Dirt

I want so badly for Facelift to be on this list because it truly is one of the first grunge albums and was putting grunge on the map even before Nevermind. And it came at a time when Alice in Chains (mainly Layne Staley) was literally fighting with metal fans who wondered WTF is this style as they opened for metal bands. But hey, Nirvana's Bleach didn't make the list either. And as much as Man in the Box from AiC's debut is one song of theirs I have never tired of, Dirt is more consistent. I don't think AiC liked the grunge moniker, so how these guys changed metal is up there with Black Sabbath. It's dark but not in a mystical way - more like this is life and it is real and raw not just puppies and kittens. And they bring a different melody - two-part Staley and Cantrell harmonies plus melodic guitar/bass and drum work. Sometimes they slow it right down - Down in a Hole. And other times they just blast it in your face - Them Bones, Dam that River, Sickman, God Smack. And still other times it's some sort of seedy, grungy blend of those two - Rain When I Die, Rooster, Junkhead, Hate to Feel, Angry Chair, Would?. Whatever it is, it's pure gold. I didn't totally understand them in the 90's but I have come to have mad respect for this band. And this is when they were at their peak. Hard to find a weak song on this album and even if there might be a few dips, their pioneering ways make up for it. Easy 5.

Heroin addiction in musical form. Always been a fan of this album (and their self-titled album, which isn't on the 1001 but is fantastic - much of it is darker than Dirt, which is saying something). AiC has such a unique, dark, ass-kicking sound...Jerry Cantrell's multi-layered guitars (the word sludge always comes to mind, but in a good way), Layne Staley's cutting vocals (RIP) and their haunting harmonies. Combined with the dark lyrics about pain, drug abuse - well, it definitely requires the right mood to listen, but it always blows me away. Hard to pick favorites on this album. I'll go with Dem Bones (hard hitting from the get go), Rain When I Die, Down in a Hole, Rooster (such powerful lyrics - didn't know it was about Jerry's dad's experience in Vietnam. Jerry said that before then his dad never talked about Vietnam, but his dad raised his hat and cried the first time he saw the band perform it - powerful story and a powerful video, too), Dirt (dark and sludgy), Hate to Feel, Angry Chair (these last two are both by Staley and have awesome, unusual vocal lines - and so freakin' dark), Would (love the bass line). Yeah, I just named more than half the songs. And the rest are great too. Easy 5.

This album is what the 90s smell like.

another alice in chains album, and it's another i really like!! those vocals alone are so hypnotic, they'll legit transport you to another plane of existence. it's very depressing subject material, but in such an impactful and human way. everything from the deep harmonies to the expressive guitar solos makes this for me. i love every album these guys have put out.

I don't even need to listen to this one to give it a high rating. One of the most influential albums of the 90s that conveys such pure and raw emotion. The songwriting and riffs are incredible all around.

What an incredible album—dark, raw, powerful. One of my all time favorites

Classic 90s rock. These guys are one of the best

rooster, would, down in a hole

Dark, brooding, depressing. Masterpiece of an album!

quintessential grunge rock album

Not for me.

I didn't hate it...

Not my style, but not terrible

A exemplary metal album from the nineties. Staley was a great singer, he and Cantrell wrote great songs. This is the pinnacle of their partnership. An album consumed by darkness and addiction.

Hell yeah. Chris Cornell may have easily had the best voice in grunge, but Alice in Chains is still my favorite grunge band when it comes to songwriting. What a fantastic album. Nonetheless, rest in peace Kurt, Layne, Scott, and Chris. Absolutely wild that they’re all gone already when a lot of the British Invasion musicians are still kicking

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. A+

Hits, aber auch einige Filler, obwohl es doch aus den 90ern ist, dem Jahrzehnt mit der objektiv besten Musik...

Great nineties hard rock album.

Didn’t realize this was this good. Best Song: Angry Chair

Dirt I only know the name Alice in Chains, I don’t think I know any of their songs, and I do get all those alt rock, grunge and grunge adjacent bands, who are not Nirvana, from the early 90s mixed up. And, I think, with good reason, as this really is American early 90s heavy alt rock so generic it feels pointless. I always try to be generous with music that’s not my thing, trying to put myself in the shoes of someone who would like it, and sometimes there’s good drums or guitars and production, or moments of excitement, or a diverting melody, or some off kilter little bits, but with this there is nothing interesting at all. The songs are boring, the lyrics are boring, the music is boring, the production is boring. Maybe if you are a 14 year old boy fetishising heroin addiction this is good, but why not go to a local fort of Victorian Folly instead? I’m struggling to find any redeeming qualities. I thought the second listen might improve it, but it really didn’t. It’s not completely actively and offensively bad, in the way that The Cult album was, but it's characterlessness, earnestness, ponderousness and sense of self importance means it's actively and offensively boring, which in some ways is worse. Maybe The Cult broke the 1 star seal but this can’t be anything other than a tedious and wretched 1. 💉 Playlist submission. I don’t really care, so I’ll just choose Them Bones, purely as it’s the first track so I don't have to think about it further

strong metal album, driving riffs, inventive solos backed up by strong vocals.

Got better

Pretty great

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.

Violent

High quality for grunge category. Influential and their most famous

Very decent example of the genre. Doesn't grab me, but it was not bad music

Loved it when it came out- Love it now. I think I am going to break out a flannel today.

one of the most infuential alternative bands. God Smack is awful, just like the band that named themselves after that song. Untitled is weak too, rest of the album is solid.

I listened more to other A in C, particularly Unplugged. That was an Antho favorite. Not quite as much nostalgia on this album.

Such a strong 5. Who sounds like this? Vocal harmonies, menacing sound, dark themes. This is the pinnacle of grunge.

That was fun. I know rationally that this album rocks, but I had not rocked to it in person in a long long time. I'll have to revisit my entire pecking order of 90s albums because this one is moving into the upper echelons with a bullet.

Decent alt rock and easy listening.

I love the harmonies they use in most of the songs. even though i am not a huge fan of the genre, i still liked listening to these songs. i kinda like the dark creepy vibes.

I've heard better.

The cool band your uncool Gen X dad listens to

Another I own on vinyl. Excellent album from front to back.

