Alice in Chains

This article is about the band Alice in Chains. For her third studio album see Alice in Chains (album) .

Alice in Chains
Left to right: William DuVall , Sean Kinney and Jerry Cantrell (2007)
General information
origin	Seattle , Washington , United States
Genre (s)	Alternative metal , heavy metal , hard rock , sludge metal , grunge
founding	1987 (as Diamond Lie), 2005
resolution	1999
Website	www.aliceinchains.com
Founding members
Guitar , vocals	Jerry Cantrell
Drums	Sean Kinney
singing	Layne Staley (until 2002; † April 5, 2002)
bass	Mike Starr (until 1993; † March 8, 2011)
Current occupation
guitar	Jerry Cantrell
Drums	Sean Kinney
singing	William DuVall (since 2006)
bass	Mike Inez (since 1993)

Alice in Chains (English "Alice in Chains") is an American band from Seattle , Washington . Along with Nirvana , Soundgarden and Pearl Jam , the group is one of the best-known and most successful representatives of grunge and celebrated their greatest successes in the first half of the 1990s.

style

In contrast to other representatives of the grunge movement, Alice in Chains' music is influenced by both heavy metal and the early, raw punk of the Seattle music scene or the psychedelic rock movement. Characteristic for many songs was the two-part singing of singer Layne Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell , which became the band's trademark. At least as striking are the sometimes depressing lyrics, a good part of which are by Jerry Cantrell.

Band history

1987–1990: The early years

Singer Layne Staley joined guitarist Jerry Cantrell's band in 1987, called Diamond Lie. Bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney completed the line-up, and later that year they changed the name to Alice 'n Chains, a band name Staley had used for one of his previous bands. The four started out as a glam and hair metal band in action and recorded several demos before their style slowly got darker and heavier and they shed their glam image.

The band eventually changed their name to Alice in Chains and signed a recording deal with Columbia Records (then under the symbol CBS) on December 9, 1989 . In July 1990, We Die Young, the band's first EP, was released, the title track of which led to its first radio presence, even if only on rock-friendly stations. Two months later, on August 21, 1990, the debut album Facelift followed . The album made it to number 42 on the American charts in 1991 after the release of the video clip for Man in the Box , which was on rotation for 16 weeks on MTV . Later, with the good sales of the next albums, it went double platinum.

1991–1994: The Rise and the Grunge Era

Singer Layne Staley in 1992

Alice in Chains opened the Clash-of-the-Titans tour package in the USA for Megadeth , Slayer and Anthrax and toured Europe in support of Megadeth. Another big tour as support for Van Halen followed from August 1991. As a bridging the band recorded an acoustic EP, which was released in March 1992, was entitled Sap and featured guest contributions by Ann Wilson ( Heart ), Mark Arm ( Mudhoney ) and Chris Cornell ( Soundgarden ).

They finally got to the center of the grunge wave that had just kicked off with their appearance in the Cameron Crowe film Singles - Lonely Together , in which they played their song It Ain't Like That by Facelift live. On the accompanying soundtrack, there are a number of bands from Seattle that are trendy at the time. Not least because of this promotion, the next album Dirt became a success for the band. Dirt made it to number six on the US charts.

Heroin addicted bassist Mike Starr left the band soon after the album was released and was replaced by former Ozzy Osbourne bassist Mike Inez , whom Alice in Chains had met on the joint tour. In 1993 Alice in Chains toured the United States on the hugely successful Lollapalooza Festival Tour. A contribution to the Arnold Schwarzenegger film Last Action Hero followed that same year, and by the end of that year Dirt crossed the platinum line.

A new acoustic EP followed in January 1994. Jar of Flies marked the first number one for the band. For the first time rumors circulated about the heroin addiction of the singer Layne Staley, even of an overdose and a temporary cardiac arrest. The Lollapalooza tour also marked the band's last major concert tour.

1995-1997: Post-Grunge

1995 came up with a new grunge superband. Staley teamed up with Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and Screaming Trees drummer Barret Martin, as well as bassist John Baker-Saunders, and formed the side project Mad Season . The group's only album was released that year, entitled Above, and achieved platinum status in the US.

In November 1995 Alice in Chains returned with the self-titled album Alice in Chains , which was also titled Tripod or Three due to the cover - a dog that is missing a leg . The three-legged dog was a synonym for the band's third studio album. After the EP from last year, Alice in Chains landed at number one in the American charts for the second time in a row. Just two months later, over two million copies of the album had been sold in the USA alone.

Since the album was not followed by a tour, speculation about a severe drug addiction Staley made the rounds, which kept the band from touring. However, Alice in Chains completed an acoustic show a little later, which appeared in 1996 under the title MTV Unplugged . At this concert, the band strengthened themselves with Scott Olsen as the second guitarist. After four concerts as the opening act for the Kiss reunion tour, Alice in Chains initially disappeared into oblivion. The last concert with Layne Staley was on July 3, 1996 in Kansas City.

1998–2002: The band is on hold

Jerry Cantrell devoted himself to his solo career in the following years. His first album, Boggy Depot, is considered by many fans to be another unofficial album by the band thanks to contributions from Mike Inez, Sean Kinney and Alice-in-Chains producer Toby Wright. The only difference to Alice in Chains is the lack of singer Layne Staley. In the years to come it became quiet around him. Meanwhile, Mike Inez returned to Ozzy Osbourne .

In 1999 Alice in Chains was back with the four CD box set Music Bank . a. Contains two new songs by the band. But again there were no tour activities. The two new songs Get Born Again and Died are the last ones Layne Staley sang. A live album with the simple title Live contained recordings from 1990 to 1996 and was released a year later.

