follow up single, "Sea of Sorrow", reaching number 27,[30] and in six weeks Facelift sold 400,000 copies in the United States.[29] Alice in Chains was nominated for a Best Hard Rock Performance with Vocal Grammy Award in 1992 for "Man in the Box", but lost to Van Halen for their 1991 album For Unlawful Carnal Knowledge.[5] The music video for "Man in the Box" was nominated for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Video at the 1991 MTV Video Music Awards.[31] The album won Best Debut Album at the 1991 Foundations Forum.[32][33] In June 2017, Ozzy Osbourne listed Facelift as one of his "10 Favorite Metal Albums".[34] In April 2019, the album was ranked No. 14 on Rolling Stone's "50 Greatest Grunge Albums" list.[35] Soundgarden lead guitarist Kim Thayil also picked Facelift as one of his favorite Grunge albums.[36] Tour The band continued to hone its audience, opening for such artists as Iggy Pop,[37] Van Halen, Poison,[15] and Extreme.[29] In early 1991, Alice in Chains landed the opening slot for the Clash of the Titans with Anthrax, Megadeth, and Slayer, exposing the band to a wide metal audience.[38] During the tour the band found themselves subject to some hostile audiences; however, Anthrax bassist Frank Bello recalls them earning the respect of others by standing up for themselves: "If there was a guy starting shit, Layne would jump into the audience and beat the FUCK outta that guy!"[39] Michael Christopher of PopMatters observed "With 1990's Facelift, before Nirvana blew the scene wide open, Seattle’s Alice in Chains were getting a metal push, thrown on tour with the likes of Slayer and Megadeth, repeatedly booed off stage in a genre where they didn’t belong."[40] The band later released the video compilation Live Facelift, which was filmed at the Moore Theatre in 1990. Track listing All music written by Jerry Cantrell, except "It Ain't Like That", written by Cantrell, Mike Starr and Sean Kinney, and "Confusion", written by Cantrell and Starr. All lyrics written by Cantrell, except where noted. No. Title Lyrics Length 1. "We Die Young" 2:32 2. "Man in the Box" Layne Staley 4:46 3. "Sea of Sorrow" 5:49 4. "Bleed the Freak" 4:01 5. "I Can't Remember" Staley, Cantrell 3:42 6. "Love, Hate, Love" Staley 6:26 7. "It Ain't Like That" 4:37 8. "Sunshine" 4:44 9. "Put You Down" 3:16 10. "Confusion" Staley 5:44 11. "I Know Somethin (Bout You)" 4:22 12. "Real Thing" Staley 4:03 Total length: 54:02 Outtakes and non-album tracks "Killing Yourself", recorded during the Facelift sessions, was featured as the B-side to the 1990 "We Die Young" vinyl single. It has never been issued on CD. Demos for the songs "I Can't Have You Blues", "Whatcha Gonna Do", "Social Parasite", "Bleed the Freak", "Sea of Sorrow", and "Killing Yourself" were featured on Alice in Chains' 1988 demo tape.[14] Remixes of these recordings were later included on the band's 1999 box set, Music Bank. A demo of "We Die Young" from the same sessions was released exclusively on the 1999 Nothing Safe: Best of the Box compilation. Further 1988 demos of the songs "Chemical Addiction", "Fairytale Love Story", "Queen of the Rodeo", "Bite the Bullet", "King of the Kats", "I Can't Remember", "Sunshine", "The Real Thing", and a cover of David Bowie's "Suffragette City" circulate on various bootlegs in poor quality. A live version of "Queen of the Rodeo" features on the 2000 live album Live as well as the Music Bank box set. Regarding the songs featured on the 1988 demo tape, Cantrell said, "I guess with all those songs we were 'discovering' ourselves."[14] Personnel Personnel adapted from Facelift liner notes [41] Alice in Chains Layne Staley – lead vocals Jerry Cantrell – guitar, backing vocals, talkbox on "Man in the Box" Mike Starr – bass, backing vocals on "Confusion", additional backing vocals Sean Kinney – drums, percussion, additional backing vocals, piano on "Sea of Sorrow" Additional personnel Kevin Shuss - Additional backing vocals Production and management Produced, recorded, and mixed by Dave Jerden Additional engineering by Ron Champagne Assistant engineering by Leslie Ann Jones Assistant mix engineering by Bob Lacivita Mastered by Eddy Schreyer Management – Kelly Curtis, Susan Silver A&R – Nick Terzo Product manager – Peter Fletcher

