ALICE IN CHAINS — Alice In Chains (review)

ALICE IN CHAINS — Alice In Chains album cover Album · 1995 · Alternative Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
4/5 ·
Pekka
The time between releasing Jar of Flies and starting work on Alice In Chains' self-titled album was marked by cancelled tour dates and band hiatus caused by Layne Staley's rehab stint and a side project called Mad Season. When they finally managed to get together in a studio and get something done, the end product was released in a package adorned with an image of a three legged dog on the front and a three legged man on the back. Certain interpretations of the band's situation can be made, especially since they didn't tour in support of the album.

With the cover art and sound bleak in the extreme, this really doesn't sound like an album made by happy people. A distinct change in the band dynamics can be heard with Jerry Cantrell spending a lot more time on the mic - two of the three singles released from the album featured Cantrell on lead vocals - with Staley often appearing just to provide a harmony. Or in the case of the opener Grind a disturbing distorted mess to give the already heavy song some great twisted edge. The track lenghts are also often a lot longer than before, which isn't a result of crafting multi-part prog epics, but rather ending songs with long druggy ramblings, outro jams if you will. It's a matter of the moment and mood if they're an improvement on the song or not. Other notable changes are the somewhat downturned distortion knob and more layered guitar tracks, but in the end the sound is still very noticeable AIC, most of all of course when Layne Staley opens his multitracked mouth on top of Jerry Cantrell's riffs.

This album features many great tracks like Grind, Heaven Beside You, Head Creeps, God Am and Over Now, but also a couple of more fillerish ones, mostly Shame in You and Nothin' Song that do a bit of harm for the impact of the album. I used to be a bit let down by the fact that there are brilliant renditions of half the songs of this album on their live albums and thought that these versions are inferior to them, but recently I've found greater appreciation for the originals. A very dark and disturbing album which sadly turned out to be their last studio work featuring Layne Staley. Very recommendable.
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