Alice in Chains

Seattle

Alice in Chains formed in Seattle in 1987. Layne Staley met the guitarist Jerry Cantrell at a party around August of that year, and Staley invited the homeless Cantrell to live with him at Music Bank, a rehearsal studio. Drummer Sean Kinney and bassist Mike Starr completed the line-up. The name came from Staley's earlier band, Alice N' Chains. A demo called The Treehouse Tapes reached the managers Kelly Curtis and Susan Silver, who also looked after Soundgarden, and Nick Terzo of Columbia Records signed the band in 1989. Cantrell identifies the band as primarily heavy metal, and told Guitar World in 1996 that the metal part would never leave.

Facelift and Sap

Columbia put out the promotional EP We Die Young in July 1990, then the debut Facelift in August, produced by Dave Jerden. It sold under 40,000 copies in its first six months, until MTV moved Man in the Box into daytime rotation. Facelift reached number 42 on the Billboard 200 and on 11 September 1991 became the first album from the grunge movement to be certified gold. The band opened for Iggy Pop and Van Halen, and on the Clash of the Titans tour for Anthrax, Megadeth and Slayer. The acoustic EP Sap followed on 4 February 1992. The same year they appeared in Cameron Crowe's film Singles and contributed Would? to its soundtrack. Its video won Best Video from a Film at the 1993 MTV Video Music Awards.

Dirt

Dirt was recorded from April to July 1992 with Jerden, in Burbank, Seattle and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles riots began on the first day of recording. Released on 29 September 1992, it reached number six on the Billboard 200. Staley described it as semi-conceptual, with one theme of personal anguish and another of painful relationships. Cantrell wrote Rooster for his father, a Vietnam veteran, and called it the start of a healing process between them. Five singles reached the top 30 of the Mainstream Rock chart: Would?, Them Bones, Rooster, Angry Chair and Down in a Hole.

Writing for Pitchfork in 2022, Eric Harvey said the album made the band "one of the most famous bands in the world". It is certified five times platinum and remains their best-selling record. Mike Inez, who had played with Ozzy Osbourne, replaced Starr on bass in early 1993. That summer the band toured with Lollapalooza, their last major tour with Staley.

Acoustic records and a long pause

Jar of Flies, written and recorded in a week at London Bridge Studio in Seattle, came out on 25 January 1994 and became the first EP to debut at number one on the Billboard 200. The self-titled Alice in Chains followed in November 1995 and also entered at number one, though the band did not tour for it. They played MTV Unplugged on 10 April 1996. Their last show with Staley was in Kansas City on 3 July 1996, opening for Kiss. Cantrell released the solo album Boggy Depot in 1998, and the Music Bank box set appeared in 1999. Staley was found dead on 19 April 2002.

Return and legacy

Cantrell, Inez and Kinney played together again at a benefit concert in Seattle on 18 February 2005. William DuVall first appeared with them at VH1's Decades Rock Live! on 10 March 2006 and now shares the vocals with Cantrell. Black Gives Way to Blue arrived in 2009, with Elton John on piano on the title track, then The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here in 2013 and Rainier Fog in 2018. Starr was found dead on 8 March 2011.

The band has sold over 30 million RIAA-certified records in the United States and has been nominated for eleven Grammy Awards. Rolling Stone placed Dirt at number 26 on its 2017 list of the 100 greatest metal albums and at number six on its 2019 list of the 50 greatest grunge albums.