Alice in Chains - Alice in Chains
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Free Music Notes for Alice in Chains
Free Music Review: Not their best, but still great
Hit: 5 Stars
Alice In Chains released their self titled album in 1995, when Nirvana had already gone, Pearl Jam and Stone Temple Pilots were beginning to head down a road that would lead to some of their less known CD releases, and grunge itself was beginning to deteriorate. Nu metal bands, such as Korn and Godsmack would soon be taking over the music industry, so things looked grim for the grunge genre.
Alice In Chains self titled CD is in many ways, different from their other releases. It's much more dark. The tempo never rises above medium paced. The emphasis seems to be more on the lyrics and the singing then on anything else, because Jerry Cantrell's guitar solos are very diminished and Sean Kinney's drums are very straightforward. But nevertheless, there's still a certain quality to the songs that make them all interesting and standout. Perhaps it's the mystery surrounding them all. In Dirt and Facelift, the songs were all much more fast paced, and they had a more metal feel to them.
1. Grind - Probably the heaviest song on the CD. Jerry Cantrell sings most of this song, and uses the wah pedal A LOT. Very crunchy, heavy riff in the background. 10/10
2. Brush Away - I think compared to the rest of the songs on this CD, this one isn't anything that special compared to other songs. A lot of the time, I skip over this song, but hey, that's just my opinion.. The song, I think, has a repetitive riff that never seems to change... kind of an anticlimatic song.
7/10
3. Sludge Factory - I think that this song starts off excellent, and slowly drifts downward and ends up suffering fromt he same problem that Brush Away did: It drags on and on with a very repititious riff. Layne's voice is very eerie, and the lyrics are quite ambigious. The song should of ended at about 4 minutes, but it goes on and on with Layne's voice saying "Your weapon is guilt". 8/10
4. Heaven Beside You - A very, very good song that features mostly Cantrell on vocals. I like how the guitar starts acoustic and slowly builds up to a very neat electric solo by Cantrell. 10/10
5. Head Creeps - At this point in the CD, there seems to be two different sides of Alice In Chains on it. The Heaven Beside You/Grind side, with the heavier, more melodic songs, and the dark, grungy side, like Brush Away and Sludge Factory. Head Creeps is one of the latter. It's very dark, and Layne's singing is very creepy with the effects on his voice. Not really one of my favorites, and it seems to outstay it's welcome. 7.5/10
6. Again - This song is probably the most popular one off of the self titled CD. Jerry Cantrell has an infectious riff throughout the song, and Layne's singing is superb. It slowly builds up to a crescendo at the end of the song. One of the heavier AND better songs on the CD. 9.5/10
7. Shame In You - I find this to be one of Alice In Chains's most underrated songs. It starts off very mellow and very slow. The singing is very soft, and as the song's tempo steadily increases, and the instruments get louder and louder, Layne's voice stays soft. My favorite song on the CD. 10/10
8. God Am - I find this to be the strangest song on the CD. The guitar is almost offtune in a way,and the lyrics are very strange. Not one of my favorites at all, but I like the riff that Cantrell has at the beginning of the song. 7.5/10
9. So Close - A short song, almost like an interlude. I never really liked this song all that much, until recently. It's very.. punkish, in a way. 8/10
10. Nothing Song - Another very strange song, and it's like God Am, almost off tune in a way. But I found it to be much more catchy then God Am, especially the chorus of the song. It's hard to tell exactly what Layne is saying through the lyrics, since they are very odd. 8/10
11. Frogs - I believe this song is the softest on the CD, and even when it reaches it's climax, it's still very slow. You'd think that after about four minutes, when the song starts to slow down, and Layne just starts muttering incoherently, that it would end up suffering just as Sludge Factory does, but it doesn't. It's a very nice, soft song. 9/10
12. Over Now - I think that this is one of the greatest endings to a CD. With Dirt, they had Would?, which is also my favorite song by them. With the self titled, it's Over Now. The song is like Frogs in a way, never getting too fast, but keeping a steady tempo. Jerry Cantrell sings most of this song, but Layne does some back up vocals. It's weird that this is the last song on their last CD. Because, it's true, soon enough, it would be over for Alice In Chains. 10/10
Free Music Review: Absolutely wicked album
Hit: 5 Stars
Though Dirt is the best-appreciated full-length album from Alice in Chains, Tripod is just as good though a little less accessible. Alice in Chains' final album has a different mood than the angry, energetic Dirt. This doesn't mean it isn't a heavy record, it's simply heavy in a different way.
