Dirt

An album like Dirt is catnip to critics because the music seems to match the life experience of its creators, which gives them an opening to talk about personalities instead of music. And sure enough, Dirt is relentlessly queasy, claustrophobic and tortured. But I can say that without having listened carefully to the lyrics--it's all in the music. How does Alice in Chains pull it off? They create disorientation through odd and shifting time signatures and sections which border on the atonal. The queasiness comes from guitarist Jerry Cantrell's guitar tone, which is typically swathed in reverb and flange, and the almost melismatic singing style of Layne Stanley, which is compounded whenever he doubles or triples his vocals in parallel voicings. The claustrophobia is achieved by allowing almost no empty spaces in the music. Even in the quieter moments, Dirt is a non-stop assault. When you add in the killer hooks from singles like Would?, Rooster, and Angry Chair, and you have the recipe for one of the great rock albums from the grunge era.

[admit that grunge hits wheelhouse] [reference lead singer’s death from overdose] [list other grunge and grunge-adjacent artists who died from overdose] [short aside about 27 club] [back on topic about constant energy of album] [mention awesome guitar work by guitarist] [allude to depressing topic of most of the songs] [concede to compulsion to rate album five stars]

The perfect album to put on when I just want to feel like shit.

really not my thing, cringy vocals paired with boring, rigid and unvaried instrumentation.

The grungy sameness of it all makes for difficult listening.

Classic album from the grunge era. Excellent song writing with great melodies, harmonies, and heavy guitar sounds. The whole band sound fantastic on this record. Also one of the greatest opening riffs to any album, ever.

Not as bad as expected but still awful.

knew i liked it - didn't remember how fucking much i liked it - shit was dope

This is pretty great and wished I'd heard it when I was younger; heavier than I was anticipating (sort of a sludge metal/grunge hybrid) with some absolute monster riffs - the opening 1-2-3 of Them Bones, Dam That River and Rain When I Die is unstoppable. Being an hour-long album largely about drug addiction with pretty grimey production, it can often be a bleak and difficult listen - especially knowing the eventual tragic fate of the lead singer Layne Staley. It may have been better being slightly shorter, but I honestly don't know what I'd cut - in isolation, there's not really a bad track here and it does flow very well. A strong 4/5. Favourite tracks: Them Bones / Dam That River / Junkhead

Omg ooof. It's one of my sister's favorite bands but good lord oof.

They literally rhyme "dam" with "damn"

My favorite and most-played album of all time. Enough said. I was waiting to see how long until this one popped up for me. Every single song is a banger. It’s perfection. My first 5-star rating here.

I remember being scared of Alice in Chains when I was a kid, and having listened to it now, I was right to be scared. This is dark stuff, but I can appreciate them so much more now. Drugs suck. Them Bones is a perfect opening track. Really great work on that song. Sets the tone, awesome licks and the chorus is solid. Dam the River is an angry song. Then Rain When I Die is one bummer of a song. It could be taken to mean that he'll die right be fore the "rain" that could have saved him. Or it could just grunge angst about death and rain and darkness. As I read, I see that the two main songwriters, Jerry and Layne had a tumultuous relationship to say the least and Layne tended to write the darker, sadder, drug related stuff, and Jerry wrote about girls. Also, a girl named Demri apparently had quite a grip on Layne in some way. Down in a Hole sounds like a Layne song, and it's excellent. Great rock song that has elements of grunge, ballad, and alternative styles. As I write this I discovered I am wrong and Jerry wrote this about a girl named Courtney, but Layne singing it certainly fits his persona. Oof, Sickman is a drug song. Jesus, to be so aware of your addiction and express these thoughts only to inevitably fall victim to them is just so tragic. This song is so segmented; I think the idea here is to mirror the manic wildness of the high and then follow it with the self-loathing low afterwards. The video for "Rooster" tells you everything you need to know. Very important song for the band, and one that makes you think about war, parents, life, everything. Junkhead - another drug song, but a totally different take than Sickman. Sickman can be seen as a metaphorical journey, but Junkhead is on one hand an honest account of a user and on another an admittance of helplessness. Either way, it's dark as hell. What I did just read though makes this album amazing. A theory is that Junkhead, Dirt, God Smack, Iron Glad, Hate to Feel, and Would? are all an interconnected mini-concept album on the cycle of drugs. Listening to it that way made for a hell of a trip, and if it is indeed the point of this final suite, it makes the album far more epic.

