I remember first being introduced to Alice In Chains by my sister when we were still in primary school. It took me a while to warm up to AIC., but eventually their music took root in my mind.
Dirt was the band's debut full-length album, released in 1992. Although AIC's sound is definitely rooted in grunge rock, there is still a strong metallic element running through their music. The album starts on an explosive and heavy note with Them Bones. There's a good, fuzzy solo by guitarist/backing vocalist Jerry Cantrell. His vocal harmonies with lead vocalist Layne Staley give the song a spooky feel. Vocal harmonies are a distinguishing feature of AIC. The tracks Rooster, Angry Chair and Down In a Hole are examples of the harmonies contributing majorly to the atmosphere of the song.
Hints of the funeral atmosphere to come in Rain When I Die are given by the slow, grinding and bass-driven intro. There was an interesting sound effect that sounded like glass breaking (which reminded me of the sound at the end of Disintegration by The Cure). The riffs in the chorus pull the song up from the gloomy depths where it otherwise dwells. The extensively-used guitar effects have a trippy sound. I like how unusual sort of sound effects transport me to another place while listening. Sickman is a faster-paced creepy crazy train, with unsettling voices and laughing in the background. One point in the song had a thrashy feel, much to my delight. This song seems to go on for a long time, going around in cirlces, which echoes the insanity theme of the lyrics. Cantrell puts in some great riffs throughout.
Rooster is one of the album highlights. The guitar and bass notes sound spacey in the intro, and then the amazing vocal harmonies come in. The Roosters were American soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War. They were given their nickname by Vietnamese soldiers because of the bald eagles on their uniforms. The fuzzy guitar progressions made me picture battle-weary soldiers trudging through a humid Vietnamese jungle. The lines ''Walkin' tall machine gun man/They spit on me in my home land'' are accompanied by a riff that sticks in my head - the subsequent melody sticks too. A haunting guitar echo ends off the song, reminding me of how the effects of war linger on in a soldier's psyche long after the war has ended.
Dirt is not easy listening at times. The lyrics frequently reference the idea that the biggest threat to our safety in this world is not some outside factor, but our own selves. Most of the time, we think we are quite safe inside our own homes, but destruction waits in a dark corner of the mind, waiting to be allowed freedom
Dirt was the band's debut full-length album, released in 1992. Although AIC's sound is definitely rooted in grunge rock, there is still a strong metallic element running through their music. The album starts on an explosive and heavy note with Them Bones. There's a good, fuzzy solo by guitarist/backing vocalist Jerry Cantrell. His vocal harmonies with lead vocalist Layne Staley give the song a spooky feel. Vocal harmonies are a distinguishing feature of AIC. The tracks Rooster, Angry Chair and Down In a Hole are examples of the harmonies contributing majorly to the atmosphere of the song.
Hints of the funeral atmosphere to come in Rain When I Die are given by the slow, grinding and bass-driven intro. There was an interesting sound effect that sounded like glass breaking (which reminded me of the sound at the end of Disintegration by The Cure). The riffs in the chorus pull the song up from the gloomy depths where it otherwise dwells. The extensively-used guitar effects have a trippy sound. I like how unusual sort of sound effects transport me to another place while listening. Sickman is a faster-paced creepy crazy train, with unsettling voices and laughing in the background. One point in the song had a thrashy feel, much to my delight. This song seems to go on for a long time, going around in cirlces, which echoes the insanity theme of the lyrics. Cantrell puts in some great riffs throughout.
Rooster is one of the album highlights. The guitar and bass notes sound spacey in the intro, and then the amazing vocal harmonies come in. The Roosters were American soldiers in the 101st Airborne Division during the Vietnam War. They were given their nickname by Vietnamese soldiers because of the bald eagles on their uniforms. The fuzzy guitar progressions made me picture battle-weary soldiers trudging through a humid Vietnamese jungle. The lines ''Walkin' tall machine gun man/They spit on me in my home land'' are accompanied by a riff that sticks in my head - the subsequent melody sticks too. A haunting guitar echo ends off the song, reminding me of how the effects of war linger on in a soldier's psyche long after the war has ended.
The title track contains a strange, cat-like chant. Its slow tempo gives an impression of slowly-shifting earth, moving as slowly as time does when a person is in the company of one who drains them. The fuzzy guitar solo is in turns distorted and screaming, adding to the feeling of drudgery. Often on this album, the source of soul-draining is more often interior, with trippy, disoriented-sounding songs telling of drug-fuelled self-destruction. Guitars alternately sound distorted, high-pitched or echoing. And of course, Staley and Cantrell’s harmonies fit into every song so well.
Doom-metalesque riffs appear on the slower songs. The heavy, doomy intro of Hate to Feel borrows from Black Sabbath’s Iron Man, and paraphrases the "I am Iron Man!" line with "I am Iron Doom!" On Down In a Hole, the slow pace slows down to a funerary tempo. AIC makes this love song to death sound beautiful instead of morbid. The duet of acoustic and electric guitar has a poignant tone, as do the dirge-like electric riffs in the main chorus. The first chorus sails forward like a ship being steered by a captain wanting to commit suicide via shipwreck. The main chorus is once more beautifully harmonised. A sweep of guitar notes falls like a rain storm. The first chorus melody returns, with the lyrics "Down in a hole, and they’ve put all the stones in their place", as if death has been accepted. The second solo echoes the acceptance of death.
Angry Chair is one of the first AIC tracks I heard, and it remains one of my favourites from the band. The song has a dark and menacing atmosphere. Spooky, chanting vocals chronicle a descent into insanity, a path willingly followed: "I don’t mind, yeah/I don’t mind/I-I-I can’t find it anywhere/I don’t mind". A powerful solo screams the frustration of being stuck in a soul-draining "corporate prison".
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