Dirt

Twelve perfectly depressing songs about despair, trauma, substance use, and death. There are few albums I like more.

not for me in the slightest. Hard to look past the lead singers delivery of every single line 'sung' Who ever the lead guitarist and bassist are where the redeeming quality of the record with no other redeeming qualities

Fantastic listen! Really enjoyed this album. Love the distorted guitar featured here. Highlights: Rain When I Die, Sickman, Rooster, Hate to Feel, Angry Chair Looking forward to a revisit and will return.

Thirty years ago, I operated on the assumption that all the grunge bands were basically interchangeable. Based on that, I chose Peal Jam as my favorite since it was easier to sing along to most of their songs (even when Eddie was at his most incoherent) and left my knowledge of the others to their radio and MTV singles. Truthfully, this album is a lot darker than what I would have been into back in the day anyway. But as I have grown older and more comfortable with difficult music, I can see this as a harder rock variant of the Velvet Underground to a degree.

Great hard rock, song after song.

What can I say? As a devout grunge fan, this is essentially a perfect album. Top 5 90's/grunge album for me, no doubt. Equivalent to Jar of Flies for me, but just depends on my mood which I'll enjoy on any given listen.

One of the greatest albums ever made, perfect instrumentation, vocals, lyrics, everything, perfection, will always be one of my favorites.

Really good grunge - listened to it a lot before

I love this album. Alice in Chains is probably my favorite Grunge band to come from this era, probably because they're so influenced by metal music. Not much more to say other than this was a fun one to revisit. Standout tracks are: "Down in a Hole", "Rooster", "Angry Chair", and "Would?"

I find the radio versions of the hits from this record (which is half the songs on the record) pack more of a punch and make for a better overall experience, but listening to the album versions is like watching the director's cut of a movie.

Maybe a little too long for my liking. But it goes so hard when it wants to. A great album

Ehh this is more of a 2.8 2

Good start but after one or two songs the style isn'mine favourite

Them Bones on Guitar Hero. Surprising number of songs that survived to modern radio era.

Very good. I like this. Just got sad after reading about their story. For me this is some where between 3 and 4. Closer to 4.

“Them Bones” is a fantastic way to start this album. Really sets the tone for the dark-heavy-metal-grunge music that leads throughout. I remember the first time I heard the first track in this album I was about 13-14 years old playing Guitar Hero II. Other favourite include “Dam That River”, “Rooster”, and “Would?”. Nothing less than a 4/5 for most of these tracks. Sonically, lyrically, and the style of the vocals and instruments combined keep me coming back for more.

I was too young for this when it came out. I remember it being on repeat on the radio and listening to it. Then getting really burned out on hearing so often. Revisiting it I'm getting the same vibes. I like it right now, but I think in after a day or so of listening it would start to get on my nerves. Heavy grunge has that effect on me. It all kind of sounds the same, and the lyrics aren't enough to overcome the chugging drone of very similar sounding songs. Good for an occasional listen, but not much more than that.

Amazing album. 5/5. Have listened to many of times.

Great classic grunge album.

Top grunge album! Wish I’d given them more notice in my youth, but I was busy lapping up Nirvana. Only know their top tracks. Will listen again tomorrow and add some tracks to my playlists.

Great band, great album

Some good stuff. But not really for me.

Ok. Some classic songs but was never much of a fan

Came back to this late because I can’t let it have a 2.5 average. Loved this album when I was 16, not quite so good listening back but worth every bit of a 4/5

Not for me. They kind of droned on

I just don't really get this theatrical kind of rock?

This I find hard because I like the instrumentation and feel like I'm getting into it, then the vocals start and it sounds boring and cringe. Maybe on a few listens I'd get past it but for now it's a 2.5.

Heroin: The Album. Despite being traditionally one of my favourite albums, I'd forgotten just how much I like it until now. Essentially Crosby Stills & Nash if everyone had the same drug habits as David Crosby and were all into sludge metal. It's an hour of thick, oppressive wretchedness. 'Would?' may well be my favourite ever album closer.

Another Metal album that bores me to tears.

This reminds me of my local rock station growing up. I was in highschool when the lead singer died and remember the compounding angst it caused amongst some of my peers. I certainly went though my nihilistic music phase and it's tough to divorce this album from the feelings of 14-year-old-me. Not a fan. Aptly named album.

One of the most influential albums on a young me. The first CD I ever bought, played over and over. If you get it, you get it. The sound of the transition away from and reaction against hair metal and classic rock of our parents. Yeeeeaaah yeah yeah! I could listen to this anytime. Five stars.

Not exactly cheerful. But a solid album and I can see the argument for some grunge albums to be on the list. Made me wonder what made all these Seattle lead singers decide to sing in the same way. Most of the songs were too long Clearly they have an excellent guitarist.

YEAHHHH HERE COME THE ROOSTERRRR

2,5

This is hard rock. Listening to this years later I'm struck by the meaninglessness of grunge. This band would have fit perfectly with GNR or other bands of the era not in the grunge umbrella. It's also way better than I remember.

this is a pretty cool nirvana album I want to like it. At times it's entertaining and holds my attention, but the album loses my attention just as quickly. I didn't care for "Nevermind" or "In Utero" either, so maybe I just don't like grunge? Maybe I just don't get it? Maybe I wasn't in the right mood while listening to this? This album has been a breaking point for me. I wrote up a whole rant about how I've enjoyed a mere 6 of the 28 albums I've listened to so far, but I deleted it. I'm taking a break from this website, who knows when or if I'll be back.

I almost turned it off early but wanted to make it to “Rooster” which holds up and is far and away the best song in my opinion. The album actually grew on me after that. I’ll probably never listen to it again but I could definitely see the appeal as a metal/grunge hybrid. It definitely feels of its time, the vocal style has been copied/parodied so many times now that it’s hard to take it seriously.

4.0 I had a tough time rating this one. 4-5 Grade A burners but I didn't really care for some of the other songs. The theme of the Album kinda wears on you and do the vocals in some spots. Cantrell's guitar work is pretty interesting, has some great tones, and really more of a metal guitarist as anything.

rewarding when it caught my attention but too samey overall

good but i would probably like it more if my head hurt a little less

these all sound like the same song. except, on one of them, he is singing about. a rooster?

So very heavy in every way.

8/10

Best album by Alice In Chains. Period.

Blaaaaaah. Like Soundgarden I just never got why people would go so crazy for this band. Everything I hear is merely ok, unremarkable rock.