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

If you say you like Rock/Grunge and you DON'T like this album.....you don't really like Rock/Grunge..... This album is one of the best albums of all time in my humble opinion.

Early 90’s grunge! What’s not to love. Other than the drug worship lyrics. The sound influenced some of the bands I listen to today. Plus Would? from the Singles soundtrack? C’mon.

Smashing Pumpkins/Velvet Revolver crossover. Droned on a bit

Y'know, it's not just another amazing slice of Seattle grunge. That alone would already earn it high marks. But you factor how damn **metal** this thing is, and, oh, goodness, it's one of the highest classics of the time. That's all I have to say about it, really—it's just so good. I mean, shit, Layne's vocals and Jerry's guitar aren't praised to the Heavens and back for no reason. Combined, no one else in this genre sounds like this group, and that's damn special. My dad had really good taste buying this CD back in the day, I tell you what.

Seattle grunge was short-lived but it produced one killer album after another, and this is no exception.

I’m at a 4.5 that I’ll easily bump up to a 5. I’ve never heard Alice in Chains before this, but I knew the bar for this album was pretty high, and they crossed over it pretty handily. Almost every track here has a pretty infectious energy – a few songs hit an occasional lull, and a few have a little too much repetition at times, but overall, as an album, from top to bottom, I’d say that was about on point with a lot of their Seattle contemporaries of the time. Nevermind is obviously still the gold standard of 90s grunge rock, and Nirvana’s sound on that album is timeless. I feel like the production on this album, for as good as it is, has the same thing going for it as Jagged Little Pill – just like how that album is sort of trapped in 1995, this album is trapped in 1992. That doesn’t mean it’s bad at all. Most of what’s here sounds super cool; the guitar work in particular, is off the charts. The percussion holds its own, and I’m deeply impressed by the grit in Layne Staley’s vocals. If I have any complaints, they’re all probably nitpicky – things like “this track goes a little too long” or “the mixing here is a little too loud,” and while those are sort of valid, they’re not present enough on this album for them to be real issues. I just liked this album a lot. This has some great fucking grunge on it, and it’s very deserving to be on the list. Pretty easy to bump this up to a 5.

good album i liked it it was w chill like an 8/10 idk

Geez, We have two amazing albums back to back with first Bone Machine and now Dirt. This album genuinely had some of the greatest guitar riffs i have ever heard in any album ever. The lyrics were also great, touching on themes like addiction and depression with Layne really bringing out the massive emotion in these tracks through his singing. There was also no song on this album that was not amazing since they carried over what made this album great over to each other. This is a really amazing album and one of the best i have done for this project. Best Song: Them Bones Worst Song: Untitled Side note: I also really like that Them Bones inspired a track from the original Doom

While I love this era of rock, and there are a few tracks of AIC's that I love, I didn't find too much more on this album that I gravitated to outside of the tracks I already knew. Overall a good band, but I unfortunately wasn't wowed by this record. Notable Tracks: - Them Bones - Rain When I Die - Rooster - God Smack - Would? 6/10

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

🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻

I did listen just to be sure, but no — I still do not like Alice In Chains.

Even though Alice in Chains was a popular band when I should have heaps of nostalgia for them I don’t. I’m not really into hard rock. I guess there’s some good guitar playing. It this does nothing for me. 2/5

Grunge music 101! Fantastic record

Nobody bridges the gap between metal and grunge like Alice In Chains do. Their genre fusion is like no other, and it gives them such an iconic and unique sound.

Love this album

4.5

More my style. Only recently came to fully appreciate Layne Staley's voice.

4.5/5. A beautiful fusion of grunge and heavy metal, Layne Staley is one of the most tragic figures in rock history.

dam that river god smack would?

I jammed out to this when it came out, but haven’t sought it out since then and was a time capsule looking into how hard some of the rock was that I used to listen to.

Pretty good especially rooster and would but idk I didn’t like it as much as Facelift

_Flashback to teenage years_ I was a 90s grunge fan stuck in the early/late 2000s as a teenager. Alice scratched to young + angry itch. That aspect has aged poorly. But the desperation and inner fear from a struggling addict leaves this a more haunted experience.

From what I've read every song on this album is about drugs and addiction. Luckily I can't relate to that, but I do love this album.

Arrancamos la primera semana de julio (no tiene sentido profundizar en lo rápido del paso del tiempo: a esta altura, es un terror asumido) al palazo. Tremendísima banda grunge, de las que siempre disfruté más junto a Stone Temple Pilots. Bellamente oscuro, tiene sutilezas de bandas de esos años como Pantera. Imposible destacar una sola canción: todas generan una ambientación reflexiva, de paisajes negros e introspectivos. Excelente disco de Alice in Chains

i also can see the appeal, but unfortunately this is a bad place to start with understanding metal and grunge music. need to hear some more foundational shit

Favourite song - Rooster

Opening with Them Bones and closing with Would? is just killer. And then you've got songs like Down In A Hole, Rooster and Angry Chair in between. I listened to Alice in Chains a ton in high school. The dark subject matters don't deter me, and there's just never been anyone that sounds like them before or since. I've always been drawn to their unique harmonization and odd time signatures. This is such a solid album musically and lyrically.

Will I give every classic grunge album 5 stars? Yes I will

- this is a fantastic album front to back - the guitar riffs are so clean - layne’s voice is so unique - perfect grunge album

i can see why it's influential but i'm bored of it already

My kind of music. 5/5

Brings me back to my moody teenage years. Some of AiC's best songs are on this album. Dark, moody, angsty. At this stage in my life, though, 57 straight minutes of that is a bit much. 4/5!

Didn’t have much experience with Alice In Chains. Despite being indifferent with the Rooster, I thoroughly enjoyed this album.

Im sorry but this is so unbelievably unenjoyable to listen to. You are all lying to yourself.

Dirt is a gritty and introspective album, showcasing Layne Staley's soulful vocals and Jerry Cantrell's haunting guitar work. While undeniably talented, the album can feel repetitive, lacking the dynamic excitement of their Seattle peers like Nirvana and Pearl Jam. Nevertheless, its dark and atmospheric production captures the band's raw emotion and enduring influence on the grunge genre. NUMBER OF BANGERS -2 STAND OUT TRACK - Dam That River

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!

