When Did Again Alice in Chains Come Out

Biography

Alice in Chains

Alice in Bondage both epitomized the solemn, heavy Seattle sound of the 1990s and stood apart from the grunge hordes. What separated Alice in Chains from their alt-stone brethren was how their roots lay in heavy metal, not punk. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell and vocalist Layne Staley both played in metal bands prior to the formation of Alice in Chains in 1987 and they released the band's debut, Facelift, in 1990, well earlier Nirvana's Nevermind pushed the underground into the mainstream. Despite their connections to metal, Alice in Bondage thrived in the glory days of grunge, and it wasn't merely a question of timing, either. The band'southward sensibility fit into the alternative stone zeitgeist of the early '90s. Cantrell's gloomy, modest-key riffs were an ideal friction match for Staley's tortured lyrics, creating a audio that felt as heavy as their Seattle ...
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Artist Biography

past Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Alice in Chains both epitomized the solemn, heavy Seattle sound of the 1990s and stood apart from the grunge hordes. What separated Alice in Bondage from their alt-rock brethren was how their roots lay in heavy metallic, not punk. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell and vocalizer Layne Staley both played in metal bands prior to the formation of Alice in Bondage in 1987 and they released the band'due south debut, Facelift, in 1990, well earlier Nirvana'due south Nevermind pushed the underground into the mainstream. Despite their connections to metal, Alice in Chains thrived in the glory days of grunge, and it wasn't merely a question of timing, either. The band'southward sensibility fit into the alternative rock zeitgeist of the early '90s. Cantrell's gloomy, small-scale-central riffs were an ideal match for Staley's tortured lyrics, creating a sound that felt as heavy equally their Seattle cohorts but also was slightly slicker and prepare for radio. It was versatile, likewise. Subsequently the group scored stone radio and MTV hits with "Human being in the Box" and "Would?" in the early days of grunge, Alice in Bondage became one of the first alt-rock bands of the '90s to delve into acoustic-based music, scoring hits with the comparatively softer "No Excuses" and "I Stay Away." Despite its success, the band was plagued with internal tensions during its commercial peak, much of it stemming from Staley'south drug addictions. His corruption slowed the band's upward trajectory in the back half of the '90s, a descent culminating in the vocaliser'southward accidental death in 2002. Four years after, Cantrell, drummer Sean Kinney, and bassist Mike Inez revived Alice in Bondage with singer William DuVall, sparking an extended second life of recording and touring that has lasted longer than their original incarnation.

The roots of Alice in Chains lay in Sleze, a Seattle-based pilus metallic band that featured Layne Staley as atomic number 82 singer. Sleze switched their name to Alice N Chains in 1986, roughly a yr prior to Staley's introduction to Cantrell at a party at the rehearsal infinite called the Music Bank. The pair became friends and Staley invited Cantrell to crash with him at his rented unit of measurement at the Music Bank. Shortly later, Alice N Chains bankrupt up, as did Cantrell'south band, Diamond Lie. Cantrell began auditioning players for a new band, recruiting drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Starr, but he still needed a singer and held out promise for Staley to join. At the fourth dimension, Staley was singing in a funk band that also happened to need a guitarist, and so Cantrell agreed to play on the condition his friend would join the fledgling group. Staley agreed. Not long later on, the funk band folded and this quartet gelled nether the name Alice in Chains.

Alice in Chains started to gig regularly in the Seattle area, often sharing bills with Female parent Love Bone, earning the attending of promoter Randy Hauser, who bankrolled a demo. Dubbed The Treehouse Tapes, the demo earned the attention of Soundgarden managers Kelly Curtis and Susan Silver, who passed information technology forth to Columbia. The label signed Alice in Chains in 1989 and made them a priority, ushering the band into the studio with producer David Jerden, who had recently worked with Jane's Addiction. Early in 1990, the label released the promo-only We Dice Immature EP with their centre on heavy metal audiences and its championship rails became a hit on rock radio, setting the stage for the August release of the group's debut, Facelift, which was quickly followed by a tour opening for Iggy Popular. "Man in the Box" became the anthology'due south second unmarried in January 1991, and once its video entered heavy MTV rotation, Facelift took off. The album entered the Billboard charts in April 1991, Van Halen requested Alice in Bondage every bit a tour opener in Baronial, and in September the anthology earned its offset gilded certification; information technology would later earn 2 platinum certifications.

Equally Facelift's momentum grew, Alice in Chains kept busy backside the scenes, working on fabric for a second album and recording an audio-visual EP called Sap. One of the showtime all-acoustic records from an alternative stone band, Sap was released in February 1992. Alice in Chains also filmed a cameo in Singles, Cameron Crowe's romantic comedy jubilant Seattle's vibrant underground scene of the early '90s. By the fourth dimension the picture show'due south soundtrack appeared in June 1992, the Seattle scene had exploded nationally thanks to the unexpected success of Nirvana's 2d album, Nevermind, and Alice in Chains were in the thick of it.

"Would?," a menacing grind that doubled equally the commencement unmarried from both the Singles soundtrack and Alice in Bondage' second album, Clay, started its climb upward Billboard's mainstream rock chart in June 1992, the aforementioned month the Singles soundtrack was released. By the betoken Clay appeared in stores in September, Alice in Chains had firmly laid stakes in the grunge military camp: "Them Bones," the 2nd single pulled from Dirt, became their offset song to chart on Billboard's alternative rock nautical chart. Arriving at the peak of 1992's grunge explosion, the dark and gloomy Dirt made Alice in Chains' career. By December, the anthology earned a platinum certification -- it would become platinum in one case again in 1993 and 1995, with a fourth and concluding certification arriving in 2000 -- and it stayed on the charts thank you to "Angry Chair" and the Top Ten mainstream rock hits "Rooster" and "Downwardly in a Pigsty."

