Alice in Chains is an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has comprised vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney. Vocalist Layne Staley and bassist Mike Starr are former members of the band, having died in 2002 and 2011, respectively. The band took its name from Staley's previous group, Alice N' Chains. Often associated with grunge music, Alice in Chains' sound and style is deeply rooted in heavy metal music. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell, making Alice in Chains a two-vocal band.
Sap is the second studio EP by the American rock band Alice in Chains, released on February 4, 1992, through Columbia Records. Sap is mostly acoustic and marks the first time that guitarist Jerry Cantrell sings lead vocals in an Alice in Chains release, with the song "Brother". The EP was produced by Alice in Chains and Rick Parashar and features guest vocals by Ann Wilson of the band Heart, Chris Cornell of Soundgarden and Mark Arm of Mudhoney. The track "Got Me Wrong" became a hit two years later after being featured on the soundtrack to the 1994 film Clerks. On January 14, 1994, Sap was certified gold by the RIAA for the sale of more than 500,000 copies.
Jar of Flies is the third studio EP by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on January 25, 1994, by Columbia Records. The band's second acoustic EP, after 1992's Sap, it was the first EP in music history to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart, with the first week sales exceeding 141,000 copies in the United States. The self-produced record was written and recorded over the course of just one week at the London Bridge Studio in Seattle. The tracks "No Excuses", "I Stay Away" and "Don't Follow" were released as singles to promote the EP. Jar of Flies was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1995: Best Recording Package and Best Hard Rock Performance for "I Stay Away".
Alice in Chains is the third studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on November 7, 1995, by Columbia Records, and was the follow-up to the highly successful Dirt (1992). This is the band's first full-length studio album to feature bassist Mike Inez and their last studio album to feature original lead vocalist Layne Staley before his death in 2002. It is also their final studio album to be released through Columbia. As with their previous releases, the album's songs focus on heavy emotional content and subject matter such as drug addiction, depression, religion, broken relationships, and the internal tensions within the band fueled by Staley's substance abuse. The album's music relies less on metallic riffs and more on melody and texturally varied arrangements, integrating some of the more delicate acoustic moods of their EPs.
Boggy Depot is the debut solo album by Alice in Chains guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell. The vinyl edition was released on March 31, 1998, and the CD was released on April 7, 1998, through Columbia Records. The album was named after the ghost town of the same name in Oklahoma, where Cantrell's father grew up. In addition to singing, Cantrell also played guitar, piano, clavinet, organ, and steel drums on Boggy Depot. Cantrell produced the album along with Toby Wright. Cantrell's Alice in Chains bandmates, Sean Kinney and Mike Inez are featured on the album, as well as Les Claypool, Pantera's Rex Brown, and Fishbone's Angelo Moore and John Norwood Fisher. Boggy Depot debuted at No. 28 on the Billboard 200 and spent 14 weeks on the chart. The tracks "Cut You In", "My Song" and "Dickeye" were released as singles to promote the album. "Cut You In" peaked at No. 5. on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks, "My Song" reached No. 6 and "Dickeye" peaked at No. 36. "Cut You In" was nominated for two Billboard Music Video Awards: Best Hard Rock/Metal Clip and Best New Hard Rock/Metal Artist Clip. Boggy Depot was reissued on colored vinyl on December 13, 2019.
Michael Allen Inez is an American rock musician and bassist. Since 1993, Inez has been the bassist of the American rock band Alice in Chains. He is also recognized for his work with Ozzy Osbourne from 1989 to 1993. Inez also has connections with Slash's Snakepit, Black Label Society, Spys4Darwin, and Heart. Inez has earned seven Grammy Award nominations as a member of Alice in Chains.
"No Excuses" is the lead single from American rock band Alice in Chains' third EP, Jar of Flies (1994). Written by guitarist and co-lead vocalist Jerry Cantrell, the song was well received by music critics and was a charting success, becoming the first Alice in Chains song to reach No. 1 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, spending a total of 26 weeks on the chart. It has gone on to become one of the band's most popular songs. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). Alice In Chains performed an acoustic version of "No Excuses" for its appearance on MTV Unplugged in 1996, which marked the last time they performed the song with Layne Staley, and that version was included on the band's Unplugged live album and home video release.
"Grind" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains. It is the opening track and the lead single from their third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995). The song was written by Jerry Cantrell, who also sings lead vocals with Layne Staley harmonizing with him. "Grind" spent 16 weeks on the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart, peaking at number seven. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). It was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996.
"Angry Chair" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was the third single from their album Dirt (1992). It is the eleventh song on most copies of the album and twelfth or tenth song on others. The song was included on the compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).
