ALICE IN CHAINS — Facelift (review)

ALICE IN CHAINS — Facelift album cover Album · 1990 · Alternative Metal Buy this album from MMA partners
3.5/5 ·
Negoba
Promising Debut but Much More to Come

Alice in Chains gets lumped with the Seattle grunge scene, but when "Man In The Box" emerged in 1990/91, Alice was just one of many bands trying to push the metal envelope. Everyone knew that the cookbook was spent and lots of bands were trying to inject some new energy. On Facelift, Alice still seems like a metal band, though one with some new tricks up its sleeve. Layne Staley was clearly a new breed of vocalist, and the intelligent harmonies of Jerry Cantrell were only starting to emerge.

But the guitars are big and the music mixed the heaviness and seriousness of Metallica with a little lighter and less complex feel of more traditional metal bands. "Man in the Box" was a deceptively simple song that was remarkably well put together. As a guitarist, I always enjoyed playing the unison line with the vocalist on this song, something no other song ever offered. The other "hits" like "We Die Young" and "Bleed the Freak" were solid. The rest of the album was solid enough but not much sticks with you.

Alice will hit its peak with the follow up, Dirt, but some of their concert showcase songs remained the big ones from Facelift.

Bottom Line: Historically essential, but musically eclipsed by the band's next.
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