Classic grunge. Somewhere between rock and metal. Very masculine.

This is a great 90's grunge album with a 5 songs that will forever be associated with the era. While this album as a hole is not a 5/5, Them Bones, Down In Hole, Rooster, Angry Chair, and Would? are all 5/5 songs.

A bit of nostalgia and it's certainly an interesting band but just a bit too dark for me. Maybe if the algorithm hadn't suggested on a Friday morning. Rooster is definitely a haunting song.

I have this already blocked on Spotify

5 Stars. I don't think I'd listened to this all way through before. Just the songs they play on the radio. I loved the songs I hadn't heard before. This sound seemed ahead of its time for being 1992

Gnarly grunge guitars Get lost in long banal wails, Flailing genre mix

Absolutely breathtaking

Nope. Hate it.

Instrumental: 🔥 Lyrics: kinda cool

them bones tönt dchono geil. sie liebed paralleli quarte. dasch jo en 7/8. cool grunge cool. dam that river haha. cool. grunge. rain when i die. lamgsam. uuh chorus isch schöön. is cool. grunge. bin ich en grunge guy? rain when i die isch au easy geil. dunne im lochul. döt machter de grunge 90s gsang nochli meh. find s passt dezue und s isch nöd creed da passt sickman, ha zerst stickman glese unds funny gfunde. sickman weniger funny. ihne isch glaub nöd sooo guet gange. i dem ghört mer dass sie eigentlich e metal band sind mitem schnelle riff im verse (?) mag d taktwechsel. aber s wird scho langsam chli dark. rooster hani so mit 16i huuuere viel glost. erinner mich mega guet dra wieni dur d säntisstross lauf und de song meega geil find. het au mega cooli chords und schöni bgvs. schono geile song. au cool dass ich nume a s französische uswärtstrikot mit riese rooster cha denke wenns seged here come the rooster. angst vorem mbappe. aber echt gitarre sound craaazy. es isch schochli #epic #awesomesauce heftigi musig und so. aber seehr guet. jaaaa dirt het e blueslicks solo. oke s goht no hard god smack wieder sehr metal aber mit wackliger stimm s passt sehr. ich mag afoch wenn sie mehrstimmig singed. s ischmer insgesamt schochli zu dark. hate to feel jo au wieder mega metal und mehrstimmige gsang schono cool. gitarre mached mengmol meh es grüsch als en ton. hesige stuhl. wiso du so hesig? would? wieder meeega schöni gitarre tones und de gsangsbueb spielt mit verschiedene register ide stimm.

ok han teilwiis pennt aber hans es solids album gfunde teilwiis natürliiich chli nirvana mässig, aber hans gfühl chli meh metal? bzw. sini stimm hetmi mengisch auchli ah metallica erinnered? them bones findi en sicke opener wos gad los gaht hate to feel hani huere catchy gfunde und would? isch natürlich en bangeeer

I obviously knew about Alice in Chains from the time they were "current," but I was more into Stone Temple Pilots, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana. However, several years ago, I went back and found that, now, I really love Alice in Chains and the haunting vocals and lyrics. I think I prefer their third, self-titled album most, but "Dirt" is a classic and still hits hard in so many ways, a timeless classic.

A very solid effort with homage paid to Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin. Based on the first three songs I would have rated this album higher, but subsequent tracks were not quite as solid.

Good album, great songwriting on show here. I love the use of strange time signatures (especially in the opening song). The vocals sound really good. Never listened to this band before, but I had heard of them and understand how influential they were to many. I could tell by the vocals that many bands have tried to copy their style over the years. Felt it dragged on a bit towards the end, but still a fine album. One I enjoyed a lot more than I thought I would. FAVORITE SONGS - Rooster - Down A Hole - Hate To Feel - Them Bones 3.5/5

Sorry, didn't like it

Bit heavier than what I’m used to but I enjoyed it nonetheless. Lots of prog influences for sure; loads of time signature changes, key changes, odd chord progressions etc. Will definitely return to it in the future!

I had placed Alice in Chains more in the gothic area. I was probably wrong. In fact, the right genre is grunge. I hadn't noticed the album before, but I liked it. It won't be one of my top favorites. But it was good to have heard it. 3/5

My favorite AIC album.

Really good record

Okay - probably a classic of its genre but only a couple of highlights for me

Awesome tunes

Good but noisy

Miss wel beste grunge album ooit

I came in thinking I would like this record, I am sad to say I did not enjoy it... I find it compares unfavorably to other acts in the same scene (namely Nirvana), issues with production (not quality, certain effects choices don't suit my interests) prevent this from being a repeat listen... I can understand what other people would see in this album, just not for me.

Sure whatever

Dark, heavy and grooving… Did not expect to like this album as much as I did!

Some decent tracks on this one, not quite my thing but thought it was enjoyable to listen to on some level

Greatest grunge album ever made. Rooster is a contender for all-time greatest song. Absolutely incredible listen front to back. Quintessential.

I thought I was going to enjoy this more. The big hits, being Angry Chair, Rooster, Them Bones and Down a Hole are great. But I do find this album can be a tad bit repetitive in my opinion. Would give it a 3.5, but because it’s Alice In Chains I’ll bump to a four.

Yeah this is ok. I can see why people would dig it.

Pretty good. Too much of the album sounded too much alike, but there were some good songs that I was familiar with. 3/5 Might listen again

Nice. As my first grunge album on my 1001 album journey, not unhappy that this was the one that popped up. Several "classic" songs of the era, and blasting the album is enough to get one back into the '90s angst mode! I busted out my flannel shirt, and slammed a couple of cold ones back...

didn’t love it!

Too hard and masculine.

Honestly… much the same as yesterday! Enjoyed and appreciated it but wasn’t totally moved, though I could see their style growing on me.. maybe I’m just not a big grunge guy. Much prefer cleanliness

I quite enjoyed the sound of this and I could see myself really liking this but I’m just not always in the mood for this and some of the lyrics irked me. Will definitely return to this.

have never known the difference between this band and alexisonfire ... did enjoy this tho felt extremely 90s.. i liked the grunge and metal mix more than I thought i would!

Good music, but a bit long and the vocal style takes it down a star.