Dirt is the second studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on September 29, 1992, by Columbia Records. Peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 chart, the album received critical acclaim. It has since been certified 5× platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making Dirt the band's highest selling album to date.[8] It was the band's last album recorded with all four original members, as bassist Mike Starr was fired in January 1993 during the tour to support the album.[9][10] The album spawned five singles: "Would?", "Them Bones", "Angry Chair", "Rooster", and "Down in a Hole", all with accompanying music videos. Dirt was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The music video for "Would?" was nominated for an MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film, as the song was featured on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe's 1992 film Singles. The album’s lyrics feature dark subject matter, focusing primarily on depression, pain, anger, anti-social behavior, relationships, drug addiction (primarily heroin), war, death, and other emotionally charged topics. The track "Iron Gland" features Tom Araya from Slayer on vocals. Most of the music from the album was written by guitarist Jerry Cantrell, but for the first time vocalist Layne Staley wrote two songs by himself ("Hate to Feel" and "Angry Chair"), both also featuring Staley on guitar. Retrospectively, the album has continued to receive acclaim, with Rolling Stone placing the album at No. 26 on its list of the "100 Greatest Metal Albums of All Time".[11] Dirt was included in the 2005 book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. It was voted "Kerrang! Critic's Choice Album of the Year". Guitar World named Dirt as the best guitar album of 1992. Loudwire named it as one of the best metal albums of the 1990s, and Rolling Stone ranked it at No. 6 on its list of the "50 Greatest Grunge Albums" in 2019. Track listing "Sickman", "Junkhead", "Dirt" and "God Smack" are credited to Cantrell/Staley with no specification for lyrics or music. "Rain When I Die" is credited to Cantrell/Staley/Kinney/Starr,[72] and it was later stated that Cantrell and Staley wrote the lyrics.[21] No. Title Writer(s) Length 1. "Them Bones" Jerry Cantrell 2:30 2. "Dam That River" Cantrell 3:09 3. "Rain When I Die" CantrellLayne StaleySean KinneyMike Starr 6:01 4. "Down in a Hole[I]" Cantrell 5:38 5. "Sickman" CantrellStaley 5:29 6. "Rooster" Cantrell 6:15 7. "Junkhead" CantrellStaley 5:09 8. "Dirt" CantrellStaley 5:16 9. "God Smack" CantrellStaley 3:56 10. "Intro (Dream Sequence)/Iron Gland[II]" (sometimes unlisted or listed as "Untitled") Tom ArayaCantrell 0:43 11. "Hate to Feel" Staley 5:15 12. "Angry Chair" Staley 4:48 13. "Would?" Cantrell 3:28 Total length: 57:37 ^ I On early U.S. and Canadian pressings, "Down in a Hole" appeared as track 12 placed between "Angry Chair" and "Would?".[73][74] Current U.S. and Canadian editions of the CD and the Vinyl have "Down in a Hole" as the fourth track, located between "Rain When I Die" and "Sickman",[1][75][43] which was the track listing that the band originally intended before the record company changed the order.[24][21] ^ II Track 9 or 10, "Iron Gland", appears without a title on the album. The title appeared on the compilations Nothing Safe and Music Bank. The iTunes Store lists it incorrectly as "Iron Man". Before the name "Iron Gland" was revealed, it was labeled in some online databases as "Intro (Dream Sequence)". On editions in which "Down in a Hole" is track 4, "Iron Gland" is track 10. The track is unlisted on some versions of the album, and some editions remove the track completely or merge it with "Hate to Feel". On the back cover of the edition in which "Iron Gland" is track 9, "Hate to Feel", "Angry Chair", "Down in a Hole" and "Would?" are listed from 9–12. However, when the CD is played, the songs are on tracks 10–13.

Jar of Flies is the third studio EP by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on January 25, 1994, by Columbia Records. The band's second acoustic EP, after 1992's Sap, it was the first EP in music history to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with the first week sales exceeding 141,000 copies in the United States. The self-produced record was written and recorded over the course of just one week at the London Bridge Studio in Seattle. The tracks "No Excuses", "I Stay Away" and "Don't Follow" were released as singles to promote the EP. Jar of Flies was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1995: Best Recording Package and Best Hard Rock Performance for "I Stay Away". The EP was well received by critics and has been certified quadruple platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), making Jar of Flies one of the band's most successful releases. In Canada, Jar of Flies was certified double platinum for sales of 200,000 copies. In the United Kingdom, the album was certified silver after selling 60,000 copies there. Track listing All lyrics written by Layne Staley, except where noted. All music written or co-written by Jerry Cantrell, co-writers are listed below. No. Title Lyrics Music Length 1. "Rotten Apple" Mike Inez 6:58 2. "Nutshell" Inez, Sean Kinney 4:19 3. "I Stay Away" Inez 4:14 4. "No Excuses" Cantrell 4:15 5. "Whale & Wasp" instrumental 2:37 6. "Don't Follow" Cantrell 4:22 7. "Swing on This" Inez, Kinney 4:04 Total length: 30:49