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- Man In The Box (Facelift, 1990) There are so many great things about the first ‘proper’ single to be culled from Alice In Chains’ debut LP. The strange, abrasive musicality – combining down-tuned riffage, talkbox guitar, and almost gothically droning vocals – was unlike anything mainstream rock fans had been exposed to before.
- Them Bones (Dirt, 1992) The opening track from Dirt shrieked its way into the popular rock consciousness three decades ago and has echoed there ever since.
- Down In A Hole (Dirt, 1992) A comparatively tender offering written about the long-term love of his life, Courtney Clarke, the story has it that Jerry Cantrell almost didn’t present Down In A Hole to the rest of Alice In Chains as he was unsure it was the sort of material the collective wanted to perform.
- Nutshell (Jar Of Flies, 1994) The depth of feeling in Alice In Chains’ music is always above and beyond, but surely even the hardest of hearts get choked up listening to this achingly bittersweet Jar Of Flies classic. ‘
- "Would?" This is the one. Cantrell wrote "Would?" about his late friend, and Mother Love Bone frontman, Andrew Wood, who died of a drug overdose in 1990 at just 24 years old.
- "Man in the Box" "Man in the Box" is by far the band's most popular song, and it deserves every single rock-radio spin that it receives. This Grammy-winning hit from Facelift features Staley's most recognizable vocal part, a wordless howl that weaves itself into the main guitar riff in a way that's tremendously catchy.
- "Rain When I Die" AIC usually prefer to traverse the back roads of metal, hard rock and alt-rock, but they also excelled at down-the-middle grunge. After a jammy, psychedelic intro with plenty of wah-wah pedal abuse, "Rain When I Die" contains the most early-Nineties Seattle chorus on Dirt, while also maintaining their own signature flair.
- "Them Bones" AIC can bring the fucking heavy, and "Them Bones" is one of their foremost crushers. With palm-muted metal chugs that recall Pantera, a monster truck of a hook and guitar tones that are smothered in muddy distortion, this sinewy Dirt banger is 10 tons of pure hard-rock destruction that still makes room for piercing reflections on mortality.
Since its formation, Alice in Chains has released six studio albums, three EPs, three live albums, four compilations, and two DVDs. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonised vocals of Staley and Cantrell (and later Cantrell and William DuVall).
TitleAuthor (s)Release (s)Staley / Cantrell / Inez / KinneyA Little Bitter (Remix)Staley / Cantrell / Inez / KinneyMusic Bank (October 26, 1999)A Little Bitter (Remix)Staley / Cantrell / Inez / KinneyThe Essential Alice in Chains (September ...Staley / Cantrell / Inez / KinneyLive (December 5, 2000)- Real Thing
- Sludge Factory
- Rain When I Die
- Bleed The Freak
- Nutshell
- I Stay Away
- Rooster
- Man in The Box
- Down in A Hole
- Would?
This was the song to close out their debut record, Facelift, and it doesn’t disappoint in leaving a lasting impression on you once you reach the end of the line of this album. With its whiskey-soaked riffs, sinister lyrics laced with violence and excess, Staley’s bombastic joy in the way his screams jostle you by the collarbone, and its all-embraci...
Their 1995 self-titled album is probably their most misunderstood, meaning that it’s much more structured than their previous albums and not as pulse-pounding; there’s still the fair share of heavy guitar utilization, but it’s a much more distinctive sound with more emphasis on melody than loudness. Sludge Factory is an exception; it’s undoubtedly ...
Several songs from their classic sophomore album, Dirt, will be ubiquitous on this list. The song starts with one of the meanest bass licks before descending into multilayered guitar work that grinds against your nerves like aroused chainsaws with screeching wah wah that sounds like Cantrell’s axe is having a seizure. Then there’s that main riff, m...
This was released as a vinyl-only single off of Facelift. It’s one of the band’s most menacing tunes, reflecting on those certain kinds of people who are only looking to strike you down every chance they get. It’s a potent anthem that fights off that kind of skepticism. Plus, it has one of their darkest riffs—pure doom, baby!
This is loneliness, sadness, and death in its rawest form. Though it wasn’t released as a single, it’s still recognized as one of their best; although, it takes a special kind of mood to sit down and listen to it without getting up and showering. The MTV Unpluggedlive version is superior; you can hear the cries of a frail and vanquished man putting...
When Alice In Chains released Jar of Flies in 1994, they had no idea it would become the first E.P. in music history to debut at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. Here, the band took a stylistic detour, substituting their heaviness for equanimity. See Nutshell for an obvious example. Co-written with bassist Mike Inez, I Stay Away is the band’s...
This is such a beautiful and hard rocking song about the psychological effects of war. Jerry Cantrell wrote the song about his father, who fought in Vietnam; Rooster was the nickname given to him when he was young because of his hair, which would always stick up. The lyrics go through each harrowing stage of the war and the damaging corollaries it ...
Here’s the song if you’re looking for a worthy introduction to Alice In Chains. It has everything you need: killer riffs masked in a talk box, ambiguous lyrics dressed up in disturbing symbolism, a murderous guitar solo, and Staley busting out the bazooka-sized range in his pipes. There’s a reason this song is their most well-known and most beloved...
This is arguably their most vulnerable composition, which presented the band at a very profound point in their career. It was a ballad written for Cantrell’s long-time love, but don’t let its tender sensibilities fool you; the song still packs a wallop. The embellishments are something to savor: everything from its minor progression to the wonderfu...
It took some time trying to pick out a song that’s the self-proclaimed “best,” but we feel this song sums up the band. It was just the right bookend to cap off a near-perfect album. Would? served as a touching eulogy to fellow Seattle singer of the band Mother Love Bone, Andrew Wood, who died of a heroin overdose in 1990. It was one of their bigges...
- Chad Childers
- 'Man in the Box' It's hard to argue against 'Man in the Box' as the best Alice in Chains song. It was the track that put the band on the map, and guitarist Jerry Cantrell, who used a talkbox as part of the distinct sound, stated that the "whole beat and grind of that is when we started to find ourselves.
- 'Would?' is the track that broke Alice in Chains to a larger audience, due to its inclusion on the 'Singles' soundtrack prior to the release of 'Dirt.'
- 'I Stay Away' From: 'Jar of Flies' (1994) Alice in Chains with strings? It seemed odd at the time, but it only enhanced the power of 'I Stay Away,' a 'Jar of Flies' favorite.
- 'Rooster' 'Rooster' has to be one of the 10 best Alice in Chains songs due in part to the powerful story told. Layne Staley's mix of cool and melancholy with his later aggression in the track tells the story of Jerry Cantrell's father, a Vietnam vet, reliving some of the horrors of war.
Jul 15, 2023 · Alice In Chains has created some of the greatest hard rock songs of all time. Their music is powerful and energetic and has captured the hearts of millions of fans over the years. From the classic “The One You Know” to the haunting “Phantom Limb”, these songs have stood the test of time.
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Mar 18, 2024 · We celebrate Alice in Chains by ranking their 30 best songs. Alice in Chains has one of the darkest, most-influential catalogs in rock. AIC's catalog spans six studio albums, three EPs, three live releases and a handful of singles scattered within various compilations.
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