Really nice rock album. I like the grunge feel to it. If I had heard this in my teens it would be played on repeat a lot. Today I will have to make due with a listen through and adding some of my favorites on suiting playlists.

não é bom

eu acho doideira que eu gosto mto de rock noventista, mas esses assim pqp é ruim demais tá ligado. algumas musicas parece que o kermit the frog tá cantando. não sei explicar.

https://www.scienceofnoise.net/alice-in-chains-dirt-especial-30-aniversario/ Disc obscur. Molt obscur. Plegat de lletres depressives que evoquen els sentiments d'una banda els components de la qual estaven desenvolupant fortíssimes addiccions a diferents drogues (marihuana, alcohol, heroína). Hi ha qui el considera un vaticini del suïcidi del vocalista de la bana, Lainey Staley, que arribaria tres anys després de la publicació del disc. Les paraules "die", "fear", "grave", "kill", "mistake" o "wrong" conformen part de l'imaginari d'un disc que narra situacions de misèria espiritual de les quals sembla no haver-hi escapatòria. El so global del disc és unitari i evoluciona poc al llarg de les cançons. Guitarres pesades i riffs lents. Bateries lentes i profundes. Veu pastosa, a moments trencada i, fins i tot, estrident. La mètrica de Them Bones és molt interessant (7/8 al riff i al verse i 4/4 a la tornada). La influència del Nevermind de Nirvana, que va sortir tot just un any abans de la publicació de Dirt, és perceptible, encara que aquest disc és una criatura del seu propi gènere, i li noto més influència de grups com Slayer i, sobretot, Black Sabath, que d'una altra cosa. Personalment, el disc se'm fa pesat i difícil d'escoltar, tot i que sóc capaç de valorar-lo si me l'expliquen bé. Crec Alice és el grup menys del meu estil dins del gènere Grunge, tot i que mantindré algunes cançons al radar per a veure què passa en el futur. De vegades cal mastegar un xic les coses per poder-les digerir bé. Per cert, brutal el cover de Post Malone de Them Bones!

Nothing much here for me. This leans to close to metal for my liking. Loud, but dull.

Dirt 👍

Grungy dive bar angst, blah blah songs so sound the same but that's ok.

Great album but as a whole didn’t quite reach the heights to give 5⭐️

Eh. Reminds me of Spider from School of Rock and not in a good way.

RIP Lane Staley

I remember listening to this at my friends house when it came out. He was enamored with it. I enjoyed some of the tunes. A lot of the songs were everywhere the next couple of years. Dem bones I swear is still being played on every rock station at least twice a day. Sitting down and listening to the entire album you realize the band was going through some things. We all know the lead, Staley, had issues with drugs, I wonder if they all had drugs issues while listening to it. It's dark almost bleak. I'm wasn't a fan before, and I'm not now, but being older I do appreciate what they were going for.

Awesome

Grunge in top form

4.6 3x great album that i didn't listen to enough outside of radio play back in the day

Alice in Chains has never really been my bag, but I liked that, would dip in again. I can't wait until we get to Sap, right Sant?

This is a good one, I’m not going to claim it’s a 5 star album or anything like that, but it is one I don’t mind revisiting. I’m not a huge Alice in Chains guy, but I have always liked this album of theirs in particular.

The two stars is only for the first two songs. I always get suckered into this album with Them Bones and Dam that River. Then everything else reminds me why I really don't care for this album. The other singles (Down in a Hole, Rooster) aren't all that great. The whole album feels really plodding and overly heavy. Not heavy in a heavy metal sense, just slow and morose. The album is also too long for my taste. The song Would? isn't bad, but stuck at the very end of the album isn't helpful. Not my favorite grunge band (that's Soundgarden) nor the most influential band (Nirvana). Just one of the gang really.

Alice in chains was never my favorite band from this era but this is a pretty good album -- If I could I would probably give it more of a 3.5 but it is what it is....

Amazing grunge. Too bad about the needle and the damage done

Its ok.

Solid 3.5 but won’t let me do halves

I can't remember if I first heard these songs in Twisted Metal or ATV Off-road Fury on the PS1 & PS2, but goddamn does it bring me back

Truly so sick. The harmonies, guitar, grunginess, weird rhythms and time signatures, dark lyrics and topics, all of it. Dare I say a masterpiece? Added it to my Liked Albums on Spotify before it even finished. Just make sure you turn your volume down before the first track starts.

Ok

Was dreading this...wasn't so bad at all.

Brilliant from start to finish. Can’t believe I missed being into them back in the day. Opens with a cracker, closes with one, and plenty of quality in between

Mid

8/10. I should caveat this that I was listening when played league and so I couldn't pay 100% attention. That being said it's getting a good score anyway. I guess the main point against it is that it's is not too dissimilar from things I've heard before, however it's focus on slower, powerful chords was enjoyable and they really seemed to create an expansive sound.Comparing to other metal I've listened to so far this was more Metallica than Iron Maiden but just didn't quite pip Metallica as again I think it lacked the killer numbers that Metallica had. Overall very good but there is definitely a potential redo in it here to listen to it with my more undivided attention.

This is one of the best grunge records I’ve heard. Favourite Songs: Them Bones, Junkhead, Dirt, Angry Chair, Would?. Least Favourite Songs: God Smack.

I know that Nirvana is the legendary band, and that Pearl Jam have the longevity, but if I were to have to hand someone an album and say “this is grunge” then I might just hand them “Dirt.” Excellent production, multiple hits, and one of the best opening and closing song duos of all time with “Them Bones” and “Would.”

Classic. Great songs

if men had their period and wrote music about it

Fantastic. Certainly one of the best grunge albums.

Eindelijk nog eens iets decent. Geweldig album. Belangrijk album. 4.8

What a classic. Layne Stanley knows how to talk about heroin and he knows how to communicate that pain. I can't count the amount of times I listened to "Down in a Hole" when I was an active alcoholic and thought about being too deep in. "Rooster" will always be a favorite to me with the guitar playing such a major role in boosting the song's grungy nature. This is peak 90s Seattle Grunge and has all the elements to make it one of the best.

Weirdly classed as Grunge upon release because of Nirvana taking Grunge into the spotlight, this magnificent album was way darker (it’s all about Layne’s heroin addiction), with brutally honest lyrics. A masterpiece that everyone needs to hear.

10/10

Really solid nostalgic album for me. Dirt is a radio album that, for once isn't shit. It is chock full of harrowing vocals and epic riffs. Rating: 4.5

Heard a couple tunes them bones alright but chill out u depressed cunts?

9/10

I thought this was much later in the 90s than 92. It's not really my style and if it was about twenty minutes shorter, I probably would have liked it more.

alice in chains was considered one of the “big four” of the grunge movement of the early 90’s, although they seemed much heavier and darker than the other three. one needs no further proof than listening to this album. AIC’s fantastic sophomore album that delves deep into the psyche of frontman layne staley’s struggle with heroin addiction. this album is powerful and horrifying on many levels, especially considering staley’s ultimate demise from an overdose. highlights: “down in a hole” “dirt” “hate to feel” “would?”