The band had never officially split up until then, and the shock was deeper when Layne Staley was found dead in his apartment on April 19, 2002. As it later emerged, he likely died on April 5th of an overdose of Speedball, a mixture of heroin and cocaine . Staley was only 34 years old. Cantrell dedicated his second solo album, Degradation Trip , which was already recorded but not yet released, to his friend and bandmates. The death of Staley also meant the temporary end of the band.

2005-present: reunification

In 2005, Cantrell, Inez and Kinney reformed for a charity concert in Seattle to help the victims of the Indian Ocean tsunami on Christmas 2004 . Damageplan shouter Patrick Lachman acted as guest singer that evening . Other surprise guests were Wes Scantlin from Puddle of Mudd and Tool singer Maynard James Keenan , Aaron Lewis ( Staind ), Kevin Martin ( Candlebox ) and Ann Wilson from Heart . Jerry Cantrell later stated that it felt good to be back playing with his old bandmates.

On March 10, 2006 Alice in Chains was back on stage. When Decades Rock Live music TV channel VH1 was Pantera singer Phil Anselmo on vocals. On May 12th, Cantrell, Inez and Kinney could be seen again. On the occasion of the MAP Musicare Awards Show , at which Metallica singer James Hetfield was recognized, they played the songs Would? Together with Hetfield and Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo . , Them Bones and the Metallica ballad Nothing Else Matters . This was also noteworthy because Metallica and Alice in Chains had long been considered enemies; among other things, Hetfield, himself an alcoholic , had publicly made fun of Staley's heroin addiction years earlier.

In the summer, there were appearances at some festivals in Europe such as the Gods of Metal in Italy, Rock am Ring (here Metallica frontman James Hetfield sang the song Would? With the band ) and Rock im Park in Germany or the Download Festival in England along with bands like Guns N 'Roses and Metallica . In addition to the festivals, the band could be seen in some clubs. William DuVall ( Comes With the Fall ) was recruited as a singer for the tour . At the end of 2008 the band began recording a new album. The post of lead singer was taken over by William DuVall, who is now officially a new member of the band. On September 25, 2009, Alice in Chains released their new album, titled Black Gives Way to Blue , which was commercially successful.

From the end of 2009 to the end of 2010 Alice in Chains toured around the world, including Europe. In 2010 they appeared at the major festivals at Rock am Ring / Rock im Park and at the Sonisphere Festival .

On March 8, 2011, former bassist Mike Starr was found dead in Salt Lake City. Drugs were quickly suspected as the cause of death, which the police confirmed on April 1, 2011.

In February 2013, the band announced their fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, for May of that year . This is the second studio album with the new lead singer William Du Vall.

Trivia

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• The band's debut album was originally supposed to be titled Gash (English for cunt ). The record company intervened successfully.
• On the hit album Dirt , Slayer singer Tom Araya can be heard on the 43-second interlude Iron Gland (also known as Dream Sequence or Intro).
• Jar of Flies is the first EP to reach number one on the album charts in the USA.
• The third studio album Alice in Chains was initially not allowed to appear in Japan due to the cover. No commercial goals may be pursued with pictures of crippled creatures there.
• It is often assumed that the band Godsmack named themselves after a song by Alice in Chains. According to singer Sully Erna, this is not the case.
• Cover versions of pieces by the band can be found on releases by Opeth and Three Days Grace , among others .

Discography

→ Main article : Alice in Chains / Discography

Studio albums

year	title	Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes)					Remarks
		DE	AT	CH	UK	US
1990	Facelift	-	-	-	-	US42 × 2 Double platinum (59 weeks)US	First published: Aug 21, 1990 Sales: +2,000,000
1992	Dirt	DE37 (22 weeks) DE	-	-	UK42 gold (13 weeks)UK	US6th × 4 Quadruple platinum (102 weeks)US	First published: September 29, 1992 Sales: + 4,100,000
1995	Alice in Chains	DE93 (4 weeks) DE	-	-	UK37 silver (2 weeks)UK	US1 × 2 Double platinum (46 weeks)US	First published: November 7, 1995 Sales: + 2,060,000
2009	Black Gives Way to Blue	DE21 (4 weeks) DE	AT14 (3 weeks) AT	CH21 (5 weeks) CH	UK19 (2 weeks) UK	US5 gold (32 weeks)US	First published: September 29, 2009 Sales: + 500,000
2013	The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here	DE23 (2 weeks) DE	AT13 (2 weeks) AT	CH11 (3 weeks) CH	UK22 (2 weeks) UK	US2 (15 weeks) US	First published: May 24, 2013
2018	Rainier Fog	DE8 (3 weeks) DE	AT6 (4 weeks) AT	CH3 (4 weeks) CH	UK9 (2 weeks) UK	US12 (2 weeks) US	First published: August 24, 2018

Awards

• MTV Video Music Awards
  • 1993 : in the category " Best Video From a Film " (Would?)

Web links

Commons : Alice in Chains  - collection of pictures, videos and audio files

• Official website (English)
• Alice in Chains on Allmusic (English)
• Alice in Chains at laut.de
• Alice in Chains at Discogs (English)
• Interview about the background of the reunification

Individual evidence

1. ^ Marc Halupczok : Changeable winds . In: Metal Hammer . Special issue No. 1/2012: History of Metal , p. 26f.
2. ↑ Ex-Alice In Chains bassist Mike Starr Found Dead. Retrieved September 10, 2014 . 
3. ↑ On the death of Mike Starr (ex. Alice In Chains). In: Metal Hammer. March 13, 2011, accessed October 3, 2016 . 
4. ↑ Alice in Chains Album Title revealed ( Memento from February 15, 2013 in the Internet Archive )