Despite their success, Alice in Chains were in turmoil behind the scenes. Mike Starr left the band in January 1993, to be replaced by Mike Inez. The ring's initial story was that Starr wasn't ready to gear up for an intense piece of work schedule, but Starr later said he was fired due to drug addiction. The specter of heavy drugs hung over the band, thanks to lyrical allusions on Clay and rumors alleging that Staley was addicted to heroin. Alice in Chains soldiered forth, releasing two new songs on the soundtrack for the Arnold Schwarzenegger movie Final Action Hero (including the radio hitting "What the Hell Have I") and playing a plum spot on the tertiary Lollapalooza tour in 1993. Jar of Flies plant the band retreating to softer, moody music, and the shift paid off commercially. Upon its January 1994 release, it became the showtime EP to debut at number one on the Billboard charts and, thanks in office to "No Excuses" -- which went to number one on the mainstream rock nautical chart and three on Billboard'southward alternative chart, the highest placing they'd have with Layne Staley in the lineup -- it was certified platinum by March; it would eventually earn two additional certifications.

Alice in Chains remained on the top of the charts, but they likewise remained off the road during 1994, fueling speculation that Staley was mired in heroin addiction. The rumors were true. Behind the scenes, Staley went through a bout of rehab that didn't stick, leading the band to cancel its summer tour on a twenty-four hours's notice and enter an unofficial hiatus. During this time, "Got Me Wrong" -- a vocal initially released on Sap -- was pulled as a single from the Clerks soundtrack and wound up every bit a radio striking. The bigger news during the hiatus was Staley's busman'due south holiday, Mad Season. Originally the Gacy Agglomeration at their initial concerts, Mad Season was a Seattle supergroup too featuring Pearl Jam's Mike McCready, the Screaming Trees' Barrett Martin, and John Saunders. The ring'south lone album, Above, arrived in March 1995.

Every bit Above was in the middle of its run on the charts -- information technology peaked at 24 on Billboard'due south album chart, with "River of Deceit" reaching the Top X on Billboard's mainstream and modern stone charts -- Alice in Bondage reconvened to tape their third album with producer Toby Wright. Upon its November 1995 release, the eponymous record debuted at number one on Billboard, with the singles "Grind" and "Sky Beside You" reaching the mainstream rock Top Ten; the latter peaked at six on the alternative rock chart. Once again, Alice in Bondage were loath to tour. Instead, they recorded a concert -- their first in nearly 3 years -- for MTV Unplugged on Apr 10, 1996. Past the time the bear witness was released as an album on July xxx, Alice in Bondage' return to the stage was already thwarted: afterwards four supporting dates for Buss, Staley was found unresponsive after a heroin overdose on July iii, 1996 post-obit a show in Kansas City, Missouri.

Staley recovered from his OD merely the band struggled as he battled his addiction. Following the death of his sometime fiancée, Demri Parrott, in October 1996, Staley secluded himself from the public, leading Jerry Cantrell to write and tape a solo album called Boggy Depot; Mike Inez and Sean Kinney both appeared on Cantrell'south solo effort. Alice in Chains completed ii new songs, including the Acme 10 mainstream rock hit "Become Born Once more," for the 1998 box gear up Music Bank. The box was the first of a series of archival releases in the adjacent 3 years: Null Safe: The Best of the Box showed up in 1999, followed by the concert compilation Alive in 2000 and Greatest Hits in 2001. All the members of Alice in Bondage busied themselves during this extended hiatus. Sean Kinney and Mike Inez appeared in Spys4Darwin, Inez gigged with Zakk Wylde's Black Characterization Order during his downtime, and Cantrell worked on a second solo album. Degradation Trip, the guitarist's sophomore record, appeared in June 2002, two months after Staley was plant expressionless from a drug overdose at his Seattle condo.

Alice in Chains parted ways after Staley's death, with Inez becoming a fellow member of Heart and Cantrell collaborating with a number of difficult rock and metal acts, including Heart and Ozzy Osbourne. Sony released Alice in Bondage from their record contract in 2004, and the adjacent year the grouping reunited to play a benefit concert for the Southward Asia tsunami disaster of 2004. Pat Lachman, the vocaliser for Damageplan, acted as Staley's replacement only other stars appeared with the band, too, including Ann Wilson and Maynard James Keenan. The one-off concert went well enough that Alice in Chains decided to make their reunion permanent. Hiring William DuVall, formerly of Comes with the Fall, as Staley's replacement, Alice in Chains toured in 2006, which led to a tour supporting Velvet Revolver in 2007.

The revived Alice in Chains recorded a comeback anthology in 2008 with co-producer Nick Raskulinecz, which appeared in September 2009 as Blackness Gives Way to Blue. Debuting at five on the Billboard charts, Black Gives Way to Blue wound upwardly going aureate while racking up ii Grammy nominations, reestablishing Alice in Chains every bit a forcefulness in mainstream and modern rock. The group toured into 2010 and then in 2011 set up to work on another album with Raskulinecz. Entitled The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, the album debuted at two upon its release in May 2013. Alice in Chains toured The Devil Put Dinosaurs Hither into 2014, then spent the side by side ii years on the road. In 2017, the grouping started piece of work on some other new album with Raskulinecz. Recorded primarily in Seattle, the resulting Rainier Fog appeared in Baronial 2018.

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Source: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/alice-in-chains-mn0000007920/biography

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