Helluva album we got here. Aces.

Gritty heavy grunge. Classic 90s grunge anthems

One of my all time favorite albums. Takes me back to high school, and is chock full of angsty energy, but also has a restrained and mature side that really helps the album feel well balanced. Plenty of kickass tracks as well

"Rooster" [++] "Would" [++] "Them Bones" [+]

If blues and heavy metal had a kid. A great representation of what grunge is, in my opinion. Gritty, raw, loud, with great vocals. fav tracks : Rooster, JunkHead, Would ?

This one was just too heavy for me. I couldn't latch onto anything until "Would?" Which I have always liked. Alice must be one of my least favorite Sub Pop groups, but I've tried to like them - just rarely succeeded. Not for me.

Yeah this is a Seattle band from the 90's but this is more metal than grunge. Metal with melodies. Layne's voice has this sorrowful bite that cuts right through and Jerry has this sweet voice that carries the harmony. Interesting to hear that dynamic against the wall of guitar and drum sound. 3.5 rounded up.

Another prematurely dead singer. A timeless album.

Multiple hits from the 90s grunge era. This one is a tweener for me...rounding down because on the whole I don't find it to be an enjoyable listen.

not a big grunge fan or its vocal style, but this album is great

4 93%

I've never been a fan of Dirt compare to "heavier" albums like the three legged dog one or Black Gives Way To Blue, but I didn't dislike this. I just think most of the songs sound the same and didn't move me much. But it's still a cool sound.

I grew up with a lot more nirvana/pearl jam than AIC playing around the house, that said it’s a cool record. More on the metal side of grunge but I enjoyed it

Easily my favourite grunge album of all time. Perfect album for when you feel like absolute filth

A lovely bit of angst-ridden grunge. It's going in my Tidal library.

awesome af

Didn't really do anything for me, sorry.

Decent, not my style. Some songs I really enjoyed

Doesn’t hold up for me.

I was born in '87. Mostly Christian music in the house. Every now and then I'd get glimpses of my dad's taste in Led Zeppelin and hair metal. I grew up listening to Christian and local punk bands. My sister was the one who introduced me to cool music, like Portishead and Smashing Pumpkins. By the time I had developed my own music life I gravitated toward post-hardcore and indie rock. All that to say, I kinda missed the 90s grunge era. Looking backwards, its tricky for me to appreciate bands like Pearl Jam, STP, Alice in Chains, Metallica. Feels like the nu metal lineage, like aesthetically closer to Slipknot or Creed. Kinda trashy. Not super relatable to me. It's not the worst though.

Just background noise on an airport run nothing really grabbed me.

Was familiar with Them Bones due to it's inclusion on the GTA San Andreas soundtrack. Unfortunately that was never one of my favourite tracks and listening to Dirt has not won me over to Alice in Chains. A couple of interesting moments on here, and I can't deny there's something nostalgic about how painfully 90s it is. But it's all so one note and just becomes a bit of a slog to get through. After about 20 minutes I felt like I'd heard all I'd needed to.

4/5

Yeah

The first wave of grunge in which AIC is important does change things. This an album to listen to. I like them bones in particular. Can get a bit samey. But is worthwhile anyway. 3.5 rounded up.

This album is hard going. I listened to Dirt quite a bit when it first came out, and it was heavy listening even by grunge standards. Grunge was a genre marked by anxiety, self-loathing, depression and heroin abuse, and Alice in Chains took all of those themes to their ultimate extreme. It was really dark at the time, but became horrifyingly real when it became apparent that the band (especially Layne Staley) were living that reality. Staley's descent into a self-created slow suicide to through drug addiction is tragic and highly disturbing. I find it hard to listen to the album, aware of the reality. I just can't get off on the drama of the story anymore. I saw them at the Hodern Pavilion in late 1993, which seems like it was right at the end of their life as a (barely) functional touring unit. Staley had broken his foot, and sang from a chair, barely moving. The band was professional and sounded great, but clearly did not want to be there, and I recall little communication or chemistry between the band members. My memory is that they didn't play 'Would?' and possibly didn't even play an encore. I was disappointed that they didn't grace us with their best song and biggest hit. It was not a happy show for anyone, I think. They just seemed morose and barely tolerating being on stage. Musically, the album is really strong. Jerry Cantrell's guitars are amazing -- how many people have copied that guitar tone since, although few have his tasteful playing. Despite being a heavy, noisy and often dissonant album, the vocal melodies are often strong a memorable, and the vocal harmonies are amazing -- something you rarely hear in heavy music. This is uncompromising and original; one of the best albums of its era. Unfortunately, the darkness it described was documentary, and ultimately destroyed (slowly and painfully) several members of the band. It's difficult to take pleasure in that. I certainly don't understand anyone who thought that this album encouraged or glorified drug use. 4.5 stars, rounding down for being a petulant live act.

Lieblingssongs: Dam that River, Down in a Hole, Hate to Feel, Would? Mag das Album generell schon, doch manchmal ist es so geballt auch ein bisschen viel, zu viele ähnliche Sounds und man muss in der Stimmung sein für den Gesangsstil.

Fecking good!

First Alice In Chains album, i love how gritty it is. It’s haunting and heavy but not in an obnoxious screamy kind of way.

I certainly understand why people who share a lot of my musical DNA do not like this band and this album, but I will always have a soft spot for Alice In Chains. This was probably the hardest album I listened to in my youth and it paved the way for a lot of other grunge bands. Still love it.