Them Bones: Not my kind of music, but I can’t fault it. Rain When I Die: I can hear the connections between rock and metal. I see how this album fits together with the rock albums we’ve listened to. Down in a Hole: I like the chill, soft start to this one. It has a ballad-y vibe. I think I like this track best from the album so far. It’s got some catchy refrains. Sickman: It’s well-made, but I’m just really not a metal guy. The break is cool. I continue to think more songs today should have more fun with breaks. Rooster: Oh, I LIKE this one. The slow, smooth start makes the drop so much more satisfying. I wouldn’t mind hearing this one again. Junkhead: …I’m not sure how I feel about this one :P It feels like a great anthem for getting lost in a drugs hole XD Dirt: I like that the title track is in the middle of the album. It feels like a statement. I vibe with this one, big abuse survivor vibes. God Smack: interesting lyrics, not my fave. Hate to Feel: I’m starting to see a storyline emerging in this album. I like that! I also like that it doesn’t shy away from difficult topics - in this one I see the cycle of abuse. Angry Chair: Lordt, this song is long. I like the refrain though. But yeah, I think it could’ve been tightened up. Would?: A solidly good song. I think it makes a good end to the album. Overall, this album still isn’t my bag, but I respect it. It has a good flow through the album and is well-made and performed. I like that it tackles hard-hitting topics.

Honestly more of a 3.5 than a full 3 but I cannot find it in my heart to bring it up to a 4. I really liked Dam That River, and Them Bones, Hate to Feel and and Dirt were okay. But the parts of the album I didn't like (eg Sickman) were so awful that while they did make the rest of the album seem better, they ensured I'll never do a full album listen of this again.

Very heavy, intense grunge. There's some cool stuff here a little too much for my own personal taste, but I liked it.

So far it's really good grunge album, they all have a familiar quality to them, like I have heard them before.

I like it

This is THE album I think of when someone mentions grunge. Absolutely great record, almost every song is perfect. After listening to it for last 15 years I can also see my taste changing - first I was a biggest fan of "Them Bones", now it's definitely "Down in the Hole". Layne Stanley was an amazing vocalist, his voice will remain one of the most memorable ones, at least in my memory. Additionally, it doesn't hurt to have Cantrell, and his genius riffs on this album. One of the best albums from 90s.

Good album, but once again another case with these grunge albums where I’m fatigued by the sound by the time we get half way through the album. Grunge can hit the spot for sure, but not when there’s no variation. Same vocal inflection and play style all the way through. Snooze. I would totally bump some of these tracks by themselves though.

This is very samey right like super similar to itself. It has like a mad max feel or a survival zombie game feel. I love how bass centered this is as well. This is not my typical style heavy and black sabbath inspired. I would 100% listen to this again and I think this is an important album to the culture and feels like it pushed this type of rock forward

An all time favorite album from an all time favorite band. The feel Alice in Chains accomplishes in this album is basically the exact niche of my preferred rock feel. I could (and probably do) listen to this album once a week and never get bored of it. Layne Staley was an unbelievable talent, and the world was robbed of decades of brilliant music with his passing. Favorite track: Rain When I Die (coming up with just one from this album was incredibly difficult)

Familiar, good for slightly angry moods. I've heard almost all of these songs before but it's still a good listen.

Haaard pass

Kinda not my thing but I owned the CD back in the day and these guys are talented. Rooster is a banger.

Good songs,but couldn’t get into a decent chunk of it.

This album perfectly captures the tense and suffocating vibe that matches the band’s experiences. The music, with its odd time signatures, heavy reverb guitar, and layered vocals, creates a relentless and intense atmosphere. Stand out song is obviously Rooster but don’t sleep on Would and Angry Chair

Pretty dark, grungy music. Fuzzy, repetitive guitar riffs bring an almost doom/sludge quality to it, while leads are often wahed and create a sort of psychedelic hard rock board wring on metal. Vocals are interesting here - sometimes they’re great and sometimes they can be a bit off putting. Some weird vocal harmonies that are cool. I like a lot of the components and there’s a few songs I really enjoyed (Them Bones, Rain When I Die, Sickman, God Smack), but the others don’t do much for me. Decent album but could never get majorly into this band, just not enough consistent enjoyment for me.

I've listened to more than enough Alice in Chains, but this album has been very prominent in my life. It's gotten me through many of my struggles, and it's absolutely one of my all-time favorite grunge albums. As much as I listen to Would, I have so much love for Down In A Hole.

Favorite - God Smack

I guess this is considered a grunge album. In my opinion it took itself way too seriously and lacked charm. Listening to the Spotify radio for this album brought up some other grunge stuff that I hadn’t heard before that were way more enjoyable on a first listen, e.g drown by the smashing pumpkins.

Formative and dark

One of the biggest band's and albums of the grunge era. AIC were heavier than Nirvana, Pearl Jam and others from that time. There are some real bangers on this album :- Them Bones, Dam The River, Down In A Hole, Angry Chair, Rooster & Would are so classics and make this album a grunge essential but there the rest of the album varies and can become a bit depressing with the sludgy music and lyrics about drugs.

Brilliant. Dark and absolutely bleak album about depression and drug addiction. Lyrically can be absolutely soul crushing, Stayley’s voice is amazing throughout. Musically it’s heavy, grunge with big, sludgy, metal influenced rifts. The whole album is brilliant but highlights are probably Them Bones, Down In A Hole, Sickman, Dirt, Angry Chair and Would?

Good songs but was a bit too long for my liking

I enjoyed the start however it did wear on me a bit. Perhaps I was not in the mood for metal-grunge.

Has some decent songs on it.

Incredible start!! I remember how it made me jun from my seat the first time I listened to it. Harmonies are sick, as well as the doom and dynamic sound, and the powerful voice from Layne. I used to run to this album and it was a good choice every time.

