Stone (Alice in Chains song)

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"Stone"
AiC Stone single cover.jpg
Single by Alice in Chains
from the album The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here
ReleasedMarch 25, 2013 (2013-03-25) [1]
Recorded2012 [2] [3]
Studio Henson (Hollywood, California)
Genre
Length4:23
Label Virgin/EMI
Songwriter Jerry Cantrell
Producers
Alice in Chains singles chronology
"Hollow"
(2012)		"Stone"
(2013)		"Voices"
(2013)
Music video
"Stone" on YouTube

"Stone" is a song by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on March 25, 2013, as the second single from the band's fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013). The song reached No. 1 on Billboard 's Mainstream Rock chart, [5] and stayed on the chart for 20 weeks. [6]

Contents

Origin and recording

Singer-guitarist Jerry Cantrell came up with the song's riff whilst recovering from surgery to repair his damaged shoulder cartilage in 2011. He told Ultimate Guitar: "My arm was f--ked up and I couldn't play guitar so I just hummed that riff into a phone and that's how that song came to be. When I could play a little bit and we were going through riffs, I remember doing some riffs with Paul Figueroa, our engineer. I'm like, 'Wait a minute, I got a good one, man. Check this out.' I started f--kin' playing it to him and it was me singing into the f--kin' phone. I'm like, 'Dude, this riff is killer. Give me a guitar and I'll f--kin' work it out.' So that song I actually came up with just off a voice message on a phone. I didn't even have a guitar; I just f--kin' hummed it into the phone." [7]

The brooding song includes the lyric: "What makes you want to carve your initials in me?... Find me distant, outwardly rough obscene." Singer William DuVall explained to Los Angeles Times : "It seems to be about confronting outside misperceptions. You think you know me? You don't." [8]

Release and reception

"Stone" was released to radio stations on March 25, 2013. [1]

According to Graham Hartmann writing for Loudwire , "the new single [...] has its fair share of sludge [...], further delving into a dark and unnerving side of alternative rock and atmospheric metal." [4]

In 2019, the riff to "Stone" - that Cantrell hummed into his phone while recovering from a shoulder surgery - was ranked No. 16 on Guitar World 's list of the 20 best guitar riffs of the decade. [9]

Music video

A lyric video for "Stone" was released on YouTube on April 15, 2013. [10] The music video for "Stone" was shot in Lucerne Valley, California and directed by Robert Schober (aka Roboshobo), who directed their previous music video, "Hollow". The video features the band playing on a rocky hill. Separately, three individuals are alone trying to transport stones that get heavier or larger, using a basket, a cart, and one rolling a boulder uphill. Once they are unable to proceed, they stop and become stones. [11]

Live performances

On April 10, 2013, the song was performed live during an Alice in Chains' appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live! . [12]

Charts

References

  1. 1 2 "ALICE IN CHAINS: New Single 'Stone' Goes To Radio". Blabbermouth. March 25, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  2. ↑ "Alice in Chains – Setting the musical bar high and releasing no album before its time". M Music & Musicians Magazine. May 27, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  3. ↑ "Guitarist Confirms Completion Of New ALICE IN CHAINS Album". Blabbermouth.net . December 5, 2012. Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Hartmann, Graham (March 25, 2013). "Alice in Chains Release New Single 'Stone'". Loudwire . Retrieved May 1, 2013.
  5. ↑ Trust, Gary (June 13, 2013). "Chart Moves: Cassadee Pope Debuts On Hot 100, Hot Country Songs; Alicia Keys Reaches Adult R&B Milestone; The Lone Bellow Adds Airplay". Billboard . Prometheus Global Media . Retrieved June 13, 2013.
  6. ↑ "Alice in Chains - Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved August 1, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Jerry Cantrell: 'If You Can't Play You Shouldn't Be Onstage'". Ultimate-Guitar.com. April 1, 2013. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Through the good and the bad, Alice in Chains unbroken". Los Angeles Times. May 29, 2013. Archived from the original on February 6, 2015. Retrieved July 22, 2017.
  9. ↑ Horsley, Jonathan (December 12, 2019). "The 20 best guitar riffs of the decade". Guitar World.
  10. ↑ "ALICE IN CHAINS: Official 'Stone' Lyric Video Released". Blabbermouth. April 15, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  11. ↑ "ALICE IN CHAINS: 'Stone' Video Released". Blabbermouth. April 18, 2013. Retrieved May 28, 2018.
  12. ↑ Kaufman, Spencer (April 11, 2013). "Alice in Chains Rock 'Jimmy Kimmel Live!' with 'Stonw,' 'Man in the Box' and 'Hollow'". Loudwire . Retrieved August 26, 2025.
  13. ↑ "Alice in Chains Chart History (Canada Rock)". Billboard . Retrieved January 23, 2022. [ dead link ]
  14. ↑ "Alice in Chains Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard . Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Alice in Chains Chart History (Rock & Alternative Airplay)". Billboard . Retrieved January 23, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Year-End Charts: Rock Airplay Songs (2013)". Billboard . Archived from the original on April 26, 2022. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
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