>> The Beatles

An album I've neglected listening to for too long. Never really been a fan of the grunge era so it'll be intetesting to see what I think after giving it a focused chance. I'm expecting good things from what I've heard about this. Them Bones I love the heaviness and the melodic guitar. Dense and loud. I feel ambivalent about the vocals, they feel very of this era of 90s rock music. Great songwriting as to cram this much musical content into such a brief and condesed song without it feeling messy. Good. 4/5 Dam That River Kick-ass guitar riff. Well constructed lyrics, easy to follow along with. I've turned around on the vocals, the performance fits well on top of the metal inspired tunings. Good. 4/5 Rain When I Die Awesome disturbing guitar squeals in the intro. The bass and the drums together create an ominous atmosphere for the guitar to play in. The doomy guitar prior to the verse is also really cool. Yeah that guitar riff slaps. Raw and powerful vocals on the chorus. Interesting way to end the track. Great 4.5/5 Down in a Hole Really slow, really dense. Has a lot of buildup to what ends up being a fine if not unspectacular chorus. Ends up being a loud wall of distortion with some dark and unsettling lyrics. The effect on the chorus adds to the cramped feeling of the song. Fine. 3/5 Sickman Has some progressive changes in tempo that I find pretty cool. Love the drumming on this. I don't like the vocals here, they range from flat, to whiny to nasaly never really landing anywhere pleasant. The lyrics are sort of messed up, there's a lot of despair and loathing in there. Fine. 3/5 Rooster It's strange hearing a Vietnam war song from an early 90s band. I do quite like it, reading about its meaning really helps as with the added context the song has an additional emotional layer to it. The complicated relationship with his estranged father channeled into a into a frankly harrowing song about the horrors he went through. I also like how the chorus at times almost sounds triumphant in a way, the more open instrumentation really highlights it and contributes to it sticking around even after the song concludes. Understandable how this is one of the more popular tracks from the album. Great. 4.5/5 Junkhead Musically a continuation of their sound from the previous tracks on the album. Doesn't feel quite as felshed out as other songs so far. Doesn't really have much about it that sticks out as noteworthy other than that little guitar passage with the strange effect on it. They do this sound really well however. Fine. 3/5 Dirt Classic heavy metal esque guitar riff. Angsty, edgy, raw lyrics about what seems to be pretty serious mental health issues. Kinda slow, the chous does a lot of lifting. Decent. 3.5/5 God Smack As strange as the vocals are in periods, I really like it as a creative decision. Adds variety without deviating too much from the established sound of the album. I like the added guitar effect on the chorus, and the edge in the singing. Interesting inclusion. 4/5 Untitled Experimental little interlude over a strange sample. Creates a feeling of unease heading into the final stretch of the album. Interlude/5 Hate to Feel Downturned. Has a lot of negative energy. Really angsty. I like the drumming on this track a lot. The chorus is sort of catchy. Has a lot of emotion behind it, but to me it got a bit too much, a bit to vitriolic and a bit to direct. Draining. 2.5/5 Angry Chair The rhythm section builds a nice groove. The lyrics feel personal, though they so sort of go over my head a little as I struggle to understand their meaning, is it about addiction? Decent chorus. Decent. 3.5/5 Would? Sweet Jesus what a glorious bassline. The chorus is close to as good as it gets for this type of music. Cathartic and catchy, musically kicks a lot of ass during its brief time in the spotlight. Amazing vocal melody. Great tribute. Iconic song of the era which has stood the test of time. 4.5/5 Despite not really being my thing I really appreciated what this album did, and how consistent it was. With such a limited sound it risks running out of ideas, yet I feel it really never did. All songs feel unique and purposeful while all touching on similar heavy subject matter. Can't call it a fun listen though, as I found it quite emotionally draining due to how dark and heavy it was. There really wasnt any light in there what so ever. While they did do a lot with the sonic pallatte they presented it did however run its course, where I feel like 57 minutes sort of got a bit too long. With those minor complaints out of the way I would say that I don't really mind feeling drained at the end. Music should cover all range of emotions and should remain relevant to all aspects of the human experience. Alice in Chains did a great job at portraying the more negative sides of life, while feeling real and genuine while doing so. 4/5 Fave track. Rooster Least fave track. Hate to Feel

His voice is whiney

One of my favorite albums front to back great!

Best of their albums for sure.

Finally! A great album.

This is my favourite grunge album of all time. This is an incredible album.

🌟

ALL you need to know about heroin addiction is here, in this MASTERPIECE.

Is this a grunge, huh?

I know that I should like this more but sorry I don't.

Not one I needed to hear before ... you know ...

great album, one of the greatest

I have often listened to Alice in Chains but never really been a fan. Their albums are ok but have not really convinced me.

Interesting heavy take within the grunge genre. The vocals wear on me, though. As a band, you never want “is this pre-Nickelback?” to pop into a listener’s head. It did for me.

Good but probably won’t return to

Not my favourite genre … but wasn’t bad.

Хороший альбом, даже в тот день, что рок слушать не хотелось - он зашёл

The rooster has come, finally

Classic grunge. Layne has the second best YEAHHS in the business

She snuff on my rooster till I YEEEEEAAAAHHH Iconic album, nothing really needs to be said, nice to have a familiar face after what seems like a Millenia of unknown albums

Just not for me, too angsty and bad sounding to even sniff an average rating.

Good energy, good fun, a bunch of nostalgia. I liked it.

Started off feeling pretty dated... I don't know if I just got used to it or that it got better, but it jumped from a 2 to a 3 for me about half way through. Still sounded dated regardless.

A 90's classic. Miss Layne. What a G

Like if Metallica listened to Nirvana and SoaD. Not bad as it is, but also one of my least favorite parts of 90s rock.

MASTERPIECE

песни так чутко слились в один грязный поток, что не заметил как альбом проигрался два раза

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️— 4[.5] stars of 5. Another staple of 90s grunge music. This and Superunknown - which I got a few days ago, are all up there as some of the greats of the 90s. The variation and riffs are definitely there. From that explosive intro “Them Bones,” to the spectacular closer, “Would?,” there’s little time on this album wasted, with memorable riffs and insane vocal performances from the great Layne Staley. Overall, an incredible generational album. Love the hooks on “Them Bones,” the progressions on “Rooster,” and man, “Would?” is just incredible. Perfect closer imo. Favourites: Them Bones, Rooster, Would?⭐️, Dam That River, Down In A Hole, Rain When I Die.

I loved it

Classic

this was fine but certainly not good

I will start this off by saying that I really really love the guitar tone and sound on this album. It's heavy, chuggy, sludgy, at times pretty psychedelic and sounds really great. Unfortunately I'm not a huge fan of the vocalist. A bit boring for my tastes and also slightly robotic sounding, like he doesn't sound real. He's also pretty whiny for the most part too. I also don't think the actual songs themselves are all that interesting, they don't excite me, there's not enough melody. Maybe I need more listens, but from my one playthrough and subsequent quick flick through I just don't think the sound of Alice In Chains is for me, which is a damn shame because as I said before, that guitar sound is brilliant. An unfortunate two stars and I wish it was more.

Even if you don't care for AiC in a general or genre sense this is a superbly put together album. Every song is varied within the context of the genre. The band sounds fantastic. The talent is there. Jerry and Layne have incredible chemistry together in terms of harmony. Another pair who debatably aren't the best vocal soloists but, like Simon and Garfunkel, are preposterously good together. If you don't mind metal-borne grunge this is pretty much as good as it gets.

Alt/punk/metal, little struggle to get through

2/27/25. A staple in the made up grunge genre, but always loved this album Hard hitting and takes you on a ride throughout.

6/10 Best track: "Rooster“

no thanks

If I could give it 20 stars I would. Excellent album. From beginning to end, perfect!

That first opening sets it up for that the rest of the album. Wow

It was really boring

Yeah HERE COMES THE ROOOSTER

Wow. As someone who admittedly gave 4s to Nirvana, this gets a 5. RIP Staley and Starr, both phenomenal on this album. Loved it.

