Alice in Chains (album) turns 30!
To all my fellow Alice in Chains fans…
This hard and heavy album was released on October 31, 1995.
Alice in Chains was released in the twilight of the Grunge era. The band remained largely unable to tour for the album due to lead singer Layne Staley's drug addiction, performing live only on televised events and opening for Kiss in the summer of 1996. Nevertheless, the album debuted at number one on the Billboard 200 chart and stayed on the chart for nearly a year. The tracks “Grind”, “Heaven Beside You”, and “Again” were released as singles. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA. In what would be their final live performances during their original run, the band took an opening slot on a classic lineup reunion tour for Kiss in the summer of 1996. Alice In Chains opening slot was originally held by Stone Temple Pilots, but their vocalist, Scott Weiland, had drug issues of his own to address. The slot was instead awarded to Alice in Chains when Weiland entered rehabilitation.
Source: Wikipedia.org
“Over the next couple of years, I attended even more memorable concerts and festivals, especially those of the No Quarter Tour, Lollapalooza, and the Kiss Alive reunion tour, which would include the final concert performance of Alice In Chains with the late Layne Staley (July 3, 1996); surreal and bittersweet, in retrospect.”
- Woodard, Anthony. “Find the time…”. Mar. 30, 2023
After the show, Layne reportedly overdosed and was rushed to a Kansas City hospital. While the band would go on to record two new songs with Layne in 1998, “Get Born Again” and “Died”, the damage had been done. The music of Alice In Chains, Soundgarden, and Stone Temple Pilots greatly influenced me. It is not lost on me that the front men for these three iconic bands are no longer with us. The dark and mysterious undertones in their music ultimately surfaced. We will almost certainly be faced with adversity, and unfortunately in some cases, tragedy and heartbreak. The circumstances may be sudden or may have been haunting us for many years, like a stalker. How each of us address these situations or events is a personal journey that hopefully results in recovery, and even, growth. Sadly, sometimes it doesn’t… Layne Staley lost his long battle with drug addiction and depression. He died alone in his Seattle home on April 5, 2002.
Layne Staley
1967 - 2002
Layne Staley, 1991. Photo Credit: Ron Galella; Getty Images. Source: loudwire.com