Brutal for me to get through. Most of it isn't terrible, just very uninteresting. It's in this spot between a lot of styles that could sound good, but here it just falls flat. Keep Alice locked up if this is the best she has to offer. Favorite tracks: Rooster. Album art: She's in the dirt. Okay. 1.5/5

Holy shit I can't believe I forgot how much I love Alice In Chains. This albums fucks from front to back. Some amazing hits here like Rooster and Would? sprinkled throughout but also some lesser hits that I love like Down in a Hole. There are a couple of tracks that I think I could do without on a re-listen but this is my favorite grunge sound for sure. I liked almost every song on here just because of the sound they manage to land on. 9/10

One of the best 90s albums, but not for everyone, though. Angry, depressing, anxious. With really dark themes of addiction and self destruction, Dirt is a journey not meant for bright days. Memorable songs such as Them Bones, Rooster, and Would, these songs are still banged on rock radio today, and have inspired generations of new bands. To me, this is a time travel to the first time I listened to it. I remember Dam the river and down in a hole coming out of my headphones while walking to school. I don’t think there’s a lot more to say that has not need said before. Legendary

Such a classic album. Everything is on point here from the singing to the drums. One of the best grunge albums of all time

Listened to it once, will never probably listen to it again.

i dont like these album choices, every album i listened to i didn't like or hated probably gonna stop with this website

I was about to go to sleep, but this album had me just so hyped that I wasn't able to for another 2 hours, I love it, possibly the best grunge album of all time, yes, I think it's better than nevermind.

You would think someone who likes Pearl Jam as I do would also like this, but I've never been a fan. Something about the vocals and the style of guitar playing. Similar to the reasons I don't like Metallica. I can see the appeal of this for some, but not for me. 2 stars.

Top 3 albums from the Seattle Scene, an absolute stone cold 6 out of 5 record. Perfect harmonies, perfect riffs, perfect solos, perfectly miserable.

What can I say, I grew up with this. The tragic themes and despairing sound somehow resonated with a kid who really had things pretty good, but was trying to figure out the uncertainty of teenage years. The sound is unique and consistent from start to finish. The worst song on the album is only the worst because it’s awesome and overplayed. I’ll still gladly listen to it for the 100,000th time.

Dark, heavy, badass, angry. I loved AIC and this album as a teenager. Bone crushing guitar work, awesome vocals, really cool use of vocal harmonies to darken the sound even more. Favorite song: Would?

Perfect Agony

Murky, sinister and sounds massive. Also rocks

I'm allergic to dude singing. I just am. I get why people are into it, but I hate this shit.

🤢 no. Not for me.

I'm learning that my 90s instinct was not wrong. I knew of this album. I'd heard "Would?" and quite liked that. But I steered well away from the album. Listening to Dirt now, it's really full-on, the loud Jerry 'n' Layne's loud chiming voices powering in unison, emphasising things that don't need emphasis. At times there's a camp delight to the lyrics, the earnest adolescent subject matter. But the whole album was a lot to consume in one sitting and it doesn't inspire a repeat listen.

Couldn’t get through this. Not a fan

This album could've just been 30 minutes of white noise and Rooster, and It'd still be great. Instead, you get to hear an hour of sick riffs and self-deprecation through a haunting voice. What an album.

Loved every second of this album. Always thought Alice in Chains would be too heavy for me and didn't give them a chance, but this was the perfect blend of eerie, dark, intimate, and foreboding. Just truly fucking epic and awesome. This is the kind of album I had hoped to discover through this platform

A fuse of metal and grunge that brought Alice In Chains to the mainstream. For a mainstream record in the 90s though, this was a pretty stark and gnarly album. I do like Layne Staley’s voice and quite a few of the songs, but some of them just don’t have the memorability that I thought they might have. I still tend to prefer Nirvana and Soundgarden over AIC. Favorite song: Rooster Least favorite song: Hate to Feel

Not my personal cup of tea but is a very well made album

Really didn't like this felt like a chore.

I have this already blocked on Spotify

No surprise that this band is also from Seattle, the vocals sound a lot like Kurt Cobain, or maybe that's just part of the Grunge formula. Though the music here sounds more metal-leaning than Nirvana. The vocals sound pretty goofy at points, not gonna lie. I don't think the Grunge edginess has aged well in all cases. All the songs sound the same too, none of them really stand out in any significant way, except maybe the first song. Not sure I needed to hear this before I die.

Not for me. A hard listen.