Nice

OH MY GOD WHAT A GEM I CANT BELIEVE IT

no lo mejor de alice in chains, ni alice in chains es lo mejor del grunge, pero cumple

Love this album

2.5 /4 I really like would, down in a hole and angry chair

I hate to not give this album a five, because their sound on this record is something that I don't think anyone has been able to replicate yet: slow, heavy, horror-esque, incredible vocals and harmony (yes, vocal harmony in heavy metal!) And, let's be fair: Down in a Hole, Rooster, Would? all sound as incredible and fresh today as they did 33 years ago (when I wrote this). Many of the other tracks just aren't as refined and become a little more forgettable. 3.75

My only previous exposure to Alice in Chains was the singles that made it to the radio. This is probably a decent number of songs, but not enough to prevent me from mixing up Alice in Chains with Alice Cooper in my mind (which is probably part of the reason I was so surprised by how little metal was on the Alice Cooper record that came up earlier in this project). This album holds up really well, though. It started to feel repetitive by the end of the album, but they were repeating a good sound. I'll be buying some Alice in Chains. 4.6

This album is a pillar of my musical experience and I don't want to imagine what my life would have been without it.

Not a big fan of the music.

Pure Rock. I am really tired while listening to this but the music is like a jolt of electricity to brain keeping me awake. Amazing vocals a great album through and through. The album touches on a lot of dark topics like death, drugs and addiction. I truly think this album raw and emotional depth making not only a great concept album but an amazing rock and metal album.

Bit heavy for my normal listening

A wonderfully unique and powerful album.

🤘🏻

Great lyrics

Nope, not my thing.

The best grungerecords of them all. Just super

I'm a Seattle-area native and this album came out right when I was entering middle school, so it definitely had an impact on my musical taste. I'll always have a soft spot for it. That said, other than Rooster and Would, I don't usually seek this out. Jar of Flies was their best work - I can listen to that one on repeat.

Classic. Definitely the best grunge catalog along with Nirvana's and it's not even close. My personal favorite catalog in fact.

This album reminds me of college, and that while 90’s music was okay, it was nowhere as good as the music produced in the 80’s

Not bad, but all the songs kind of blended together in a muddy, indistinguishable glob.

I see where Godsmack got their name from. Not my favorite but the guitars kick ass and I can definitely see how they influenced the bands of the early 2000s. 4.25

Interesting solo in down in a hole - very bluesy. Dam that river was good. God Smack was good. The rest is quite repetitive. 2 tracks left to listen to

What a solid great album. Honestly its one of the best written and produced out there. Layne sounds great and Jerry's songwriting on top. Great great album. Must have in the collection

This has to be one of their best albums. every song on this album is so good.

one of my fave albums of all time. the vocal harmonies, the guitars, the vibe so good

Alice in Chains > Nirvarna

Gran disco.

Grunge som har alldeles för mycket metal i sig.

Not really my thing. I've listened a few times and this all blurs into a mess of quasi-grunge rock.

Like how every space is filled with sound, but it does drone.

bueno si igual me chupa un huevo. 7/10

Seems pretty iconic.

I have friends who swear by Alice in Chains. I literally cannot stay Layne Staley's voice.

Wow the album starts with no warning at all. I have heard “Them Bones” before, but didn’t realize it started so abruptly. I like the style. It feels “hard rock”, but is actually relatively slow and accessible most of the time. Some really strange “harmonies” though.

“Ya this album was too goth even for me” - Geege. Agreed

Good sound. This is one where the bias sets in. I just don’t see myself listening to this.

Early on during Covid when everyone was working remote, I went to go live with my friend Cotton for a few weeks. There wasn’t much to do except watch tv and play video games. So naturally, we brought out his old Wii and started playing Wii golf while drinking cheap beer and blasting 90s alternative music. Cotton has one hell of a playlist, so there’s almost 18 hours of music ranging from Toad the Wet Sprocket to Nine Inch Nails. Dirt is a critically acclaimed album from the legendary 90s rockers Alice In Chains, so of course there’s like five songs from this album on that playlist. And like I said, there wasn’t much going on in the world, so I’ve had my fair share of drunken attempts trying to hit the fairway on that stupid island shortcut par five and listened to more 90s alternative jams than a drug user living in Seattle in 1992. We’re four years removed from that, and things have upgraded a bit. We play Switch golf now, there’s a second tv so we can watch sports while I shoot an even par and still lose by ten strokes, and sometimes, I’ll drink cheap wine instead of Coors Light. But one thing remains the same. I only really want to frequently hear two songs on this album and the others I might as well say “ok Google, next song” to before I down the last swig of $9 rosé.

I can see why people like Alice In Chains, but they're not really for me. I'm giving them a three because I do like "Rooster".

Just incredible

Not for me.

Not exactly my genre, but there were some songs on here I enjoyed. Down in a Hole sounded the most interesting. Just gets a bit tiring after an hour of grunge; I think I prefer Nirvana overall.

Them bones is iconic to my upbringing. #madden10 Consistent sound, not my real cup of tea music-wise since I'm a 90s hater. Probably objectively better than 3 stars but I don't feel right giving it that much praise when I don't relate to it hardly at all.

There are no bad Alice In Chains albums

Pretty hardcore and heavy 90's grunge that's classic but not resonating with me these days.

A very strong 4 for me, the production is great, musically it's excellent. I just wish it didn't start and end with the two best songs on the record, it unintentionally overshadows the rest of the album.

Sometimes I think, “I’m too mature now for loud guitar songs about decay n’ spiders n’ shit”, and then I listen to an album like this and I’m like, “hell yeah, decay n’ spiders n’ shit” 🤘

Grunge as a genre didn't age well — of the top grunge albums I loved at the time, I might only give five stars to two of them now (In Utero; Vs.). But, if there was one that would be close, it would be Dirt — closer to a metal album, Dirt was the closest the genre ever felt to feeling "grungy." (Mudhoney, Melvins, early Sub Pop stuff always felt more SLUDGE than GRUNGE, if I might make a very stupid album-reviewer-type-comparison). It sounds like middle school.

Mouais

Them Bones - 4 Damn That River - 4 Rain When I Die - 4 Down in a Hole - 5 Sickman - 3 Rooster - 5 Junkhead - 4 Dirt - 3 God Smack - 2.5 Untitled - 3 Hate to Feel - 3 Angry Chair - 3 Would? - 5

Them bones - 5 Dam that River - 2 Rain when I die - 3 Down in a hole - 5 Sickman - 3 Rooster - 5 Junk head - 3 Dirt - 4 God smack - 3 Untitled - 3 Hate to feel - 3 Angry chair - 3 Would? - 5 3.6

Dirt by Alice In Chains Tuesday 5/21/2024 8:40, office S Tier————————— Rooster Would? Them Bones Down In A Hole A Tier————————— Dirt Dam That River B Tier ————————— Godsmack Junkhead Hate To Feel Untitled Rain When I Die C Tier————————— Sickman

I like jar of flies, but not this one

Not as bad as I expected, but I wouldn’t purchase it.

