Alice In Chains were at the forefront of the Grunge movement in the early 90's. Hailing from Seattle like so many of the other Grunge giants of the time. The band rode high along with the other Grunge bands like Nirvana, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Pearl Jam and many more. The band had quickly gained attention with their first record, 'Facelift'. Songs like 'Man In The Box' and 'Bleed The Freak' quickly gained radio attention and MTV airplay. By the time '92 came and grunge exploded AIC was ready with the critically acclaimed 'Dirt' record. The song 'Rooster' shot the band to the front of the grunge movement. But as the times changed and Grunge began to die off so did the band. Plagued by the heroin addiction of frontman Layne Staley, the band quickly began to fall apart. Releasing only an EP and a Self Titled record over the next four years, people began to wonder if the band would ever keep going. By '96 the majority of fans wondered how long Staley would hang on. Reports of overdoses and the like began to circulate. But just before the final nail went it, we got an amazing Live record.
'Unplugged' would prove to be the bands Swans Song for a period. The band had been off the road for some time and fans wondered of this was the end of AIC. But somehow the band got an Unplugged gig for MTV. The band fronted by a clearly frail and weak Staley, proved there was something left in the tanks still. Powering through the bands classic Grunge hits, each sounded more eerie and better than the original at times. 13 tracks of pure Grunge goodness. 'Unplugged' proved to be the final nail in the AIC coffin. Staley would go on to briefly appear in the Supergroup, Mad Season. Guitarist Jerry Cantrell went on to work on solo material which featured current Metallica Bassist Robert Trujillo. Sadly another Live record and a Box Set went on to be the last releases before the untimely death of Layne Staley due to a heroin overdose in 2002.
1999 was the last year in which any original AIC material was released. It would be ten years later before the band would reform with a new front man and release their comeback 'Black Gives Way To Blue' in 2009. While the band continues to record and tour with the new lineup, most of us are left to wonder what would have become of the band had Staley stayed clean. While we will never know, we are left with some classic albums and classic Live record.
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