This heavy rock (metal) has never been my cup of tea. One or two redeeming songs I thought.

Alice in Chains sneak up on you, man. you go in expecting to bear witness to all the sins of grunge, and at first it seems like that with the metal riffs and the lyrics, but then you realize how much Layne Staley's voice sticks out from other vocalists in the genre. he's got this great sense of melody, knowing just when to turn on the juice, when to go low, and when to bring in Jerry for the harmonies. it's insane. then, around that, you find that you like the other parts of the songs, from the riffs to the lyrics being some of the better in the genre, and then at some point you start asking yourself, almost fearful: "is Alice in Chains better than Nirvana?" i feel like the answer's still no, but i don't think there was ever a need for either band to be better than one another. truly, it's apples and oranges. Nirvana was punk filtered through the sludgy trends of the late 80's before being reconstructed for radio and deconstructed for the unfortunate finale. Alice in Chains seem much more straight-ahead in their approach than their contemporaries. they take the hard rock of the 70's, crank the knobs, and add some real vulnerability into the mix. i'm sorry but if you don't feel anything in the last moments of "Would?" you might actually be a psychopath. apparently the Cameron Crowe movie "Singles" (never seen it) has Alice in Chains as one of the bands the main characters goes to see. one of said protagonists says that they're gonna go "out dancing". i get the feeling this line was written before Crowe actually had heard Alice in Chains, because who dances to Alice in Chains? is it possible? has anyone swayed with their partner to the swingin' sounds of "Rooster"?

be for real, I got this shit memorized

I came in on Facelift and thought that was great. Then this came out. Goodnight nurse. A masterpiece of the 90's. I saw them in '93 at Lollapalooza and should've seen them in '94. By then Layne's issues were causing show cancellations. This album was superb then and still holds up now. Makes me want to play Madden '93 on Sega.

Great album! I’m a big fan of Alice In Chains.

OMMMMGGG

The best, hands down, the best album of the 90s. The beginning of one of the most influential bands of my childhood.

I've been excited to get this album because I've only heard Rooster and if a fucking great song came off the album, it's gotta be good. That turned out to be pretty good logic because this album slaps. It's an excellent balance of grunge and more metal stuff and Layne Staley's vocals are just amazing. Rooster remains the top track but them bones, would?, and down in a hole are all also worthy of a podium.

Is it depressing? Yes. Is it great? Hell yes! Arguably the best grunge album of the era. Slow, heavy, claustrophobic, relentless. So damn good. Would? remains one of my favourite songs of the 90s. A classic!

As a teenager in the 2000s, I was obsessed with grunge. For years, I was convinced I was "born in the wrong generation" or whatever. However through all that, I think Alice in Chains were a bit too dark for me, I was always more into Pearl Jam and Soundgarden. Then when I went to college, this album really clicked with me, as I got into darker music and films. I watched their Unplugged concert and it really moved me. Layne Staley seemed to have been struggling so much, but he distilled his essence into this album and created a timeless work of art. It's an incredibly sad thing to see an artist at work who had the skill to produce something that essentially made him immortal, yet his life was literally falling apart. It also seems a shame that his addiction was made so public, but no one was able to step to intervene enough to save him. However that is unfortunately the nature of addiction I suppose. Musically, this album is incredible; the vocal harmonies are fantastic (once you get used to Layne's unusual voice), the guitar wails with ferocity, and the bass and drums sweep you along for the ride. It really creates a soundscape that draws you in. As soon as I finished the last track I felt like diving in again. Like an addiction I guess?

I remember taking a trip to Romania back in the mid-nineties with my best friend Frosty Ian. After guzzling at least a dozen dark beers, we found ourselves in the backroom of a dingey, smoked filled bar. Alice in Chains was playing which really brought the mood down. Ian was in a bad way and sank deeper into a battered up old sofa with every swig he took. I was slurring my words and dribbling all over the ear and neck of a washed up barmaid with a pair of tits like a broken accordion and a fanny like a crow's deathbed. She must have been desperate for some action, because before we knew it she was straddling Ian's rigid length, whilst I tried to thumb my soft cock into her cesspit of a gob. This broad loved it and squealed as we both jizzed in her eyes. She scrambled round like a maltreated Stevie Wonder, as Ian and I high fived and wiped her blood from our faces and penises. We headed off into the night laughing and making wise cracks about the monstrous rogering we just gave that disgusting troll.

Too much, and not enough to say.