Opener Grind sets the tone: slower and sludgier than any song from Dirt, it creates an image of persistance through pain. The shared vocals of Staley and Cantrell work out well here. "In the darkest hole, you'd be well advised not to plan my funeral 'fore the body dies." 9/10
Brush Away is a decent track, a little lighter than Grind but with the same style. 7/10
Sludge Factory - at first a lot of listeners probably won't like this track, as it's slow but very heavy, not really melodic at all, and very long (over 7 minutes). However, it continues the theme of Grind and slugging it out through unendurable pain. The last section of the song, an extended instrumental with Staley's spoken vocals just audible, is particularly nice. 9/10
Heaven Beside You - the most commercial song on this album, probably, and not nessecarily a bad thing, this Cantrell-written work provides a welcome break from the darker and murkier numbers so far. A laid back mood and very nice use of acoustic guitar, the song never the less comes across as negatively focused. 9/10
Head Creeps - Now this is one of the album's heaviest songs. The theme of drug addiction is there again ("No more time... just one more time"), sung by Staley in trademark bitter and sarcastic tone while the metal guitars scream in the background. 10/10
Again - Actually the song most similar on this album to Dirt, Again resembles Head Creeps but sped up a lot to almost match pace with Dirt. Again sarcastic and resentful, the start-stop setup of this song works very well. This sounds damn good. 10/10
Shame In You - Another excellent song, this one takes a cue from Jar of Flies and provides a quieter, more introspective mood. Staley's voice works as well as ever, singing lines of regret like "And I must say I was stupid." The instruments sound beautiful and I only wish the extended instrumental at the end was longer. 11/10
God Am - One of Alice in Chains' most eccentric songs, this is also another of the albums' heaviest. The beginning sounds brutally bizarre. 8/10
Nothin' Song and So Close are both shorter, faster, and more generic songs than those on the rest of the album. They are good, but I think this is the weak spot on the album (as I thought Dirt's weak spot was Rain When I Die). 6/10 each
Frogs - This is the song on the entire album that the casual listener is likely to hate. Nine minutes' worth of unmelodic, slow, dragging angst. It, however, happens to be brilliant. It took me a while to get used to but now I really, really like it. I'm not claiming that the musical styles are comparable, but the best analogy I can think of is the slow, long, tortured songs of late Joy Division (which also take some getting used to), such as "The Eternal." Once you learn to appreciate Frogs, you'll see it as one of Alice in Chains' best. Like Sludge Factory, it features an extended conclusion with Staley's spoken words, including perhaps prophetically, "Your expiration date."
10/10
Over Now - Similar to Heaven Beside You, and also written by Cantrell, this is an energetic ballad-ish song that slowly turns to desolation. Very well written, catchy song with the sound of being forsaken at its end. "We pay our debts sometime."
10/10
Overall, this comes across as a less accessible but more mature album than 1992's Dirt. There are a few introspective acoustic moments which resemble Jar of Flies, particularly the amazing Shame In You. Ultimately, however, it is the painful, extended songs like Sludge Factory and Frogs that dominate this album. You're given a powerful impression of world-weariness and pain. There's also a blues influence on this album, and Alice in Chains' ability to write catchy songs isn't as absent as it might initially seem. Even the slow, repetitive numbers eventually get into a kind of groove.
If Dirt is the album to listen to on friday night when the drinks are being downed, Tripod is the album to listen to saturday night when your hangover won't go away, you really shouldn't be drinking, and you're doing so anyway. 10/10
Free Music Review: Alice In Chains most underappreciated album
Hit: 5 Stars
In 1995, Alice In Chains released what would be its final studio album, simply titled "Alice In Chains," AKA "Tripod" (because the album cover has a three legged dog). Although the self-titled disc sold well, it has never received the acclaim or fan adoration that it deserves.
Following the release of their 1992 masterpiece "Dirt," Alice In Chains released a seven song semi-acoustic album, "Jar of Flies," the following year. For their next project, Alice In Chains went back to a heavier sound with their self-titled CD. Alice In Chains self-titled album is a metal album in the same vein as "Dirt," but it is also distinctly different from its predecessor. While a majority of "Dirt" was fast-paced and intense, the self-titled album is far more sluggish, and the songs more mid-tempo, but without sounding tepid. The album sort of grinds its way though-but I don't mean that as a negative, because everything works. Although this is a slothful sounding album, it always stays intriguing and never runs out of steam. Whereas "Dirt" kind of screamed in agonizing pain, the self-titled album sort of moans in agonizing pain. The album has a freak show, nightmare-ish quality. This is an extremely depressing album. Song, after song, everything is a downer after another. But it does end on a slightly more optimistic note with "Over Now."