Is it more tuneless than turgid, or more unsubtle than unrelenting. Hard to say but it's an insult to Alices everywhere.

Llevo con el álbum en bucle lo menos tres horas y no me llamó la atención ni una sola canción, de hecho, me está empezando a rayar vivo, pero me mola, yo diría que más que Nirvana, pero simplemente no me parece memorable. Igual lo vuelvo a escuchar otro día y me vuelve loco así que me lo guardo, pero meh.

Another bit of rock that feels rather slow and casual. Perhaps I'm not a big fan of classic rock in general.

I listened, talked about, and thought about this album all weekend long. I've been saying that I think I spend more time listening to the albums I don't like, than I do listening to the albums I know are an instant 5 stars for me. I need to listen enough to figure out why I don't like it, or if I can really justify a low rating. I've decided, after much consideration, to give this a 1. The curve has to bend somewhere, and I do not like this album. Wailing guitar, screaming, whining vocals. It's loud, it's all too much. Too much drum, too much guitar, too much vocal, not enough melody. When this music was popular I was still listening to my parent’s cassette tapes, and stuff like Boys II Men and En Vogue on the radio. Grunge wasn’t around me growing up, and I never journeyed myself that direction later in life. It’s hard for me to get in to this now, and without any 90s nostalgia it really is a miss for me. It's not a bad album, it's not unlistenable. This is just not my kind of rock n roll.

This album is bleak. It's about addiction. It's about heroin. Really some of the gloomiest grunge music to come out of Seattle. This album offers a glimpse into Layne Staley's personal struggles, which he would sadly never overcome. He would die of an overdose at his Seattle apartment in 2002, succumbing to the darkness of addiction.

Mixed feelings. Deze site zet me wel aan het denken, dat ik grunge hoger heb zitten dan ik dacht. De esthetiek, de vocalen, en vooral de metal gitaren zijn niet echt mijn pakkie an over het algemeen, maar de verscheidene grungey acts die wel al hebben mogen beoordelen bekleden allemaal wel echt hun eigen niche. Dat had ik niet gedacht. Ik had in mijn hoofd dat bands gedurende die tijdspanne van een jaar of 3/4 allemaal om en nabij hetzelfde produceerden. Alice In Chains heeft net als een Smashing Pumpkins echt een eigen geluid. En waar Nirvana veel les trekt uit noise en punk, is AIC voor een groot deel geworteld in metal, en dan vooral Black Sabbath. Het jaren 70 werk van de band uit Birmingham druipt uit alle poriën van deze plaat. En alhoewel ik toch wel een (gematigd) fan ben van het werk van Black Sabbath, is een heel album aan metal-achtige riffs en doomsday vocalen wel een beetje veel. Ik kende de knallers van deze plaat ('Down In A Hole', 'Rooster' en 'Would?'), en dat zijn wel echt Knallers met de hoofdletter K, maar daarmee was voor mij het verhaal van deze plaat wel verteld. De rest was niet slecht, maar gewoon te langdradig voor iemand die toch snel overprikkeld raakt door deze muziek. De stem van Layne Staley is wel echt monumentaal wat mij betreft, net als 'Would?', wat misschien wel de beste album-afsluiter is van de jaren 90. 6,5/10 Highlights: Rooster Would?

Godsarrie, als je je plaat begint met de intro van Them Bones, dan ben je niet uit op het maken van een makkelijk behapbaar plaatje. Een opgefokte riff en schreeuwen ertussendoor. Foei. Maar meteen daarna komt zo'n open en vertraagd stukje (samen)zang. En dan is Alice in Chains toch vaak ook prachtig. Die stem en look van Layne Staley is echt zo erg grunge, beter krijg je ze niet. Zijn stem is soms echt magistraal. En ook al maakt Alice in Chains niet zo'n kraker als Nevermind of Ten, Dirt is echt een hoeksteen in het genre. En dat roept toch altijd wel positieve gevoelens bij mij op. 8/10 Highlights Rooster Dirt Would?

Nah. Still.

Preferred this sound when Black Sabbath was making it 20 years prior. 🤨👎

Monotone

I can hear why Nirvana were the big breakthrough act from the grunge era. There is a sense of melody that the others lack, and of course Kurt’s voice bring something extra that the likes of Layne Staley just didn’t have. It’s all a bit dirge like and samey to my ears. Next

It has some good songs

Hmmmm, Ty likes this a lot, but it really didn't hit me the same... I don't think this is a saver.

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

1️⃣Rain When I Die

did not like

Would (?) I listen again? Maybe. Would? Is probably my favourite song from this album.

I have spent the last 35 years thinking Alice In Chains was probably a knockoff Nirvana that I didn’t need to hear. It turns out they around much more like a knockoff Metallica, but in the best way. Huge guitars, huge drums, huge riffs, great frontman. I enjoyed it, tho I don’t need to repeat.

Fucking perfect album. Obviously I've played it over and over, it's so god damn good, every part of it, so dark, so great. Amazing writing, great harmonies, what else can ya say.

I am surprised by this album, I enjoyed it and it is a poster child of the early 90s grunge movement.

Dont think I have ever listened to them on purpose but this was actually pretty good. Its a 3 because I probably wont come back but its very close to being a 4.

Ideally I'd give it somewhere between 3 and 4, but I listened to it twice now and enjoyed it enough both times to give it the benefit of the doubt.

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

Good

I've tried to get into grunge before as it feels like something I should like, but it never clicked for me. However, I enjoyed this once I got into the vocals. Three stars as it could lose 3-4 songs and I'm not sure I'll go back to it, but it has definitely made me rethink my position on grunge - I'm looking forward to hearing Soundgarden and Pearl Jam who are inevitably on this list somewhere

not my cup of tea

4.5 Absolute monster of an album. Was not expecting to like it so much

not bad not my thing but didn't mind it

Finally. The last of the Four Horsemen of Grunge gets an album on this list. Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden all are their own version of angsty awesome but Alice In Chains walks the borderline between nihilism and dark hope with the skill of an Olympic gymnast. It doesn’t hurt that their singer and guitarist shred (vocal cords and riffs, respectively) and every other song is about heroin. I love this album.

such anguish

This one had a ton of acolytes back in the day, but I wasn’t one of them, because I figured, well, yeah, it rocks, but so did a lot of other things at the time, and I couldn’t really see what it was doing to distinguish itself. In retrospect, it’s better than I thought, because the highlights are truly high. And yet, many of the tracks hit the same vibe and riff, so I still find it a bit middle of the pack.

I haven't listened to this album in years. Out of the class of grunge, I think that Alice in Chains wasn't as preferred as Pearl Jam, Screaming Trees, etc., but it is still solid.

