Alice In Chains

What I admired about this band is the use of vocals and the way Layne and Jerry would blend their voices, and would actually sing harmonies and at the same time not water down their music. I liked the combination of them exploring their heavier side on LPS such as " Dirt" and their lighter side on EPs like " SAP". Lyrically Layne would document his self destructive lifestyle, some of the song lyrics at times read more like suicide notes, out of all the bands that exploded out of Grunge scene in the early 90's, I always felt Alice in Chains were the darkest and the one band who was not afaird to show their metal roots.

Amazing band, but I think Layne gets far too much credit. He had a great voice, but Jerry Cantrell is what made Alice In Chains great. Layne just made them a little better than that.

Eyesore wrote:

Amazing band, but I think Layne gets far too much credit. He had a great voice, but Jerry Cantrell is what made Alice In Chains great. Layne just made them a little better than that.

Jerry Cantrell was the main song writer so I have to agree his contributions to Alice In Chains due tend to get overshadowed.

Love em'. And yeah, Eyesore's right, it's all about Jerry. I like the Face lift album best.

manny wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Amazing band, but I think Layne gets far too much credit. He had a great voice, but Jerry Cantrell is what made Alice In Chains great. Layne just made them a little better than that.

Jerry Cantrell was the main song writer so I have to agree his contributions to Alice In Chains due tend to get overshadowed.

He also sang a lot more than people give him credit for. His vocals were often attributed to Staley.

Finally a band you and I can agree on, Eyesore.

Their "Unplugged" CD is arguably their best.

Great band. I've had DIRT on cassette for years, that one is in dire need of an upgrade. I only recently acquired FACELIFT on CD and that's a great one too.

They definitely listened to a good bit of King's X. Not a dis, just an observation. Jerry has mentioned this in interviews as well.

I listened to Facelift constantly when it first came out, wasn't quite as impressed with Dirt (except for the first 3 or 4 tracks), never owned any of the albums after that although my ex girlfriend was a big fan so I heard them alot.

I have a really hard time listening to anything from that period anymore, just too burnt out on it. Soundgarden is the only one of those bands that I was ever a HUGE fan of.

Gruntruck was kinda cool though....

Facelift is a classic. I remember "Man in the Box" blowing me away when I first heard it. You could just tell that the music scene was changing right in front of you. Too bad the band was derailed by their demons.

At one point, I owned everything. But I traded/sold 'em all off a few years ago (along with Pearl Jam and Soundgarden, etc.) cuz I just grew really tired of it. Plus, it was always on the radio too. I think now I will reacquire a lot of the early 90's late 80's grunge radio stuff since it has been a while since I have heard it. Peace.

FACELIFT and DIRT are classics and still get busted out and played regularly...after that I sort lost interest....But a drak brooding good band...

Being lumped in with the Seattle/grunge groups, these are the only guys from that era that I really like. I have all their stuff except for the Jar of Flies ep. The Unplugged cd is awesome. And I agree with whomever stated that Lanye was overrated. Not to dis the dead, but listen to Jerry's solo stuff and you'll see that he did more for their sound than Layne.

Eyesore wrote:

Amazing band, but I think Layne gets far too much credit. He had a great voice, but Jerry Cantrell is what made Alice In Chains great. Layne just made them a little better than that.

Quote :

And I agree with whomever stated that Lanye was overrated

Wait, that was Eyesore? Nevermind then.

Love em, like Van Halen meets Joy Division!

No doubt Jerry wrote all your favourite pop songs....but Layne added that dark tormented pathos to the nice hooks and riffs that separated them from many others.

The guy had a certain charisma that was and is incredibly magnetic.....just listen to the second half of Dirt which is pure Layne....creeps me out in a similar way to the Manic's Holy Bible and Lou Reed's Berlin....utterly repulsive but you can't look away.

Once again as with Nirvana and STP, I like them more in principle than in practice due to them being overplayed. Right now I'm into a bunch of AiC influenced bands though.

rattpoison wrote:

Love em, like Van Halen meets Joy Division!

For real? To me they were always more like Diamond Head meets Nirvana. But yeah, they rule. And this should totally be in the Metal forum.

only grunge I ever could like

Going to see an AiC tribute tonight, "Them Bones."

I read that the band is going into the studio and will release a new album with William DuVall on vocals. He's the guy that toured with them. I haven't heard him, so I gotta ask...does he or will he do a Layne-impression behind the mic or will he have his own style?

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I read that the band is going into the studio and will release a new album with William DuVall on vocals. He's the guy that toured with them. I haven't heard him, so I gotta ask...does he or will he do a Layne-impression behind the mic or will he have his own style?

He has his own style, saw him play with Jerry Cantrell about 7 years ago, at the show I saw Cantrell did most of lead vocals, while DuVall played rhythm guitar.

Schbopo wrote:

rattpoison wrote:

Love em, like Van Halen meets Joy Division!

For real? To me they were always more like Diamond Head meets Nirvana. But yeah, they rule. And this should totally be in the Metal forum.

I think you're both retarded.

manny wrote:

MetalGuy71 wrote:

I read that the band is going into the studio and will release a new album with William DuVall on vocals. He's the guy that toured with them. I haven't heard him, so I gotta ask...does he or will he do a Layne-impression behind the mic or will he have his own style?

He has his own style, saw him play with Jerry Cantrell about 7 years ago, at the show I saw Cantrell did most of lead vocals, while DuVall played rhythm guitar.

Yeah, he's got his own style, and while I never saw them play live with the guy, fans liked him. Plus the live clips I've seen sound great. He and Jerry harmonize really well together. Fans wanting that Staley copycat won't like him, of course.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tSIkYHq6N-c







Sounds good to me. I think it's mainly because, like I mentioned above, Jerry really defined the sound of the vocals more than Layne ever did.

Read today there is gonna be a new AIC coming out next year!

Wargod49

Wargod48 wrote:

Read today there is gonna be a new AIC coming out next year!

Wargod49

Unless they are digging up them Stayley's bones to sing (there's a pun in there), I'm not interested.

spectrefate wrote:

Wargod48 wrote:

Read today there is gonna be a new AIC coming out next year!

Wargod49

Unless they are digging up them Stayley's bones to sing (there's a pun in there), I'm not interested.

While I'm not thrilled at the idea, I'm willing to give it a chance. I like Jerry's solo stuff.