’’I tried to love you , I thought I could
I tried to own you , I thought I would
I want to peel the skin from your face
Before the real you lays to waste ’’
To me , this attitude of ’’hating the one you love’’ was rock music’s biggest contribution to songwriting . Classic rock of the 60s and 70s made use of this concept , albeit subtly . So did the heavy metal experimentations of the Black Sabbath , Metallica , or the pop-rock tracks of the Aerosmiths and the Bon Jovis . But the pinnacle of this style of songwriting was reached , once there came into a being a genre of music called Grunge.
The pioneers of this genre were the rockers from Seattle - Nirvana , Pearl Jam , Soundgarden etc. Who wrote freely about inflicting pain upon your loved ones , a reflection of their heroin-laden russian-roullete lifestyle . Amongst all this there existed an ex-Glam band called Alice in Chains who , perhaps unknowingly released one of the greatest Grunge albums of all times . Alice in Chains ......a band that will be remembered as the
band that had the world at its feet but kicked it away .
I have a feeling God digs rock music and He’s into live performances as well . Nothing else could explain why such a huge number of rockstars have died young or before their time . Hendrix , Morrison , Mercury , Garcia , Joplin , Cobain , ........ one hell of a Woodstock in Heaven . The last addition to that list was made in April , 2002 when Layne Staley lead vocalist of Alice in Chains died of , yet another case of , heroin and cocaine overdose .
Staley’s death ended any hopes that the band would ever play together again, but their sound can be heard in a host of popular groups, such as Godsmack , Staind, Taproot and others. The groups Staind and Cold both recorded tribute songs to Staley called ’’Layne’’ and ’’The Day Seattle Died’’ respectively.
Formed in 1987 in Seattle , Washington by Layne Staley (vocals) and Jerry Cantrell (guitar & backing vocals) with Michael Starr on Bass and Sean Kinney on Drums , the band developed a sound that mixed
Black Sabbath-style riffing with Staley and Cantrell’s unconventional vocal arrangements and strong songwriting .The band won a major recording contract despite some record executives being scared off by Staley’s aggressive performance at an early showcase . Facelift received excellent
reviews, but sales took off slowly . The booster was received by the band’s US touring with Van Halen , the difficult opening slot on the US Clash Of The Titans tour, featuring Slayer , Anthrax and Megadeth , and European dates with Megadeth and the Almighty . ’’Man In The Box’’ became an MTV favourite, and the album went gold in the autumn of 1991 . Their next album Dirt was a dark, cathartic work with many personal
lyrics . However, critical attention focused on a sequence of songs referring to Staley’s past heroin problems . The years that followed saw few side projects and numerous tour cancellations that ignited rumors of Staley’s alleged health hazards . Amid continuing rumours of drug abuse the band managed a further album in 1995 that boasted some excellent moments. In 1996, the band performed their first concert in over three years, performing for MTV on an Unplugged special . But nothing they did in their short spanned career equalled the genius of Facelift .
Alice in Chains released the first CD of the grunge movement perhaps unwittingly. Facelift was marketed originally as a metal CD with a bit of a twist but when Soundgarden, Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and others in the Seattle area really got the grunge movement moving in the next couple of years, their pull pushed A.I.C. the rest of the way into the grunge genre . This is a pretty consistent CD with the quality of tracks ranging between great and good.
The album opens with ’’We Die Young’’ , a great introduction to their world . The song is not profound so far as words go , but the innovation lies in the fact that Staley is so obviously disillusioned and angry . This song is one of the three best tracks on the album sharing the honours with ’’Man in the Box’’ and ’’Bleed the Freak’’ . The former is about as simple as grunge-rock could possibly be. The guitars aren’t too thick , rather they somehow seem to
tell the story singing along with Staley’s wavering, quivering voice. And the latter is moderately popular in the right circles for good reasons.there is almost a bit of a more quiet influence. Although, again at times Staley’s voice makes something very different out of this song . ’’Love, Hate, Love’’ contains the lines at the top of this article and along with ’’Put You Down’’ is influenced in
parts by 80s Bon Jovi or Poison like tracks . This album , admittedly , isn’t lyrically as enriched as others in this genre . However ’’Sea of Sorrow’’ and ’’Confusion’’ boast of the best lyrics of the album . Staley’s voice is full of pathos and he seems to pour his heart into everything he sings .
’’Walls of thought , strong and high
As my castle crumbles with time
I think of you
Oh yes I do
Such a crime.........’’
’’I Know Something (Bout You)’’ starts out sounding like seventies soft pop but fortunately, that mood changes with a gruff croak from Staley and the addition of Kinney’s drums. Tracks like ’’I Cant Remember’’ , ’’It aint like that’’, ’’Real Thing’’ and ’’Sunshine’’ are fillers at best, although the last one might remind you of a band inspired by A.I.C. ...Stone Temple Pilots
AIC inspired a generation of grunge musicians but themselves kept losing focus and never really redeemed themselves . This album is special in a sense that the band were not to sound this hungry and metal again . Although their commercial peak was represented by Dirt but this album saw them with their guitars cranked on full, the vocal delivery bombastic and the songs invigorating , leaving you with a lasting impression and a sense of insatiation . Sure, the lyrics deserve a parental advisory , but they still are fun , and worthy of an audience .
This album isn’t for everybody. It’s loud, angry, and painful with crunchy guitars and grinding voices acting as perfect compliments to their somewhat spooky and pessimistic songs . But this should be remembered as the average album that inspired a plethora of future class-acts .