"Heaven Beside You" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains and the second single from their third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995). It was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell about his relationship with his then-girlfriend, Courtney Clarke. Cantrell sings lead vocals, with Layne Staley doing harmonies during the chorus. The song spent 26 weeks on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at No. 3. An acoustic version performed on Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged in 1996 was released in a live album and DVD. "Heaven Beside You" was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999), Greatest Hits (2001), and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).
"What the Hell Have I" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. It was originally featured on the soundtrack to the 1993 John McTiernan film Last Action Hero starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. The song was released as a single and peaked at No. 19 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart. It was included on the compilation album Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999). A remixed version of the song was included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).
"Get Born Again" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains and, along with "Died", one of the last two songs recorded with vocalist Layne Staley before his death in 2002. The song was released as the lead single from the compilation Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999) on June 1, 1999. It peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 12 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart. "Get Born Again" was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 2000. The song was also included on the compilation albums Music Bank (1999) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006).
"Over Now" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains. Written by Jerry Cantrell, who also sings lead vocals, the song is the last track on the band's third studio album, Alice in Chains (1995), and it is about the 1995 breakup of the band. The song closed the televised broadcast of Alice in Chains' MTV Unplugged performance, and that version was released as a single in 1996. The B-side is the original studio version. The single peaked at No. 4 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and at No. 24 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart in 1996. The song was included on the live album Unplugged (1996), on the box set Music Bank (1999), and the compilation album The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). The MTV Unplugged concert was the first and only time that Alice in Chains performed the song. It was performed again 23 years later at Jerry Cantrell's solo concert at the Pico Union Project in Los Angeles on December 6, 2019.
"Don't Follow" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains. It is the third single from the band's 1994 EP Jar of Flies. The song was written by guitarist and vocalist Jerry Cantrell, who sings lead vocals in the first part of the song, followed by Layne Staley in the second part. The single spent seven weeks on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and peaked at No. 25.
"Again" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released as the third single from their self-titled 1995 album. It peaked at No. 8 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, and was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1997. The song was included on the band's compilation albums Nothing Safe: Best of the Box (1999), Greatest Hits (2001) and The Essential Alice in Chains (2006). A remixed version of the song was included on the box set Music Bank (1999).
"A Looking in View" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains, featured on their fourth studio album, Black Gives Way to Blue (2009). It was the first publicly released song from the album and was available for purchase on June 30, 2009, and for a limited time it was available as a free download through the official Alice in Chains website. Although it was not the album's first official single, Rock stations across the U.S. started playing the song after it was made available for streaming. The first official radio single, "Check My Brain", was released in August 2009.
"Check My Brain" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains, featured on their fourth studio album, Black Gives Way to Blue (2009). It was released as the first official single from the album on August 14, 2009, marking it as the band's first single in a decade. The single topped the Billboard Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks and Billboard Hot Rock Songs charts in September 2009. This was the first time an Alice in Chains song would hit number-one on the Hot Mainstream Rock Tracks chart since their 1994 single "No Excuses". This is Alice in Chains' first and currently only song to chart on the Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number 92, and also their first number-one on the Alternative Songs chart. "Check My Brain" received a nomination for "Best Hard Rock Performance" at the 52nd Grammy Awards.
"Hollow" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains and the first single from their fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, released on May 28, 2013. The band debuted the song on YouTube with a fan-made lyric video on December 18, 2012. The lyric video contains static images submitted by fans via Instagram. The song was made available for digital download on January 8, 2013. "Hollow" reached number one on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks and stayed on the chart for 20 weeks. It is played in a 6/4 time signature during the verses, and in a standard 4/4 signature during the choruses.
"Voices" is a song by the American rock band Alice in Chains and the third single from their fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013). Guitarist/vocalist Jerry Cantrell takes lead vocals on the song. The single premiered exclusively on USA Today website on July 26, 2013, and was released to radio stations on July 29, 2013. "Voices" peaked at No. 3 on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks, and stayed on the chart for 20 weeks. It also peaked at No. 18 on the Rock Airplay chart.
Rainier Fog is the sixth studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains, released on August 24, 2018, through BMG, the band's first release on the label. The title was inspired by Mount Rainier, a volcano that overlooks the Seattle-Tacoma metropolitan area, and the title track is a tribute to the Seattle music scene. This is the band's third album with William DuVall sharing lead vocals with Jerry Cantrell, and the first Alice in Chains album in 22 years to be recorded in their hometown of Seattle. The album was partially recorded at Seattle's Studio X, the same studio where the band recorded their 1995 self-titled album. Rainier Fog is also Alice in Chains' third collaboration with producer Nick Raskulinecz, marking their first time recording three full-length albums with the same producer.