The band sounds as tight and cohesive as ever on "Tripod". As always, Jerry Cantrell's riffs and solos are intriguing and interesting, with each and every song. Layne Staley's singing sounds a little more downcast, but no less powerful. Drummer Sean Kinney and Bass player Mike Inez provided a dynamic and powerful rhythm section.
I find that the self-titled album differs from past albums to some extent lyrically. I find a majority of the song on "Facelift," and "Dirt" to be straightforward and a lot of the songs on the self-titled album to be somewhat ambiguous. The meaning behind songs like "Grind," "Brush Away," "Shame in You," "Head Creeps," etc. is rather obscure. But this isn't a bad thing as the lyrics never seem pretentious.
Another thing different about the self-titled album is the surprising amount of material sung by guitarist Jerry Cantrell. Although Cantrell had sang a few AIC songs on prior releases, his presence here is more pervasive. Cantrell has a fine singing voice, so this is not a problem. Cantrell's straightforward heartfelt vocals compliant Layne Staley's eerie singing perfectly.
"Tripod" starts out with the amply titled "Grind," as the song grinds its way through. It sounds like the riff was inspired straight out of the Tony Iommi sound book. It reminds me a little of Black Sabbath's "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath." Layne Staley's eerie background vocals over Jerry Cantrell's lead vocals work really well. The ghostly "Brush Away" has an intense, almost paranoid feel to it. "Sludge Factory" is one of the album's highlights. This is a very creepy song. Staley's dark, frightening vocals are spine-chilling. The mood switches from chilling to dismal with the beautifully gloomy "Heaven Beside You." The song actually feels, as one of its lines states, "like the coldest winter chill." Again, Staley's vocals over Cantrell's sound excellent. "Head Creeps" is another mid-tempo sluggish rocker and keeps up the momentum. "Again," is another one of the albums highlights. It has an infectious, bone-crunching riff and an intense frantic chorus. Staley sounds despondent in "Shame In You," and "God Am." The slow paced, soft-spoken "Shame In You" features a very cool, extended solo at the end. Staley sounds as though he were reaching his wits-end in the Sabbath-like "God Am." The tempo is picked up a bit with the ferocious "So Close." It actually sounds as though it could have been used for "Dirt." The dismal "Frogs" is a song that you really need to be in the right mood to hear. It seems to go on forever. It is very soft-spoken and mellow, yet also intense, as though Staley were about ready to explode. The album closes with the beautiful semi-acoustic Cantrell sung "Over Now." Peaceful resignation seems to be its theme.
Alice In Chain's self-titled, "Tripod," album is one of the most gloomy, despondent albums ever recorded. But it's also a finely written one. Although it's a very cheerless album, there is an undeniable beauty to it.
Free Music Review: Dark, disturbing and brilliant.
Hit: 5 Stars
"Alice in Chains" gets a lot of flack from fans and frankly I don't know why. It's definetely one of the best Alice in Chains album and one of the best hard-rock albums of the 90s. The entire album is a dark and disturbing trip to the head of a junkie trying to break free of his chains. Let's do this song by song:1.) Grind
Great opener and the second best song in the album. "Grind" showcases why Jerry Cantrell is one of the premier guitarists of the 90s. He builds this entire song out of distorted, wailing wah-wah pedal noodlings. It's amazing to hear. His singing is also beautiful and serves as a startling contrast to Layne's distorted and terrifying vocals that surface at several points in the song. 10/10
2.) Brush Away
Another great song. The main riff is so sparkling and catchy you'll be humming it for days. 9/10
3.) Sludge Factory
I thought this track was kinda weak. It had a great beginning and Layne's vocals are at their best but it quickly degenerates into a rambling, unfocused track. It has its great moments though. Listen to the Unplugged version for a leaner and better version. 7/10
4.) Heaven Beside You
A beautiful song. Combining elements of folk and country with dashes of Alice in Chains' copyrighted brand of sludge make this track a winner. Once again Layne and Jerry harmonize and together create a beautiful vocal experience. It's almost like the Beatles...10/10
5.)Head Creeps
This is, in my opinion, the best song in the album. It's distorted, dark, rambling, hypnotic...everything an Alice in Chains song should be. Layne Staley sings this entire song with a menacing growl that can only be produced by a junkie. The whole song is like heroin-withdrawal set to guitars. Beautiful and horrifying. 10/10
6.) Again
What could follow "Head Creeps"? This song, while decent, is kinda of a let-down, but an Alice in Chains' letdown is still better than anything being released today so you can't go wrong. 8/10