Not overly familiar with these guys. (I know Rooster” and that’s about it) I suppose they are early enough to be innovators of the genre, but not my favourite style. A bit too heavy for my taste. Mid 3

I walked into Dirt expecting to love it – grunge that teeters on the brink of alt-metal? Sign me up! – but in practice, it’s just the template for every post-grunge pseduo-sad but still masculine band from 2002 that got too much airplay on Hard Rock/Real Rock™️ radio throughout the 2000s, indirectly ruining radio as a whole. While AIC ekes out above those guys, it’s not by much. There’s cool tonal elements here and a couple excellent songs (“Them Bones,” “Dirt,” and “Would?” – all notably the opener, midpoint, and closer), but there’s a LOT more songs that are only “pretty good.” They play around so much with tempo and style changes that my ears can never really catch the groove, literally or figuratively, and a lot of the layered guitar work feels tacked on, especially for the solos. And boy, does it overstay its welcome. Not at all the record I expected, and frankly, while it’s perfectly fine, I’m left a bit saddened by how underwhelming this felt. If you want dark and grimy, listen to actual sludge metal, and if you want something more uptempo, listen to any other grunge band. You won’t regret listening to Dirt, sure, but you’d find more substance by listening to others instead. This is just trying to have too much of both lanes, and becomes a master of none as a result.

I have an unreasonable hatred of this album. Through no fault of the musicians.

Would and Rooster are still some of my favourite grunge songs.

I loved an Alice In Chains growing up, which is a surprise. But his gravelly voice does have a cross over nature that doesn’t put the band in a category of music I dislike listening to.

This is very much of it's time. If you listened to this with your mates in the 90s it must really hit you but to me it's just another grungey/rocky band singing about depression, drugs and pain. Not that's it's bad- it's well put together and produced but means nothing to my ears.

Soo cool!

I went in with an open mind. First couple of track I enjoyed from a nostalgic point of view. But after a while I'd lose interest. Maybe I'm just more of a Pearl Jam/Nirvana fan, but I think this would have sound better at the time.

nice 90s grunge

I need to be in the right mood for it, but when I am, it kicks major ass. 4/5

Horrible stuff. The vocals are unbearably drudgy and there is so much swamp all over the music that the whole thing sounds terrible. It gave me a headache, and I was very disappointed.

Pretty dank

- Ich habe in der Vergangenheit des öfteren mal in das Album reingehört, und ich weiß gar nicht genau warum, aber so richtig warm werden konnte ich damit nicht. Das hat sich heute geändert! - Ich fand Alice In Chains immer die Schwächste der Big 4 des Grunge; fairerweise muss man dazu sagen, dass Soundgarden, Nirvana und Pearl Jam bei mir allgemein ganz weit oben stehen - Ich finde dennoch, dass „Man In A Box“ eine der geilsten Grunge-Hymnen ist. Ist nur leider nicht auf Dirt enthalten - Dafür mit „Rooster“, „Would?“, „Them Bones“ und „Down In A Hole“ andere große Hits auf dem Album - Mir hat das Album heute das erste Mal richtig richtig gut gefallen. Sicherlich auch, weil der Höreindruck nicht komplett neu war. - Ich mag diesen melancholische, leicht depressiven Vibe irgendwie echt gerne. - Die Zweitstimmigkeit, die Alice in Chains ebenfalls für mich ausmacht, ist eigentlich in jedem Song sehr präsent - Ich mag auch diesen psychedelischen Einschlag, den die Jungs haben. - Ansonsten instrumental eine angenehme Härte, die mir auch zusagt in dem Genre - Bei ein/zwei Songs war mir ein bisschen zu viel von den durchgezogenen, langen Tönen in den Vocals. Hat manchmal sehr den Drive rausgenommen - Könnte in meiner Bewertung aber definitv noch weiter klettern in nächster Zeit, ich hab AIC für mich endlich mal geknackt Rating: 4,25/5

- Klar Alice in Chains' bestes Album - Musikgewordener menschlicher Abgrund - Textlich und kompositorisch kommt man wohl schwer näher an die Metaphorisierung von Drogenkonsum heran. Es kratzt einen richtig auf! - Them Bones, Down in a Hole und Sickman ABSOLUTE BANGER! - ich werde das Gefühl nicht los, dass es Bands wie z.B. KoRn ohne dieses Album nicht in der Form gegeben hätte/geben würde - Ich bin selbst kein RIESEN Alice in Chains-Fan aber dieses Album ist einfach ein einheitliches Meisterwerk 4,5/5

- Nicht schlecht, aber kein Song dabei, der sich für mich richtig hervorhebt. - - Zweite Hälfte fand ich nachher deutlich besser, eventuell würde das ganze Album jetzt von Anfang an ein wenig mehr Anklang bei mir finden.

It cannot be overstated how much I love this album. The songwriting of Cantrell in a dark minor, the guitar solo in Junkhead, the vocal harmonies and how the voices of Cantrell and Staley go so well together, the music that's holding that edge between grunge and metal, the tuning of all instruments in e flat to give it that dark texture, the pained and tortured lyrical poetry of Staley and that there is just not a single bad moment on this album.

Im not going to remember I listened to this. All the songs sound incredibly similar

2.5/5. I can see how people would like this, but it's not for me. A bit too 90s grunge for me.

Not my thing, but some great odd time signatures

Two very top Grunge songs - check that - two top songs period.

this was so cool to hear, I knew the band existed but never had a chance to listen and I'm in love!!

Incredible album

Arguably the best 'grunge' albums of all - a thrilling and ferocious listening experience.

A couple good songs. A little heavy for me

Not for me.

Has its moments

A murky, painful blend of grunge and metal. If the music doesn't make you uncomfortable, the lyrics surely will. Unfortunately, there's nothing that unique about a tortured vocalist, addicted to heroin and soon to die far too young. But Layne Staley's voice, married with Jerry Cantrell's guitars, has a way of dragging you down to the pit of your stomach. Love it or hate it, but it's not to feel anything here.