Prior to this album I had lumped Alice in Chains in with the metal scene. I believe they opened the clash of the titans tour with Slayer, Anthrax, and Megadeth that I attended. This was 30+ years ago so my memory is perhaps foggy. I bought this on tape(anyone remember tapes?) and was like WTF is this as I had not heard anything but Would? from the album and was expecting something much more Metal. It did grow on me with each listen and while I didn't care for a lot of the Seattle grunge scene bands, AiC remains my favorite. I had not given this album a listen in a while and think Jar of Flies was their best album by far. This was still a welcome reunion with an old friend and the nostalgia of my teen years pushed this to 5 stars.

I gave up. I just can’t stand this band.

That INTRO hits so hard. Way to grab your attention in the first three seconds. I do find Layne Staley's voice a little whiney and nasaley though.

Such a good throwback! I used to listen to this album as an angsty teen. Down in a Hole remains one of my faves.

I didn't hate it. I was only familiar with the first track (Them Bones). Favorite track: Down in a hole. It's giving sad girl. I lied, I know the "Rooster" which is a fun song. Will I listen to this again? probably not. But this was my first full grunge album (don't come at me Seattle.I just moved here.) "Dirt" actually slapped tho. "You, you are so special You have the talent to make me feel like dirt" Correction.. I didn't know "would?" was alice in chains. Okay I might give this album another go.

"Would" is a great song. The rest of the album is not for me, maybe because it's been overplayed?

For whatever reason, I am rarely drawn to listening to grunge. But then whenever I do, I'm blown away. I really enjoy it in the moment, but then for whatever reason I don't come back to it for a long time. This album is having that same impact on me as Superunknown did. Gonna give this a 4 so I will remember to come back to it. I love the riffs and song arrangements. This is probably as good a time as any during this project to say I dont listen to lyrics as closely as I should. The lyrics have to really strike a specific way to take the forefront in my listening - otherwise I am always focused on the music/melodies/grooves/rhythms first and foremost. I like the music on this album a lot, and I dont find the lyrics distracting lol. i will probably listen more in the future and have more to say

Listened to this, and Superunknown, and Ten, when I was 13. Have not listened much since. It's pretty good, but overlong and the grunge guitars blur into each other as the album drags on. Tough to imagine revisiting much, but it's clearly accomplished.

Looking forward to this one. It’s hard to believe know this is what music sounded like for several years.

Attention-grabbing riffs and lyrics (though they’re kind of nonsense). Decent heavy rock album.

This is a kind of sound I feel obligated to like simply because of the instrumentation. The roaring guitars, including the thickly distorted bass and drum sound, is done fairly convincingly here. And yet... something feels missing to me. Maybe it's the variation in mood, which is pretty much nonexistent. In other words, every song sounds very grungily similar to the last, and that's especially sinful for a consistently high-energy album (and one that covers nearly an hour of runtime). As another reviewer correctly pointed out: "The grungy sameness of it all makes for difficult listening." Another reviewer, giving the album a 5, conceded that Alice In Chains creates disorientation through their weird time signatures and near-atonal sound. And sure, pushing the boundaries of music is fun - but at some point you have to concede that music sounds better when it's, well, musical. Dirt gets about halfway there. 3/5 Key tracks: Them Bones, Down In A Hole, Rooster

it was alright

pretty solid. the type of grunge that sounds different to what Nirvana does sounds great. 4/5

-pretty cool! very intense and interesting, sort of reminiscent of Nine Inch Nails. surprised I haven’t heard anything by them up until now -It wasn’t really holding my full attention by the end in the same way the opening songs gripped me. holy shit those first few songs though, insane -Favorites are Them Bones, Dam That River, and Down In A Hole

Gotta love grunge

Some really catchy tunes I like some of it, other stuff is not really for me I think. Mixed feelings on this one

There was a time in my life when i refused to listen to AIC just bc i felt like id be betraying Nirvana (i know its childish and stupid, i was a stupid naive child ok??? leave me alone 😫) but i realised how dumb i was and fixed my relationship with them super quickly as they are actually fucking great. I don't know if i have the words to describe this album other than it being very bleak and heartbreaking, one can understand what it is about even if they didn't bother reading the lyrics. So devastating that your journey had to end like this Layne, even though you knew how it would end. You truly were one of the greatest voices in grunge, RIP :(

Grunge är inte helt min grej. Kanske de klickar ordentligt nån dag. Bästa låten: Would?

"The 43-second 'Iron Gland' was developed out of a guitar riff that Cantrell would play that annoyed the other band members, so he created the song and promised to never play the guitar riff again."

Wow!!!!!

- That's grunge, all right.

Väldigt tråkig rock, snälla inte mer.

This has always been my favorite Grunge album!

Never was a huge AiC fan but Would, Hate to Feel and especially Rooster were very good tracks upon relisten. The rest not as much for me.

Hell yeah. Great grooves, grungey vibes and the way he sings them bOnes! Plus the Rob Zombie ass verse somewhere in the middle (was it sickman?). Loved it, a name I've always felt I should check out bever did - until today!

Definitely more accessible/commercial than I was expecting, and since grunge is really not my favorite genre that means it was better than I was expecting as well... 5/10

Not a nice dude but what an epic journey

This is a solid album. Sickman is a deepcut that deserves more recognition.

I don’t like heavy metal

Solid hard rock without a real miss on the album, although not to the level of a 5-star record. Everything is sequenced well, there's good guitar work, and while the songs can get a little drawn out everything still feels well-paced.

I’ve listened to this album 1001 times when I was a teenager.

One of the best grunge albums of all time and one of the best albums of the 90s. It’s really a shame everything that happened with the band and Layne Staley. I would have loved to see how the transitioned into the 2000s. This album has so many great tracks. “Rooster” and “Would?” are two of the best grunge songs of all time, and the whole album is full of standout tracks. Some of the tracks drag a bit, but that’s just me being extra picky. Overall Dirt is an amazing album and deserves its place on this list.

This record is filled with heavy guitar riffs, solid vocals, and cool solos. Many of the songs go on for too long though, and there’s quite a lot of repetition.

Had never knowingly listened before and I have to admit I enjoyed! A great Monday album to get you going. Reading the accompanying notes, it seems they are a lot bigger than I imagined and the album seems pretty well crafted. A strong 3+

One of the top three grunge albums. Sludgy as mud and heavy as steel from start to finish. After listening to Dirt I feel like I have been digging pits in the Seattle sun all day and now badly need a fix. Dirt is one of the best albums of the 90s, period. 4.7/5

Grata sorpresa, pensé que no me iba a gustar para nada pero de hecho no está tan mal, me da vibras todo el álbum en general de canciones que escucharía en guitar hero. Realmente no es un mal álbum, solo no es para mí en lo personal. Canción favorita: Rooster Calificación: 5.0

Love it!

Bit of a fan back in the day! Maybe not stood the test of time all that well, but there's a handful of great tunes on there.