7.) Shame in You
Kinda sappy. Although the acoustic/electric music is beautiful, the vocals and the lyrics don't really do it justice. A great solo though. 7/10
8.)Got Am
Another dark and disturbing epic. "God Am" is a cry for help and a display of anger at God from a junkie who has nothing to live for. Great stuff...Layne growls and begs his way across hypnotic drumming while Jerry's guitars fade in and out, weaving themselves like worms across the fabric of this song. 10/10
9.) So Close
A short and forgetful song. It seems kinda of out of place with its fast tempo among such slow dirges. 6/10
10.) Nothing Song
The weakest song in the album. Although the weird tonality of it and the playful lyrics will entertain you, it will fail to make you appreciate it. 5/10
11.) Frogs
The 3rd best track of the album. "Frogs" perfectly encapsulates the whole concept of the album. It is a cry of mourning for lost friends and lost love. Layne's vocals are masterfully produced. He is singing one moment, growling the other, muttering like a deranged lunatic in the other...absolutely mesmerising. And the turn up the volume during the mumblings to hear what Layne is actually saying. Scary stuff. 10/10
12.) Over Now
This song, while a little flat, ends the album perfectly. Jerry Cantrell's voice and guitars really stand out in this song and it previews a lot of his future, solo work. 8/10
In conclusion, not since "Exile on Main Street" have the raving and rants of a junkie been this entertaining and listenable. Get this album.
Free Music Review: WHY, OH WHY Couldn't fate have let these guys still be recording?
Hit: 5 Stars
This group kept getting better and ummhmm...better. At first I thought this was aic's worst output. I wanted a return to the youthful energy of "facelift" or the dark, heavychevy "dirt" or the beautiful acoustic "jar", but this album "aic" is now my favorite alice album closely rivaled by "jar of flies". The reasons it is now my favorite is because each song has layers of extremely well-produced instrumental and vocal sound only to be further layered with complex lyrical play and meaning. Essentially this is a complex output allowing me to listen to it over and over and ,good god ahmighty, over agai For instance, the one song on this album that best represents everything i mentioned above is "headcreeps". The song is musically heavily layered thanks to cantrell's input of busy lead, and rythmn guitar work. The heavy amount of guitar with a sundry of high, low notes hits you like a big ol' fat wall of sound. To add to this, the distortion of Staley's vocal output adds another dimension to the already rich sound of his trademark multi-interval (which have the lower, higher and midrange sound) vocals. To add even MORE complexity to this song one must consider the lyrics. These lyrics seem like they could be interpreted in different ways. I am partial to the religious implications even though the lyrics could easily be referring to the pain of romantic breakup. "live puppets on a string, untangle you from me," and "time to call the doggies off" pleas (to me) to God to release me from a life full of pain or "untangle" your will from mine. "Some day my plane leaves, someway my head creeps," expresses how i'm a goin' crazy in a world created by a god who won't allow me to reach stable state devoid of suffering and painful inconsistencies. "Rise from the dirt i'm in hide in another's skin, stick black dress doll with pin, your mouth takes on my grin," says the pain and insanity of humanity continues unimpeded by the Almighty from one life to the next. The rythmn change toward the end of the track seems to show everything that is somewhat predictable and stable coming apart or complete madness, thus HEADCREEPS! Loads of complexity, prevelent throughtout this lp is what makes this recording kick extreme a*% and it makes me tremendously sad that it had to be their last major studio output. "brush away" is another song I've listened to a silly amount of times, because of the absolute perfect use of staley's vocal talent and cantrell's musical creativity. The layering of acoustic and electric guitar coupled with staley's multi-faceted vocals is unbelievably satisfying. "nothin' song" is yet another tribute to the magic of aic's creativity using dissonant notes (of cantrell's guitar and staley's chorus 'ayieee' in this case) over chunky rythmn guitar work and shifty lyrics, like "started this take at 7:38" (mundane) and "nothing ever stays the same" (philosophical). "Shame in you" is ANOTHER song on this album that uses every once of cantrell and staley's talents creating another stunning track. The melodic sound of cantrell's guitar underneath Staley's well layered vocals (in particular, his high registar in the line "concentratin' on dyin' yeah") gives me freakin' goosebumps every freakin' time i hear it. This lp is irreplaceable.