Them Bones is a bit droning. Dam That River has the same problem. Droooning Lyyyriiiics. Rain When I Die is the worst culpris (so far?), especially the ending. Down In A Hole combines this horrible sound with slower emo music. Sickman is the same. I am the sickman sick of this. On Rooster even the guitar is infected with lethargy. Angry Chair has a mini guitar solo that is not developed. Finally it is over. I understand that they are decent musicians but this is not my thing. No epic guitars make up for this horrible “singing”. Terrible lyricism. 1/5

This is one of my favorite albums ever. Nevermind was on my 1001 list earlier this month and I've got this one right up there with it. 90s Seattle scene is tops for me no question, with Soundgarden and Pearl Jam at the peak. I've recently been checking out some YouTube channel reactions to some of these songs and the ones with Alice in Chains specifically brought some new appreciation and respect for Layne and the way him and Jerry were able to meld their voices. It is just so haunting and harmonious at the same time and makes such a unique sound. Probably best exemplified in "Down in a Hole". The unplugged video really shows off this magic well. Some of the tracks are a bit dark lyrically, and some hit especially hard considering what happened with Layne, particularly "Junkhead" and "Dirt" but over half the album is full of songs I could hear any time. Grunge classic and appropriately named as this is some of the dirtiest sounding guitar work you could hear. Favorite track "Down in a Hole" 6/5

O começo do álbum é fenomenal, ele já entra muito pesado com a intro de "Them Bones" e vem numa sequência muito forte nas músicas seguintes, até chegar em "Down the Hole" (a mais fraca do álbum), mas que logo volta e trás esse som pesado que faz o álbum muito bom. Tem uma química muito boa entre as guitarras com distorção tocando escalas hipnotizantes em loop; e as linhas de baixo com um timbre muito claro e sinistro, que se destaca das melodias de guitarra, deixando o som mais preenchido. O som se encontra no limiar entre o grunge e o metal, e o sentimento que ele passa também está nesse espaço.

I love love loved this album. It sounded like a fusion of Nirvana and Pearl Jam obviously with the artists' own unique spin on their sound. The production on the album is also just spectacular; the distortion on the guitar on Godsmack was crazy.

They literally rhyme "dam" with "damn"

Meh

demasiado pesado y cansino

I know there's some bias here having grown up right smack in the middle of this genre (and this album in high rotation among the Nirvana, Soundgarden and STP of the day), but man, these compositions and production still hold up today.

Not bad, but I don't understand why it has so many listens. I guess you had to be there maybe

Meh, it was ok but I doubt I will ever listen to this again.

Good

I remember really not caring for this band the first time I heard them. Then I grew up, was able to afford good headphones, and stopped hanging around the bogans that showed it to me, and god damn it if this isn't the greatest album ever to crush 12 shitty beers to. Fuck I may have become the people that showed them to me.

Really good first half of the album, but disliked the second half.

Legendary. Fabulous. Exceptionally good Seattle Grunge Rock. I love this artist and album.

This was my introduction to the album a day gambit. I was in the car with anthony and kerri and after 2 songs I was like can we please switch the music this has been PLENTY of alice in chains. I like it for a song or 2 but I can't do the vocal style for more than that. He sings like hes mocking himself if that makes sense lol. Favorite Song: Them Bones

Feels like everything about it should be a 5 for me, but something is a little off. Feels like there's too much Pearl Jam sound in this for me. Still really like it. Will I listen to again: 90%

A lot of grunge albums personally felt bland at first but quickly grew on me. This one however will probably not.

One finds it insufficiently grungy to qualify as actual, you know, grunge. After all, it checks nearly every box for ‘90s metal cliches: jagged hooks on top of endless base of cheg-cheg-cheg; vocals that range from strained to scream-y; and lots and lots of self-seriousness and false drama that only adolescent boys would find deep and or heavy or relatable or meaningful. The end result is tedium, extreme tedium.

One of the Monumental Albums of Alltime Seattle Bands!!

Okay...I didn't hate this...I actually started out kind of into it. And then all of the songs started to sound too similar. 3/5

Ээ... Лучшая песня - Would?

Nice album, played it while watching the eclipse

Excellent

classic 90s album. He's got an all time voice

Very good, but feels a bit repetitive in the second half

Straight to library. Great music

Very dark. Very depressing. Music can get a bit draggy but I can imagine angsty teenagers loving it.

01) Them Bones - 7,0 02) Dam That River - 7,0 03) Rain When I Die - 6,5 04) Down in a Hole - 7,0 05) Sickman - 5,5 06) Rooster - 6,5 07) Junkhead - 6,0 08) Dirt - 6,0 09) God Smack - 5,5 10) Intro (Dream Sequence)/Iron Gland - 1,0 11) Hate to Feel - 6,0 12) Angry Chair - 7,0 13) Would? - 7,5 TOTAL: 6,04 (60/100) The music and melodies are not that interesting, the songs are kind of monotone to me. Drug use was a lyrical theme on the album so I can't really relate to the lyrics either. I guess the real grunge/metal/hard rock fans would say that this is much better than "Nevermind" but I'm not a grunge/metal/hard rock fan so I can say that I prefer the likes of Nirvana or even Pearl Jam.

Rooster, great. One or two others okay. The rest, just noise pollution for me.

i love alice in chains they never disappoint they make me wanna learn how to ride a motorcycle in nevada like please

CD

Big name that I’ve heard of. Thought I might like it, and I did. Though, the album didn’t click for me until Down In A Hole. At times the album seems a bit middling, but the great stuff is where it’s at. Whole album feels “Dirt”-y. There’s a layer of that sound over every song, which gives a lot of character to the project. Standouts: Down In A Hole, Rooster, Hate To Feel, Angry Chair, and Would?

Far too reminiscent of Nevermind.

Solid album, not my preferred genre/style of rock.

every song sounds the same, I've heard rooster too many times. Not exciting

Das Album klingt nach Teenage Anxiety und das brauche ich echt nicht mehr. Es reicht mir, dass ich diese Zeit selber durchleben musste. Da muss ich nicht noch auditiv an diese Gefühle erinnert werden.