This…has not aged as well for me as I would have liked. That said, there are still four or five really great songs that don’t just make me say, “ugh, boring old grunge” in my head. That doesn’t really sound very complimentary, but Alice In Chains is pretty much the only grunge band I’ve ever been able to listen to at all, so that’s saying…something, right? 3/5

Grungy. They were never my faves from the era, but a good listen.

Angry, raw, pure grunge. I like every song on this album, but these stand out even more: Dirt Rooster Would? Dam That River Angry Chair If someone who has never heard grunge before asked you what it is, you'd have them listen to this album and Soundgarden's Badmotorfinger as the best examples of the genre. 5/5

If you've ever spent time in a crossfit gym, you've likely heard this album ad nauseum. Them Bones was I swear the theme song of my high school gym. The actual album is well done. Songwriting is pretty great. The sound design and mastering is well done. One of the better early grunge albums, and it did a great job setting the stage for some also great rock albums in the 90s.

Middle school classic for me. I’ve grown to appreciate the lyrics and atmosphere a lot more, though I usually only finding myself coming back to 2-3 songs regularly. As an album, this is a very energetic yet draining experience. The bright and electric surface quickly gives way to a dark core. The range of feelings expressed go from deep depression, addiction, desperation, elation, shame, movement, sorrow, spite, to bitter acceptance. Great structure beginning to end. Wild and psychedelic guitar work with some of the most brutal and human vocal performances of all time. Great gateway into the darker sides of grunge and alt rock.

Decent but forgettable

It was good, but knowing that Eloïse hated it made it great.

Legendary album - easy 5 star. RIP Layne <3

7/10 Consistent, great listen, but missing stand out songs. Highlights: Them Bones Would Sickman Rooster

not my style

I don't know if it has to be this depressing, but then I think about bands like iron maiden and their themes and... yeah I prefer darkness, ok. Down in a hole is a long time favourite.

Not my style but much appreciated after several albums without many lyrics or depth. Very dark

While some of the off songs aren’t awesome, this album contains 4-5 monster heavy grunge tunes. For that it earns a 4.

Some cool riffs, but the vocals have too much of that twang for my liking 2.5

I’m a massive Nirvana fan so you’d think I’d have checked out the other grunge bands making waves in the 90s. I know a little bit of Pearl Jam and one Soundgarden song but never listened to AIC before. They sound great and I can’t believe I’ve never checked them out. They’re a great mix of Nirvana and Pearl Jam and I’m a new fan! This was a really great listen, some really interesting lyrics and some great grunge sound!

The only compelling thing about this album is the harmonized vocals and that’s only because they make Staley’s vocal affectations slightly less annoying. Hard to believe this stuff was so mainstream in the 90s. If this were released today it would be a niche thing wallowing in obscurity.

FUCK YES IVE BEEN ON AN AIC KICK FOR THE LAST MONTH. KICK ASS.

Down the hole song was kinda fun :D I'll give you a 3

At some point I was a bassist in a band that tried to emulate the MTV unplugged songs of AiC, including a heavily addicted guitarist and a permanently heartbroken singer. Those were the days.

Mhmm expected a bit more tbh

The energy I need to start my day

Felt like high school, because it was. It’s good. Nothing stand out to me.

Likes it more than I thought I would

Tough riffs, lots of fun. You can see why they're one of *the* nineties bands.

3.37⭐️

suprisingly great album, as someone who does not listen metal on a regular basis this was quite enjoyable. Melodically the album made sense and the vocals were really well fit for the songs and themes. The power was excellent and was very fitting for the tackled issues. Overall the album was great to jam out to, but had a level of consciousness that also made it relevant. Favorite track: Dam the river. Overall score: 7.6/10

This is what I call sludge rock. I don’t know what the classification really is but to me, this is it. The guitars are heavy driving, they sound almost muddled but it works. Vocally Layne had a distinct voice and he knew how to use it. His voice just suits the music. Or it’s the other way around, either way, it works. Don’t listen to this if you want to be happy. At the same time, this isn’t an acoustic guitar playing under vocals that scream suicide and despair. It’s just a heavy album. If you value rock/alternative you will value this. Choice cut: Rain When I Die

One of my favorite grunge era albums already! Didn't have to listen again but I did anyways

3 stars. It was alright, just a decent metal album. Could’ve even gave this a two

Dad rock to the max. Like, I literally think my dad likes this music. Mix is great though, let's be real. But I'm feeling butt rock vibes right now. I may even move my own butt. Help...

Not something I’d listened to before and probably won’t again, however, appreciate it is a decent body of work and some songs I’ll put on again such as Rooster and Would

Self indulgent guitar on this. Just not my cup of tea.

Not my bag at all I’m afraid.

Enjoyed this one, took me back to my teenage years where I loved listening to this sort of stuff

Really didn’t get on with this album. It’s felt relentlessly samey and far too long. Something about the production of the vocals and drums left me cold. The music sounds like some 80’s metal and the vocals are grungy but annoying and I found this really jarring.

I like this type of music but this didn’t do a lot for me. There was no stand out moment.

One of the best metal albums ever. Easy full marks

Dirt has a heavy, raw sound that I mostly enjoyed. For me the standout tracks were Them Bones, Rooster and Would

Juvenile era praise doesn‘t cover up the juvenile and mostly cringy style of this grunge outfit many consider being oh so influential. „would?“ is a great power move but the rest just a hard path to walk down.

Awesome grungy sound, reminds me of the Soundgarden album I had earlier, but dirtier and raspier. Not quite as good but still just about a 5.

classic 90s album, sound, and rocking for my tastes

4/5

Started quite strong but quickly lost my interest. Nirvana was always able to keep me listening with their quiet to loud acoustics and some kind of pop hook or riff to stay anchored by, two concepts borrowed lovingly from Pixies. Here I find myself unable to get a grip on the music itself, and even if the lyrics are evocative, it's quite difficult to make head or tails out of them. I can understand why people enjoy this, but it's not for me. I'll take my grunge with more garage rock rather than metal. 14/01/25

be for real, I got this shit memorized

Fattar varför folk gillar det men nä, inte för mig.

Var overrasket over hvor mange sanger jeg har hørt før her! Det er mye digge tunge riff her. Aller kulest er det når det er skikkelig seigt og treigt, som på Dirt og Hate to Feel. Nesten en sludge/doom metal type greie. Det jeg ikke liker er sikkert det mange grudge-fans digger: hele greia virker skrevet og sunget av en skikkelig sint, deprimert drittsekk. Vil ikke ha den negative auraen i livet mitt

Don’t like nearly as much as their contemporaries, some good moments tho.

