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.

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.

[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]

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

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

The grungy sameness of it all makes for difficult listening.

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

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.

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

They literally rhyme "dam" with "damn"

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

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.

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

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

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

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.

Murky, sinister and sounds massive. Also rocks

🤢 no. Not for me.

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

Really didn't like this felt like a chore.

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.

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.

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

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

Not for me. A hard listen.

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

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

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.

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.

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

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

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...

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!

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

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

I have this already blocked on Spotify

Tråkigt LOL!

☆☆☆☆☆☆

All time classic

Another record that I bought when I was a teenager and therefore I have listened to thousands of times and had fully imprinted in my memory. Every Alice In Chains song sounds tragic given Layne’s unfortunate end.

Perfect album cover to cover

5 star

I had listened to this album quite a bit in the past and this could be peak grunge, perhaps. Very heavy guitar with great vocals.

OK, no gushing. Everybody knows this album is perfect, I’ve got nothing clever to say to expand that front. I’ve never been able to take Angry Chair fully seriously because of title. I get that it’s a great song, and encapsulates the struggle of heroin addiction, but the image I get is that the chair itself is angry, and I find that hilarious. I’m also surprised that Sickman has spawned a genre of Metal circus music, because the ‘take me out to the ball game’ sounding section sounds fantastic and suitably hellish, I’d certainly listen to more. One Halloween, I sat in my room playing the riff to Would? on repeat on my guitar cos I thought it would provide atmosphere for any trick or treaters we had. And that concludes my anecdotes and musings about Dirt. Fuck I love this album

Great early grunge

Previously stated in regard to Santana's "Abraxas", this too goes a long way to representing 20th century music and should be played for millennia

Amazing album.

Catching up on this list and going through albums that I know I'd rate as 5's. This is one. Jerry Cantrell is a guitar idol of mine. His punchy complex and melodic riffs and solos that combine metal and grunge and rock and funk and thrash with Layne Stanley's vocals...hard to beat.

Regardless of its bleakness, I rank this album right up there with the best of its era. https://open.substack.com/pub/richcain/p/project-1001-dirt-by-alice-in-chains?r=4ztyq&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

This is raw as fuck, pardon my french. Right off the bat on “Them Bones,” it starts off with a bang. It just emanates angst, frustration, and pent up energy in a way. That’s how this album feels to me in a way, and I love it. Everything just sounds great. The raw as all hell guitar and bass are amazing, and the clean sounding drums just add a chef’s kiss. This is produced very well. Layne Staley’s vocals are SO good. He really makes an impression here. His screams are amazing, haha. Rest in peace man. The lyricism here really sets that grunge-y tone. The angst emanating from it is such a vibe. Dirt is an essential grunge album, and very influential. I can see why! This is a great time. If I had one complaint, I guess the songs can feel the same sometimes? That’s not a massive issue though, the songs are amazing. This is excellent, just a really good album when you feel like shit, haha. I’ve heard pretty good things about Alice In Chains, and i’m glad I enjoyed this. I highly recommend it!

This is my first time getting an album generated where I can confidently say that I LOVE nearly everything on it. The solos are amazing, the rough guitar shredding, the vocals feel so primal... It's great.

A shot of straight depresso. Perfect for a sad day. Deals with addiction, depression, hopelessness in an earnest and cutting way. Sounds are varied, harsh and unforgettably haunting.

The album was s great

Grunge at its finest.

A grunge classic! I hadn't listened to this album in years. I'm happy to see that it's an album that has aged very well. Them Bones is one of the songs I listened to most when I was a teenager.

would? is an incredible outro. great album from start to finish with only 2 filler songs imo

A perfect album with no bad songs and one of the great classics of the grunge era

Damn what a beautiful album. Alice in Chains just perfectly encapsulates a great sound that tiptoes the line between hard rock and grunge, and it all just meshes so perfectly. Staley's voice really helps seal the deal.

4.5☆/5 10.25.2024

Favorite Track: Rooster Underrated: God Smack This one absolutely rips.

2867 - I didn't like this too much before, but since then I have grown an appreciation for clean vocals in metal. This takes sludge metal and fuses it with a radio friendly production to create alternative metal that still has atmosphere and grit to it. The vocals are honestly kind of incredible in this album, they do more for this album than the vocals on most pop albums, and the guitar works with them perfectly.

Dark riffs, even darker lyrics, haunting harmonies, exquisite melodies. Love this album!

I’ve been meaning to listen to this album for a while and thank god I now have, this was phenomenal

This is peak grunge.

Track 1: Them Bones (10/10) Hits you in the face like a train. Quite possibly the heaviest riff that Jerry ever came up with. Track 2: Dam That River (9/10) I've always considered this to be one of the weaker tracks on the album, and it still slaps hard. Another sick riff and great harmonies in the verses (that's pretty redundant to say about AiC) Track 3: Rain When I Die (10/10) That opening bass line makes me do a hardcore stink face every time. This has to be one of the sludgiest songs ever written. Layne's vocals are so incredible. Track 4: Down in a Hole (10/10) The prettiest song on the album. It used to make me cry every time I heard it and I got a little close on this relisten. Track 5: Sickman (9/10) Time to give Sean Kinney some props! He makes this song so much better with his drumming, opening the song with some great tom work and controlling the pace throughout. Very underrated drummer. Track 6: Rooster (8/10) I love the lyrical content of this song and the opening harmonies are so gorgeous. I also tend to skip it a lot when relistening to the album as I've heard it 10,000,000 times. Track 7: Junkhead (10/10) Best chorus on the album! I sometimes think it's my single favourite song on Dirt as well. Very heavy and emotional. Track 8: Dirt (10/10) That opening mixed with the bassline (props to Mike Starr) destroy my brain in a good way. Sludgy, doomy, heavy and badass. Track 9: God Smack (9/10) Layne's vocals are so strange here and fit the song perfectly. He was a true artist who knew how to make every song better. Track 10: Untitled (N/A) Hard to rate this as it's barely a song, but Tom Araya from Slayer is on this track! Track 11: Hate to Feel (10/10) Once again, Sean Kinney makes this song. His drumming impresses me so much here, I can tell it was fun to come up with his parts. Track 12: Angry Chair (8/10) The lyrics are inspired and knowing the background makes it much better. Track 13: Would? (10/10) One of the best radio hits I've ever heard. Jerry gets to sing lead on the verses, Layne shows off his chops during the chorus and that outro gives me goosebumps every single time. Overall: 10/10 I didn't even need to listen to this one considering that it's a Top 10 album of all time for me and Alice in Chains are a strong contender for my all time favourite band. I love how depressing and doom-laden their songs are and it's always amplified by the haunting harmonies of Layne and Jerry. Sean ans Mike are also on top form here and I can point to quite a few moments where they stand out. If I had even one small complaint it would be that Jerry doesn't sing lead as much as I would like. Fav Song: Dirt Least Fav Song: Rooster

Loved it

Maybe dated in its sound but this album kicks ass, and I’ll always be up for another listen. Jerry Cantrell is a genius

GOAT

first alice in chains album

So many hard rock classics here. This album kicks the door open with the opening riff of Them Bones and just holds this unrelenting vibe for the next hour. The album feels suppresive with how dark it can feel, but it nails the tone it's aiming for. Layne Staley has an awesome rock voice and the guitar here is so engaging that I can't help but get pulled in. I already knew many of these (Them Bones, Down in a Hole, Rooster, Angry Chair, and Would?... seriously, this many great songs?), but of the ones new to me, my favorite is Dirt.

What the heck was that

One of my favorite albums of all time and in the conversation for best rock/grunge album no question.