Long before the phrase, "Seattle scene" spoke of an impact that a new generation of musicians was having on rock music, Alice in Chains was struggling to be recognized in the shadow of bands that were more focused on image than craft. On FACELIFT, the band's major label debut, Alice in Chains proved that its fusion of blues, hard rock, and gritty imagery was a force to be reckoned with. While college radio stations ate up fare like "It Ain't Like That" and "We Die Young," the song "Man in a Box" became a banner track that pushed the band into the forefront of heavy rotation on MTV and the playlists of mainstream rock radio stations.
Vocalist Layne Staley's moody, dynamic vocals on "Love, Hate, Love" tell a chilling tale of a homicidal psychotic lamenting and musing over what he's done to his lover. On tracks such as "Sea of Sorrow" and "I Can't Remember," guitarist Jerry Cantrell shows equally impressive skill in Sabbath-styled riffing, blues licks, and Hendrix-influenced solos. Alice in Chains made a brash musical and lyrical statement that gave the stale era of thrash and hair metal a much-needed facelift.
Recorded at London Bridge Studios, Seattle, Washington and Capitol Recording Studios, Hollywood, California.
Personnel: Layne Staley (vocals); Jerry Cantrell (guitar, background vocals); Sean Kinney (drums, percussion, background vocals); Kevin Shuss, Michael Starr, Mike Starr (background vocals).
Alice In Chains: Layne Staley (vocals); Jerry Cantrell (guitar); Michael Starr (bass); Sean Kinney (drums).
Rolling Stone (9/20/90) - "..the quartet's debut album...intense, throbbing experience.." Spin (12/90) - "..metal's answer to Joy Division--gloriously, unabashedly bummed out...striking songwriting.." Q (10/99, p.140) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...established these four hairy young men as leaders of a new rock age..." New York Times (Publisher) (11/18/90) - "..they knock out punchy, tightly structured arena rock.."
enter jerry cantrell this is the album that i think brought grunge to a high level, before this album grunge was more underground.this album also really introduced full fledged drop d tuning, i know it was done before, but jerry also had a great guitar sound which most good hard rock guitar players wanted. lets start with we die young, when i heard this it blew my mind, how it was so heavy but a good mix to, man in the box is a great party tune, i can remember about 30 people in my house on new years eve just grooving in unison to this song.sea of sorrow, bleed the freak, it ain't like that, what great songs. my personal fav is i know something bout you, one of the best choruses of all time, if you like heavy metal and grunge, get this album asap. you won't be disappointed. hope you like my review, cya Submitted by halenroth84 (thunder bay, ontario. canada) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 1 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
Lane Staley, We Miss you... The Best Alice in Chains' album!
great rock great grunge
I love it Submitted by Walter (Isili, Ca, Sardegna, ITALY) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 2 of 3 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
aic for life dom This is aic when they are at their best,aic is my #1 band as well. Every song of this album is amazing, i recently saw them live in wilkes-barre PA on Apr.17 & they played 4 songs off this album. My favorite 1 off this album is "it ain't like that," "sunshine," "man in the box," "i can't remember". If u dont have have this album get u will love it. Submitted by Domnic Kustrin (Old Boston PA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 2 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
Incredible album Definately one of my top 5 favorite albums ever. When I think back to 1990 and the bands that were popular at the time, I realize just how great this album was.
The tradgedy is that most people who are not hard core AIC fans have only heard Man in the Box. Few who are not serious fans have heard We Die Young, Bleed the Freak, or It Ain't Like That. It's sad because these are some of their best songs. Submitted by TS (Shreveport, LA, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 1 of 2 found this helpful. This review is for a different format.
Astonishing !!! Great, one of the greatest rock albums ever made !! Submitted by irminzar (Las Vegas, NV, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
enter jerry cantrell
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