Plus point: they can touch a tune. Minus points: everything else and the length of the album. I guess CD was still a shiny new format in the nineties. Nevermind is 49 minutes. This is 57 but feels soo much longer.

Good stuff

some cool rock stuff

Clean métal album

dnf not for me but it was nice

not for me

Guter Sound der immer noch gut rüber kommt.

Heavy Metal & Grunge fusionieren in diesem Album wobei Haevy Metall die Leitkultur bleibt. Einige Songs sind ok z.B „The Bones“, „Down In the Hole“, Would“ & „Rooster“ sind gute Genre Titel. Insgesamt ist mir das Album zu düster und zu sehr von Drogen inspiriert und hat leider einige schwache Titel.

Not my genre but I can see why it is popular.

Alice in chainsissa on jotain, mistä kovasti haluaisin tykätä, mutta se tuppaa ainakin albumillisena menevän liian narinaksi ja junnaavaksi. Johtuu grungesta. Pidän raskaista elementeistä, esim. metallimaiset rummut kivoja. Vähän lisää vimmaa ehkä? Sinkkuina parempia, tosin sais olla enemmän koukuttavia sinkkuja. Koko listan kontekstissa kaks puol.

Harmillisen raskasta - taidot menevät hukkaan.

something to get your blood pumping

Very grungy and slimy. I like it. Best Song: Rooster Worst Song: Untitled Album Score: 8/10

LOVE IT. Stale at the end but great great album.

Amazing record. Dark, sometimes sludgy, but incredible melodies and memorable songs. Musicianship is top tier. The Staley/Cantrell combo was amazing.

Good record just not for me

Dark sludgey 90s goodness

Rating: 8.5/10 Great album overall. So heavy and emotionally dark, the instrumentation complements the depressing lyrics so well. There are so many memorable riffs here, very influenced by metal and grunge which makes for many headbanging riffs. Layne Staley pours his emotions out in every song, there were so many great vocal melodies and harmonies. Sometimes the mixture of the guitar and vocals did not work very well but this album is great/excellent the vast majority of the time. Favorite songs: Them Bones, Dam That River, Rain When I Die, Down In A Hole, Rooster, Junkhead, Dirt, Angry Chair, Would?. Worst songs: Untitled, Sickman.

If I liked this kind of music, it would probably be a decent version of it, listening was fairly easy, but it really is just not my thing

not my vibe but ok . cewl. . some real dark shit. 2

some good grunge. 3

Dirty

Pínu vandró en þrátt fyrir að ég hafi oft hlustað á Alice in Chains í útvarpinu og alltaf fílað það sem ég heyrði fannst mér aldrei þess virði að kynna mér bandið eitthvað sérstaklega. Ég veit eiginlega ekki af hverju. Nú hefur verið gerð bót á því og þetta var æði. Þessi plata fer aftur og aftur á fóninn. Ég hef misst af svo miklu. Fer úr 4.5 upp í 5 stjörnur sem afsökunarbeiðni til þeirra

yup, that's quintessential 90s seattle grunge rock.

Wasn’t a favorite of mine. 🤷🏻‍♀️

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.

Very rockin! A couple songs weren't great, but I really liked the songs that were. Favorite: Them Bones

Was listening to this while driving and it actively contributed to my road rage.

Dad! Rock! The guitars rip, obviously. Feels like I'm playing guitar hero. Love the vocals but not always the lyrics. Lots of layers. Not as many standouts but overall a really solid album. Top songs: Dam that river Rain when I die** Rooster Would?

Admittedly not my cup of tea genre-wise, but anyone listening to this album has to concur that the guitar absolutely rips the whole time. Some tracks are deliciously haunting while others refuse to take their foot off the gas, and I liked it a lot. An unexpected big like for me on this one. Faves; Them Bones Rain When I Die Rooster

I feel like grunge resonated with me more when I was a depressed high schooler. The album felt a little one note, but I didn’t mind it all that much. 3 Fav songs: Them Bones Dam That River Would?

I see what’s happening here but there’s just way too much of it. I would be ok with never listening to this again. 😃

I was hesitant to listen but it was more tolerable than I anticipated at first. I did get bored by the 5th track and I had a hard time just getting through the rest of the album.

Ok - Not my bag, but can see the talent and scope of energy in the Musi world

I mostly like the big hits, of which there are a bunch. The album tracks are just OK. But still, the big hits are just so good.

This was the most heavy metal of all of the Seattle grunge bands. And that’s exactly why I don’t like it. His voice is amazing though.

Hard pass

So this is grunge. So two members killed themselves with their drug abuse, how cliche is that. Lyrics are sometimes interresting, music however is not.

I just wish the WEF introduced a wrestler named The Rooster, dressed as a rooster and used The Rooster as they’re into. Aside from that, I think Alice Im Chains is fine, they claim they were metal, they were far too slow to be metal. There are some good, sludgy grunge tunes here. Your drummer is not a metal drummer dudes, you’re playing metal in quick sand, you are too slow and that’s fine. 3.5 stars

Wonderful Grunge album

One of my favorite albums

AiC is really everything I don’t like about grunge. I know that a lot of grunge is an opposition to the status quo while also projecting an aloofness that’s absent from punk music. But other major grunge acts like Nirvana, Pearl Jam, or Soundgarden brought so much passion, anger, and even joy into their music. Every musician in Alice in Chains sounds like they don’t want to be making music, as if recording is their 9-5 that they’re sick of and dying for retirement. I know that making music IS work, but it doesn’t need to sound so uninspired. Having said all that, Dirt is my favorite Alice in Chains album and it’s easily their most tolerable.

Alice in Chains - Dirt What a fucking album and band this is! One of my all time favorites. Layne Staley vocals on top of Jerry Cantrell guitars. Such a great album. So many good tracks on this album: Would?, Them Bones, Down in a Hole, and Rooster I stated it before with Nirvana, but these artists that came out of Seattle in the early 90s opened my eyes (and ears) to new music. I am so thankful that I got to live through this time in music as it happened! 5/5

So dirty and hard. Favorite Tracks: Rooster & Rain When I Die

I heard of them. I don't appreciate their music.

Listenable grunge nostalgia