1992 was a crazy good year for music, and Dirt is a strong contender for best album of 1992. Every song on Dirt is a banger, there arent ANY weak tracks. Its also one of the clearest "cries for help" you'll ever hear. 5/5

Cantrell and Staley are the single best 2-man combo in music, and this album is their peak (except maybe Facelift or Jar of Flies, depending on the day). 5/5.

Yeah, Alice in Chains is always cool

Most depressing album ever? At least of the grunge era which is not a small thing... A masterpiece in any case...

Well that took me right back to living in a shared house in Leicester and cranking this right up when getting home from work. Brilliant stuff!

Alice In Chains was easily my favorite band as a teenager in the early 90’s. I was obsessed. I’ve probably listened to this album hundreds of times in my life. Alice In Chains were, in my opinion, the most interesting of the Seattle bands. They were set apart from the rest because of Layne Staley and Jerry Cantrell’s excellent vocal harmonies and their proficiency with both acoustic and electric songwriting - they were just as engaging on their acoustic songs as they were when they went into full grunge mode: Jar of Flies would be an easy 5 for me. So, Dirt is going to get a high rating based off that alone. Dirt’s biggest fault is that the highs are really high and the songs that don’t hit those highs are pretty mediocre and drag the whole thing down. You could cut this album down by 10 or 15 minutes and it would easily be in contention for one of the greatest albums of all time. Cut Sickman, Iron Gland (totally unnecessary), Hate to Feel, and maybe God Smack too. It’s still a great record and I still like a lot of these songs (a rarity for me regarding a lot of the music of my youth), but as an album experience, it could be a little leaner.

i would like to hear more from these guys

This albums goes hard.

The classic discography of Alice in Chains has playfully been described as a “freefall into depression and despair,” culminating with their self-titled album in 1995. “Dirt” marks the tipping point when the freefall begins, and does so with some HEAVY stuff. Not just lyrics, either. From the opening riffs from “Them Bones” you know that the album will be bogged in the mire, with downtuned, sludgy metal riffs that fit perfectly with the despotic and distortion-heavy Grunge style. Here Alice in Chains brings a fresh look on Grunge, adding heavy metal sensibilities and distortion to make the record seem sluggish and pitiful, despite being filled with energy. A great album to put on when you need the opposite of a pick-me-up: a let-me-down. Standout Songs: “Them Bones” “Dam That River” “Rooster” “Would?”

Metal meets grunge!

Alice In Chains nous prouve encore une fois que faire du heavy metal tout en ayant une belle voix nasale, c'est possible.

Iconic sound from my adolescence. Perhaps due to this nostalgia, I did not tire of the songs. I welcomed the change up to a harder sound!

Run-of-the-mill metal. Why is this on the list? There's nothing remotely important or special about this.

Not really my cup of tea vocally. Some decent tunes though

Somehow I missed out on this band during their heyday. I got into the other bigger ones from the Era (Nirvana, Pearl Jam, Smashing Pumpkins, Soundgarden) and must have figured I was all set. But I saw Singles a million times and knew "Would" from that movie. It's bizarre, I love Nirvana and Pearl Jam and like some other grunge acts. But this one for me is just OK. Two good songs.

This sucked. Beyond the really dark subject matter Alice In Chains took the worst aspects of 80s Hair Metal and Grunge and mashed them together. The result it a mess of crap.

2/13 songs added to playlist Best song: Down in a Hole

Tråkigt LOL!

I know the hits but never really dug into AiC's full albums - really very good!

I disliked Jar of Flies and didn't expect anything from this album but Dirt works so much better for my taste with its darker sound, I really loved it

One of the greatest albums. Every song is a banger.

I never got to see Alice In Chains play live while Layne Staley was still alive. When I finally did get to catch them in concert when they were touring for Black Gives Way To Blue, the band played quite a few songs off of this record. It was like Layne was being channeled through the music. Will DuVall of course did a great job at stepping up into Layne's old roll, and he sang Layne's parts with an obvious reverence and respect. It was haunting, just like this album is. Dirt is a very appropriate title for a record that has all of Layne's demons on display for us to see. It's not just the Layne show, though. Jerry Cantrell's “Rooster” is haunting in a different way, giving listeners a taste of what wartime in a foreign land is like. “Would” is a tribute to the late, great Andy Wood of Mother Love Bone. The whole record is haunting, and not just because of the ghost of Layne Staley. “Rain When I Die”, “Dam That River”, “Down In A Hole”, “Hate To Feel”, and “Angry Chair” are all standouts on a record that is very nearly perfect.

