Alice in Chains: Dirt
A follow-up to Alice In Chains’ full-length debut Facelift, Dirt builds on their angsty, stadium-sized sound that propelled them out of Seattle and onto the worldwide metal circuit. Although inevitably compared with their contemporaries and labelled as ‘grunge’, AIC’s style is heavier and has a more polished and proficient feel. The Seattle themes of Generation X disallusionment, emotional pain and excessive drug use are there in abundance, but Layne Staley’s distinctive vocals and Jerry Cantrell’s inticate soloing are the main reasons for this record being something out of the ordinary. Facelift gave ample evidence of this, but Dirt is a much darker record that takes this one step further and shows the cracks in both the rock ‘n’ roll dream and the band itself.
The album opens with crashing chords and Staley’s haunting vocals in Them Bones, before getting into the groove of the slightly more upbeat Dam That River. The highlights of the album are however the likes of Rooster, a tribute to Cantrell’s father’s wartime experiences, Down in a Hole and the more well-known concluding tune Would?. All of these combine melodic riffs, pessimistic lyrics and a guitar sound that has to be one of the most awe-inspiring in rock history. Swathes of overdriven, effects-laden guitar lines are woven together with astonishing solos, pounding drums and solid basslines, topped off with Staley’s vocal work.
Although the strongest songwriting came from Cantrell, it was Staley who looked deep into the mind of a heroin user and the results are heartfelt, startling and brilliant. The open honesty of the enjoyable side of drug use in Junkhead is contrasted with the associated pain in Hate to Feel and Angry Chair; sadly prophetic when a heroin overdose eventually took his life.
In Summary
Dirt is not only a fitting epitaph to yet another rock casualty, but a classic and often underrated album that captures the sound of a brilliant band before personal pressures and drugs took their toll. Every track strikes a perfect balance between melody and atonal metal, intricate musicianship and genuine emotional pain. Probably the strongest record from one of Seattle’s many musical talents.
Tracklisting
- Them Bones
- Dam That River
- Rain When I Die
- Down in a Hole
- Sickman
- Rooster
- Junkhead
- Dirt
- Godsmack
- (untitled)*
- Hate to Feel
- Angry Chair
- Would?
*not credited on tracklisting
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