Wood recently succumbed to a fatal heroin OD,) or even the never-released closer “The Killer is Me,” which covers familiar Alice in Chains territory of ‘I know I’m killing myself with heroin. We aren’t here to celebrate the heart-wrenching moments in “Frogs,” “Would?,” (written for Staley’s friend Andrew Wood, of Mother Love Bone, a band who would evolve into Pearl Jam. We, however, aren’t here to celebrate the juggernaut that is “Nutshell,” though it deserves every accolade it has received.

Somewhere between his diaphragm and otherworldly vibrato lies the answer that was only 40 minutes ago the talk of the queue outside the venue – despite his gray complexion and emaciated physique, he is still a towering force of vocal talent, skill, and timing. Staley, in a feat of intuitive timing, walks straight to his seat and mic only ¼ barre before bellowing the opening vocals with effortless yet almighty power. The moment arrives and the band members occupy the stage, led by guitarist Jerry Cantrell, who launches into opener “Nutshell” as the others file in. 874 people (including all four members of Metallica, seated in the front row) are undoubtedly hedging their expectations as they eagerly rest on the edge of their seats. This all changes tonight with the newest installment of the MTV Unplugged concert series.

The culprit? Mental illness in the form of crippling heroin addiction which has plagued and commandeered iconic, beloved vocalist Layne Staley.

“How do you think he’ll sound?” It has, after all, been almost three years since anybody has heard or seen Alice in Chains perform live.ĭespite their latest release, 1994’s Jar of Flies (Columbia Records) ascending to number 1 on the Billboard top 200 chart, there has been no touring, no full-band interviews, no press. As the lineup of anxiously excited fans gather outside of the Brooklyn Academy of Music, the conversations are all undoubtedly similar. Dirt is kind of scattershot, but it has more good songs than bad and several of their biggest hits.April 10, 1996. Their self-titled album has studio versions of Heaven Beside You and Over Now and is a pretty solid album in its own right. It's a weird joke and not really funny, but it's also a very honest moment between friends having a laugh.įurther Listening: Jar Of Flies is the studio almost-an-album where they messed around with writing almost exclusively on acoustic guitars, and it produced two incredible songs: I Stay Away and No Excuses. Bassist Mike Inez played a few bars of Enter Sandman which Staley introduced as an L.L. Metallica were in the audience and had just cut their hair short, so the band poked fun at them. The vocals on the chorus of Heaven Beside You sound out of key, and the guitar solo just doesn't land right. And then there are the little improvisational moments, like Cantrell riffing before they play their last song. It's not captured on the album, but if you watch the DVD of the concert, they stop Sludge Factory and start it over because Staley flubs a lyric. The performance is rough, but there's an honesty to it that I find compelling. Songs like Over Now, Down In A Hole, and Rooster really benefit from this rendering. Hearing these songs rendered acoustically takes away the buzzing vocals and crunching guitars and strips the songs down to their core melodic elements and simple Staley/Cantrell harmonies.

Their sound was defined by the way Staley's nasal vocals were layered over top of each other and against Cantrell's throaty baritone. I love Alice In Chains, and part of what I love about this album is that it is part greatest hits collection, part heavy metal deconstruction, and part swan song for Layne Staley. Writer and co-singer Jerry Cantrell would start a successful solo career, and the band would reform with new singer William DuVall in 2006. They would put on their last performance with Staley in July of that year, after which he would disappear into his addiction and eventually die of an overdose in 2002. This performance was recorded in April of 1996. They'd broken up for six months and been plagued by singer Layne Staley's heroin habit. 1995 had seen the release of Alice In Chains, but they didn't do anything else that year. They hadn't performed in 2 and a half years. Alice In Chains had pretty much run their course when they put on this concert.

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