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]

Not as bad as expected but still awful.

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.

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

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

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.

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

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

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.

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

Murky, sinister and sounds massive. Also rocks

🤢 no. Not for me.

Perfect Agony

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?

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.

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

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

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.

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

They literally rhyme "dam" with "damn"

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

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.

Really didn't like this felt like a chore.

Couldn’t get through this. Not a fan

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.

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

Not for me. A hard listen.

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

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.

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

Yeah, Alice in Chains is always cool

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.

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

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

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.

Too much, and not enough to say.

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.

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?

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!

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.

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

OMMMMGGG

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

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

Metal meets grunge!

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?”

This albums goes hard.

i would like to hear more from these guys

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.

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

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!

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.

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

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

Tråkigt LOL!

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

I have this already blocked on Spotify

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

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.

Love this album. It was helping me trhough my Bachelor thesks.

Un imprescindible del rock, de principio a fin es un disco perfecto.

Amazing

Wow this is so emotional

Really great

Definitely a classic and one of my faves from this era

Een album dat ik al lang heb willen luisteren maar er nooit van is gekomen. eerste twee tracks lekker riff based, mooie gitaar solo's. - rain when I die : is "she" de dood herself? "Did she call my name? I think it's gonna rain Oh, when I die" EPIC vocals wel in de chorus. voor de rest weer lekker gitaarwerk en mooie basintro. - down in a hole: heerlijke harmonies tussen lead guitar en lead vocal, both can sing. Een meer rustig nummer dat de emoties en de boodschap mooi meegeeft. standouttrack so far. - sickman: "I can feel the wheel but I can't steer When my thoughts become my biggest fear" --> relatable. zeer lekkere riffs man. speciaal nummer maar wel echt graaf. -rooster: grave opbouw, zang heeft iets speciaal als hij uithaalt en het rauwe in zijn stem naar boven komt. mooie tribute naar de papa rooster. - junkhead: drug abuse addict to addict. zanger is jammer genoeg zelf overleden aan OD. - dirt net zoals de rest raw vocals en instrumentaal sterk. - god smack: einde van de drugtrilogie ( junkhead, dirt en godsmack) -iron gland : enter SLAYEEEEEEEEEEEEEER -hate to feel: zet de toon verder van de rest van het album: STEIREK. - angry chair: ze zijn duidelijk boos.. sterke vocals met sterke instrumentals. - would? : het enige nummer dat ik al kende van AiC. THIS IS IT. verses gezongen door lead guitar, chorus door lead singer. prachtig nummer. MI MA MASTERPIECE? ik twijfel nog. al denk ik wel dat het nog groeit hoe vaker je luistert. JA het moet in den boek SOWIESO must listen, dus daarom de 5.

Love this album. Digs deep and the music is masterfully done. The album just bangs through and rocks on. 9.3/10

Brilliant

The absolute best.

Like Bones, Junkhead, Rooster.

Il miglior disco dell'era grunge.

sujão

5/5 - love this album

Killer. Several great hits and pretty much every other song holds up well. A lot of them do sound similar, but that's really my only criticism... And what's wrong with that when they rock so hard?

Suuuuuperb

One of my favorite albums.

Grunge-tastic

Det är så bra!! I ren lyssningsvolym måste detta vara på min topp 10 all time-lista. Men Layne Staley är ju så *otroligt* deprimerad, väljer att inte reflektera över vad det betyder för mig. Them Bones, Rooster, Would? Kanonriff på kanonriff! Älskar Jerry Cantrells gitarrspel så mycket. Inte en tråkig stund, varje låt är ägig

Iconic Grunge record. Layne Staley's voice gives me goosebumps

Absolutely one of the best

This album is a HUGE part of my late teens/early 20's. The one-two punch of Them Bones then Dam That River might just be my favourite opening to an album ever. Then it just keeps going. So many incredible tracks here, where both the playing AND songwriting are immaculate. One of the best rock albums ever. Absolutely loved revisiting this behemoth.

Donker, ietwat bombastisch, zo heb ik mijn muziek wel graag. Topalbum

5/5. 👍 Kinda sad doe

I haven't listened to this in maybe 7 or 8 years and wasn't sure how it would hold up... ooh boy it holds up. Dirt is certainly the right word, everything about this is pure grit and filth The swaggering riffs! The dense, enveloping vocals! The sheer power of the lyrics and songwriting! Is it grunge? Is it metal? Who cares - it absolutely slaps

The best grunge album. Period.

so cool

Damn this has so many good songs on this. Them Bones is sUCH a good opener.

how dare they even ask, fucking 5

Fucking love it

Tja, niet de meest vrolijke of lichtvoetige plaat, maar wat een gewelsige energie en drive! Echt alles is raak. Fantastisch album, waar heel veel herinneringen aan vast zitten.

Ja, eindelijk weer eens 5 sterren, het is jammer dat ik niet meer sterren kan uitdelen, want dit is echt een geweldig album waar ik veel herinneringen aan heb.

Another great one from high school, I've listened to this album countless times

A pretty damn perfect album

A grunge masterpiece.

A kick-ass grunge classic with a focus on heavy subject matter lyraclly. Outside of some tracks in the middle, all of the songs here could pass as singles for how heavy and memorable they are. Favourites: "Them Bones", "Rain When I Die", "Down In A Hole", "Rooster", "Angry Chair"