Back in the 20th century, when record companies roamed the earth and influenced music trends, there would be a cyclical nature to the "next new thing" - a different sounding artist or genre would emerge, and the labels would plunder the land to find "their" version of whatever the trend dictated. This was not more explicitly demonstrated in the aftermath of the early 90s grunge revolution. Suddenly you couldn't swing a cat and not hit a band draped in flannel, with dark themes and darker guitar grooves. Alice In Chains was one of those bands who benefited to great success. Hearing Dirt now, 33 years after its release, it's easy to fall into the nostalgia of the era and praise their music more than it ultimately deserves. That said, its the quieter moments that hold up the strongest, in particularly "Rooster" and "Would?"

Some of it's great, but ultimately, it's all really dark and depressing. And while absolutely a distinctive sound, there's not a ton of variation track to track. A whole album is not good for my brain.

Classic. Such a good album.

First time listener, probably last too I’m afraid. A difficult one to listen to (for me), though probably made worse by reading a short bio of the band’s history, plus the on/off reading of the lyrics of some of these songs. Em, it’s all dark, no light. Please send me a pallet cleanser tomorrow.

3.7 liked it more than i expected i would. them bones is pretty great. would return for a few songs

A little disappointing, to be honest. Not as diverse as I’d like.

Me aburrí como nunca. Si bien sus temas son sólidos, no sólo estoy en la antípodas de este rock si no que en general los temas son muy similares. Nota: 2.1

Dark, heavy, badass, angry. Bone crushing guitar work, awesome vocals, really cool use of vocal harmonies to darken the sound even more.

Tytuł albumu jest jednocześnie wyrazem jego jakości. Ten album został wydany w takim dziwnym momencie, że w połowie są to już popłuczyny po jakości metalu lat osiemdziesiątych, a jednocześnie jeszcze nie wyrobili w brzmieniu tego, co było fajne w latach 90-tych ("Rage Against The Machine" jest z tego samego roku, "Nevermind" z poprzedniego, więc dało się już wtedy zrobić coś serio dobrego). Płaskie brzmienie, prostackie teksty (liczba tych oh i yeah...), ogólnie nudy na pudy. Mam wrażenie, że wokalista Godsmack się inspirował estetyką Alice in Chains, ale wyszło mu to milion razy lepiej. Solówki gitarowe na tym albumie brzmią jak ćwiczenia dla początkujących "Moja pierwsza solówka". Myślałem nad 2, ale puściłem sobie jeszcze single z tego albumu podczas pisania tej recenzji i chuj mnie strzela.

Today I was at the gym where I listened to overproduced pop music and watched uninteresting music videos posing as something crazy or controversial. Then I listen to THIS. This album is fucking dirty, drag-me-through-the-mud dirty. For me it's my one-sided love story where I fell for homeless hobo obsessed with heroin. I see future nights full of anger, self-destructive whispers and dreams of heating spoons full of delicious, delicious heroin.

Abum, który z każdą nutą zagłębia się w mroczne zakamarki ludzkiego umysłu. Alice in Chains stworzyli dzieło surowe i szczere, balansujące między grunge’owym ciężarem a duszną introspekcją. Ciężko nie czuć uwięzienia w przerażających warunkach, nad którymi nie ma się kontroli - czy to przez wojnę czy ciężkie dragi. Od pierwszych dźwięków czuć intensywność i desperację – zarówno w warstwie tekstowej, jak i muzycznej. "Down in a Hole", jeden z najbardziej przejmujących momentów albumu, to intymne wyznanie o bólu i samotności. Akustyczne aranżacje dodają utworowi melancholijnej głębi, a jednocześnie kontrastują z cięższymi fragmentami płyty. W "Hate to Feel", zespół nurkuje w chaos i autodestrukcję, a Staley eksploruje swoją walkę z uzależnieniem. Dziwaczna, niepokojąca struktura utworu – zmieniające się tempo i nieprzewidywalna dynamika – idealnie oddaje rozdarcie wewnętrzne, o którym opowiada tekst. "Rooster" to monumentalny utwór – opowieść o traumie wojennej, oparta na osobistych doświadczeniach ojca Jerry’ego Cantrella. Porywająca melodia i mocne, emocjonalne wokale Staleya sprawiają, że utwór brzmi jak hymn o przetrwaniu w obliczu cierpienia. Gitary Jerry’ego Cantrella(który napisał tekst do Rooster - to o jego starym) są ciężkie, ale nigdy nie dominują, pozostawiając przestrzeń na harmonię i wokale, które stanowią centralny punkt całej płyty. Muzyczna podróż pełna mroku, niesie w sobie także element oczyszczenia i akceptacji. 4/5

riff me up

Total pleasant surprise for me! Personally I did not know the band, didn't even ring a bell. Very enjoyable.

Lo bueno si breve dos veces bueno. Aquest és l'única virtut que té, que és curt. ELR: 2/5

Really not for me, dull and every song sounds the same.

I have not listened to Alice in Chains before and couldn't name a single song from them. The album sounded like a decent metal album and quite accessible actually even for non-metal fans. Maybe it was a little bit "all too similar" as I struggle to point out any specific tracks after listening to it.

Perfect grunge record from the best grunge band to come out of the 90's! I loved every bit of it and I come back to it very often. I always felt that Alice In Chains embodied the essence of grunge the best out of the bands that made the genre famous, and this album is by far their best.

I liked this album, a lot.

I've always liked Alice In Chains, but damn. This album made me a fan.

There are some great uses of alternative time signatures on this album. There's great musicianship on Dirt too. Jerry Cantrell stands out on guitar (and the drummer's good too). Although I do appreciate this Alice In Chains album, I'm just not into it.

They have a unique sound, you know that it is Staley singing and Cantrell has a distinct sound. It is also much more metal and stands out from the other Seattle music at this time. Them Bones had a cool guitar riff and I liked the voice distortion on God Smack. Sickman's chorus was cool, but not cohesive with the verses. While overall they have a different sound, every song sort of sounded the same. It just felt like one big song that didn't really go anywhere else. By the end I wanted something more or different, something to break it up and show depth or range. Hate to Feel and Would? almost did that...but they were just too little too late.

I was never a big Alice In Chains fan. 30 years later, my opinion hasn't changed. The music is fine and the guitar work is interesting but overall the lyrics are just too damn depressing for me to get into.

I’ve had this CD since the 90’s. I know and love so many of these songs. “Them Bones”, “Dam That River”, “Down In A Hole”, “Rooster” “Angry Chair” and “Would?” are all top tier from the era and have aged remarkably well. It’s a pure distillation of grunge. This album is great on its own, but next to the titan records from their contemporaries (Pearl Jam “Ten”, Nirvana “Nevermind”, Soundgarden “Superunknown”, STP “Purple”) it’s not an all time classic to me. That doesn’t really matter though since no other band from their group sounds anything like them.