See 106 more photos

Alice in Chains

On Tour

13,992,243 plays (468,618 listeners)

Listening now: Bernhammer, dcdawson, cesaruco

Add to my Library Share

grunge, rock, alternative, alternative rock, hard rock… see all

1,716 shouts

Seattle, United States (1987 – 2002, 2005 – present)

Alice in Chains was one of the most influential American hard rock bands of the early ’90s. Drawing equally from the heavy riffing of metal and the gloomy strains of post-punk, the band developed a bleak, nihilistic sound that balanced grinding hard rock with subtly textured acoustic numbers. They were hard enough for metal fans, yet their dark subject matter and punky attack placed them among the front ranks of the Seattle-based grunge bands. While this dichotomy helped the group soar to multi-platinum status with their second album, 1992’s Dirt, it also divided them. Guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell always leaned toward the mainstream, while vocalist Layne Staley was fascinated with the seamy underground. Such tension drove the band toward stardom in their early years, but following Dirt, Alice in Chains suffered from near-crippling internal tensions that kept the band off the road for the remainder of the ’90s.

Formed in 1987 by Staley, guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Starr, and drummer Sean Kinney, the band was first named “Alice N’ Chainz”, and later changed to “Alice in Chains”. Combining the unique voice and intense delivery of Staley with the evocative songwriting and vocal harmonies of Cantrell, Alice in Chains created an immediately identifiable sound that also proved to be quite versatile as their repertoire grew to include both driving, angry rock songs and mellow acoustic compositions. The unique vocal harmonies of Staley and Cantrell included overlapping passages, and dual lead vocals. Alyssa Burrows said the band’s distinctive sound “came from Staley’s vocal style and his lyrics dealing with personal struggles and addiction”.

Dirt
Alice in Chains
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download
Jar of Flies
Alice in Chains
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download
Alice in Chains
Alice in Chains
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download
Facelift
Alice in Chains
Buy
- Amazon
- eBay
Download

Top Tracks

1	Them Bones full track	4,451
2	Rooster full track	4,225
3	Man in the Box	3,994
4	Down in a Hole full track	3,798
5	Would? full track	3,760
6	Angry Chair full track	3,298
7	No Excuses full track	3,240
8	Nutshell full track	3,068
9	Heaven Beside You full track	2,749
10	I Stay Away	2,448
11	Got Me Wrong full track	2,000
12	Rain When I Die full track	1,990
13	Dam That River full track	1,989
14	Brother full track	1,916
15	Would	1,861

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).

jzep wrote:
2 hours ago

Duvall isn't a bad singer... however there's nobody like Layne... it would be better if Jerry Cantrell did vocals in the resurrected-AIC

View Profile | Leave jzep a shout
bulletsafe wrote:
2 hours ago

I am totally in love with Alice in Chains. They are by far my favorite band of all time (and I like some crazy variety). Anyway, if you guys like Alice in Chains, and Soundgarden, Black Sabbath, some other trippier bands, and hard rock/grunge acts, you should totally search for Bullet Safe Inside. I am the songwriter and I perform virtually all of the parts, so my grungy influences really come through, so please, check it out if you get a chance! I'm trying to get the ball rolling so I can help bring good meaningful music back to the world.

View Profile | Leave bulletsafe a shout
Secretphase wrote:
4 hours ago

http://www.last.fm/group/Metalheads+United

View Profile | Leave Secretphase a shout
humorbot wrote:
10 hours ago

I'm sure glad there isn't some whiny little punk saying stupid stuff like "We should have profile pic of the current lineup."

View Profile | Leave humorbot a shout
JrodBringsChaos wrote:
yesterday afternoon

too bad their new singer has nothing on Layne. actually, no singer has a damned thing on Layne. He's an amazing composer.

View Profile | Leave JrodBringsChaos a shout
SsJBoSs wrote:
yesterday afternoon

great band!!!

View Profile | Leave SsJBoSs a shout
BreakfastPills wrote:
Thursday evening

Buried in my shit!

View Profile | Leave BreakfastPills a shout
Bonzo13 wrote:
Thursday evening

William DuVall sucks :s

View Profile | Leave Bonzo13 a shout
spanking wrote:
Thursday evening

Unplugged is awesome!

View Profile | Leave spanking a shout
STFUDonnie wrote:
Thursday evening

God Am and Rotten Apple are their two best (IMO).

View Profile | Leave STFUDonnie a shout
george_h1994 wrote:
Thursday morning

well 2crue too bad layne staley's dead otherwise them recording is a great idea

View Profile | Leave george_h1994 a shout
booters298 wrote:
Wednesday morning

Jar of Flies, is a perfect CD

View Profile | Leave booters298 a shout
2crue4you wrote:
Tuesday evening

So how about AIC going back to recording? Good shit right there.

View Profile | Leave 2crue4you a shout
HexOmega wrote:
Tuesday morning

I just call them metal. straight up metal. No stupid genres.

View Profile | Leave HexOmega a shout
Zelda7 wrote:
Tuesday morning

"Down in a Hole" is one of the best songs ever :'( MTV Unplugged is oustanding. My favorite grunge band of all time, before Pearl Jam or Nirvana. R.I.P. Layne Staley.

View Profile | Leave Zelda7 a shout
ragepb wrote:
Sunday evening

brrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

View Profile | Leave ragepb a shout
Secretphase wrote:
Sunday evening

http://www.last.fm/group/Metalheads+United

View Profile | Leave Secretphase a shout
nirvan3334 wrote:
Sunday afternoon

en sevdigim parçası would süppppeeeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrr

View Profile | Leave nirvan3334 a shout
Idiots-Rule wrote:
Sunday morning

AIC >>> Soundgarden >>> Mother Love Bone >>> Gruntruck >>> Pearl Jam >>> Nirvana ... etc.

View Profile | Leave Idiots-Rule a shout
ShadedWolf wrote:
Saturday evening

para los chilenos http://www.lastfm.es/group/Chile+Grunge

View Profile | Leave ShadedWolf a shout

12…86 Next

Events

Oct 9 Alice In Chains Night 1\4 Mili, Rzeszów, Poland
Write a review
Feb 21 Soundwave Festival 2009 RNA Showgrounds, Brisbane, Australia
35 shouts | 83 attendees
Feb 22 Soundwave 09 Sydney, Sydney, Australia
93 shouts | 143 attendees

Add event | See more

Listeners

Scrivy86
Listening now
to Heaven Beside You
beenan
Listening now
to Man in the Box
Teeago
Listening now
to Man in the Box
doggiedoo
Top Listener
Yaibu_Babuyagu
Top Listener
barleywine
Top Listener

Recent Activity

rawritsmariel, Hart-Jade, ALXThunder and 10 other people added Alice in Chains to their libraries. 10 minutes ago
fayth13 tagged Alice in Chains with ‘rock’, ‘grunge’ and ‘alternative rock’. 7 hours ago
nikos411 and MoonHate added Alice in Chains to their libraries. 7 hours ago
pacynka_ tagged Alice in Chains with ‘grunge’ and ‘rock’. 7 hours ago
tooth7611, amp04, adasadasieczek and 28 other people added Alice in Chains to their libraries. 7 hours ago
MRKILLINGJOKE created the wiki page for Alice in Chains. Sunday morning
xeneizes tagged Alice in Chains with ‘grunge’. August 2008
ChameleonX, scubshot, steve1ski and 1 other person added Alice in Chains to their libraries. August 2008
A deleted user tagged Alice in Chains with ‘grunge’. August 2008
mysterysean, entombor2 and Horrovitis added Alice in Chains to their libraries. August 2008