5/5 Sure, the lyrics are haunting and deeply depressing, but this album slaps! Would and Rooster would be enough to make this a masterpiece. But wait, here comes Them Bones, Down in a hole, and Angry chair to pile on even more glorious grunge ear-spank. RIP Layne!

So nice I had to listen twice.

Driving percussion. Melancholy lyrics. Great bookend tracks. Yup, that's an excellent 90s rock album.

One of my faves - probably not actually their best and tbh probably only 4 stars but nostalgia factor adds an extra

Probably the 2nd best grunge album to be made. A lot is discussed about Layne’s powerful vocals (rightfully so) but what is extremely underrated is Jerry’s guitar playing throughout this album. Definitely made the correct single choices as they’re the best songs on the album. The first half of this is phenomenal and closes with their best ever song. Couldn’t recommend it more. 1. WOULD? 2. THEM BONES 3. DOWN IN A HOLE 4. ROOSTER 5. RAIN WHEN I DIE 6. DAM THAT RIVER 7. ANGRY CHAIR 8. DIRT 9. JUNKHEAD 10. SICKMAN 11. HATE TO FEEL 12. GOD SMACK 13. UNTITLED (IRON GLAND)

All-time classic

Wow this is bleaker than I remembered, and I listened to this every day at one point

Kan rigtig godt lide Alice in chains og jeg Kan rigtig godt lide grunge. Jeg er lige kommet tilbage fra festival hvor vi har lyttet til meget hårdt rock som læner ind i metal. Derfor læner jeg ind i at give det 5 stjerner.

Grunge classic, loved it then and love it now

One of the great PNW bands of the 90's! Brilliant

The guitar work here is so good, the riffs are all really solid. Very much closer to the metal side of grunge. Wastes absolutely no time getting started too. Doesn’t outstay its welcome. Lyrics are good. Just all around really great.

Awesome, so many great songs

Arguably the best Grunge album of them all. Brilliant from start to finish.

Amazing from start to finish

Once of the greatest albums of all time! WOULD!!! JUNKHEAD!!! FUCK1

Even though this came out in the height of my teenage music idolatry years, I was never into them. Maybe too nasally, too dark. I was surprised by how much I dug this. That voice is otherworldly. 4.5 stars that I'll round up to 5 why the f not.

Love this album, great memories

Classic grunge metal album. I already own it on vinyl and only buy albums I truly love. 5/5

great

one of my favorite all time albums

Jason S and I walked into what looked like a really nice home but turned out to his mother's Cafe. He poured some coffee out of a silver cup put it on a tray and passed it to me. I poured myself a cup and it spilled everywhere but in the cup. He didn't say I did anything wrong but the vibe was I did something wrong. I was trying to spot wash the coffee when he pulled me aside to sit on the couch with him. It was as though the couch was getting smaller bc (all white couch) He kept getting pushed closer., but now there were 3 of us on the couch the 3rd being Anna who sometimes turned into Aliena. Jason patted me on the back and walked off with some mystery girl. She was wearing a long black silk night gown. We started when she started crying. I felt very uncomfortable and asked her should I stop. She said no this is what she does. We moved to a more bed like pull out couch and started again. Again she started crying and when I looked down it looked like pee everywhere. I stopped, she was crying, I said this feels weird and when I looked down at the bed there was egg yolks everywhere. I was afraid Jason would be mad so I went to another room and it looked at first like Eric was giving Jeremy a back massage. I kept making faces at him to get him to come and help me when I realized it was Eric getting the massage by some young blonde. Jeremy was just sitting in front of him. Weall looked like we did 30 years ago. I went into the room to apologize and it was full of people. Young people. I heard my daughter introduce me to someone but I couldn't see my daughter. I didn't recognize anyone and what was once Jason's moms quaint house like Cafe was a big party. I went to Eric to apologize. Then everyone was gone. Just Eric Jeremy and Jason and the few girls that started that my mind has already erased. I made a mess I said.

A mandatory listen of grunge and imo the best Alice in Chains album

Easy 5 for me

Its top tier and nostalgic

This album is a masterpiece. The harmonies are absolutely sick, the music is killer and the cover art is iconic. 1001 album worthy: yes 92/169

Definitive 90s rock album, RIP Layne 🤘

06/06/2025 Good bit of grunge that.

A grunge masterpiece. It almost veers into heavy metal territory but with some great vocals and sounds. I love this album.