This week I’m heading back to 1992 and digging up one of the most revered albums of the period.

Alice In Chains – Dirt

Released September 29, 1992 via Columbia Records

Alice In Chains were the first of the grunge bands to hit the scene in a big way in 1990. By 1992, the “Seattle sound” had taken over national airwaves and a new era of rock music was underway. This was the environment AiC found themselves in while recording their second album.

Dirt was recorded with the same line-up as Facelift – Layne Stayley on vocals, Jerry Cantrell on guitar and vocals, Mike Starr on bass and Sean Kinney on drums. The album was produced by Dave Jerden, also producer for Facelift.

This is one very dark record, with tales of drug abuse and mortality. While each big grunge act was set against a particular kind of rock that helped shape their sounds, Alice In Chains had heavy metal in their blood and were always a downcast lot. Layne Stayle’s personal demons also went a long way to informing the music of AiC, as several of the songs here form a mini-story of an addicted person crashing all the way.

Dirt comes in with a lofty 13 tracks at a runtime of 57:37. Some early pressings of the album had the track Down In A Hole as the 12^th song, while most versions have it in the band’s preferred sequence at number 4. The album saw 5 single releases, all of which charted on the US Mainstream Rock charts and the UK Charts. Note that the band never actually charted on the Billboard Hot 100 until 2009, an odd fact that I wasn’t aware of until just now. This is at least what I could find while looking, it could possibly be incorrect information.

Them Bones

The album opens with a sick, heavy riff with Stayley reflecting on mortality over it. The song is a fatalistic look at how we’re all going to wind up a pile of bones, no matter what. The monstrous riff and Stayley occasionally yelling out suddenly add a creepy feel to the proceedings.

Grade: A

Dam That River

This one is heavy and more fast-paced, conventional rocker. The song was apparently written about a fight that Sean Kinney and Jerry Cantrell had – Kinney smashed a table over Cantrell’s head and the blood flow was such that “you couldn’t dam that river.” It’s kind of amazing that they kept together and also wrote a song about it. Grade: A-

Rain When I Die

This has a very nice, funky and creepy guitar running through it. The lyrics are a lament of a relationship not gone right and may have been composed based on experiences from both Stayley and Cantrell. The title “rain when I die” invokes various old cultural customs that it should rain when someone dies to cleanse everything still remaining. And yes, it did rain the day Layne Stayley died in 2002, which probably amounts to him having lived in Seattle where it rains all the time. Grade: A

Down In A Hole

This magnificent ballad that just drips in misery was crafted by Cantrell about his girlfriend at the time. I won’t get too heavy into it as I discussed this song in the past here. It is my favorite AiC song and one of my favorite songs of all time from anyone. Also, the name of the old series where I covered it was called S-Tier Songs, so the grade should be obvious. Grade: S

Sickman

This is one of several songs owing to drug addiction, which Layne Stayley would live in the grip of for the remainder of his life. Stayley asked Cantrell to write the sickest and darkest thing he could for this song, and the lyrics deal with someone who is totally aware they are messed up but are unable to fight their own thoughts and do anything about it. Grade: A-

Rooster

Up next is probably the most well-known song from the album. Cantrell wrote this about his father’s time in the Vietnam War. It is a harrowing tale of being stuck fighting a war no one wanted in the jungle of a hot, tropical land against a ruthless enemy. The song is fantastically done and maintains a tradition across generations of musicians speaking out about this war. Grade: A+

Junkhead

This one slows things down with a bit of a groovy doom-crawl. It brings the point home that it’s very tough to understand the mind of an addict, that many times it’s only another addict who can grasp what’s really going on with someone. The outsider doesn’t experience the euphoria of the high and escape from the despair of reality that the addict does. Grade: B+

Dirt

The music is another twisted mire and the subject matter is devastating – this is someone at the bottom who doesn’t want to exist anymore. It is a very deep and disturbing jaunt through the mind of someone who seems totally gone. Grade: A-

God Smack

This has a few running riffs that Jerry Cantrell would use to great effect in both AiC and his solo career. The song is about heroin, the term “god smack” refers to a heroin overdose. The music along with the willing descent of someone into addiction is like a dark circus trip. Grade: B+

Untitled (or ‘Iron Gland’)

This brief interlude was something Cantrell used to mess around with in rehearsal. It was mashed up in a small way with Black Sabbath’s Iron Man for a little fun. The few vocals here are provided by Tom Araya of Slayer. Grade: B

Hate To Feel

This is the first of two songs Layne Stayley wrote entirely on his own for Dirt. There are some interesting jumps from the quiet, buzzy verse to a noisy chorus. Here Stayley regrets even being able to feel – he knows he is an addict and is tired of the constant realization that he needs to get better, and is also sick of the judgment of outsiders who think he should “just stop,” as if it were that easy. Grade: A

Angry Chair

The other song composed by Stayley, this is a very, very dark and twisted song. This one is still about the grip of addiction, though it is couched in more abstract and metaphorical language. It is one wild ride and a very enjoyable cut. Grade: A+

Would?

The album’s closer is a tribute to Andrew Wood. He was the singer of Mother Love Bone and died of a heroin overdose in 1991. The song itself offers up a bit more bright atmosphere than the rest of the very dark record, though the lyrical fare is still an addict asking if he’s even alive or if he has already died and has left everyone behind. Grade: A+

Dirt would quickly become Alice In Chains’ magnum opus. The album hit the Billboard 200 at number 6. Its 30^th anniversary reissue would re-enter the same chart at number 9 in 2022. The record has been certified five times platinum in the US.

The band toured behind this album, playing all manner of shows alongside both rock and metal acts. This would mark the practical end of touring for Alice In Chains, despite releasing one more album and a celebrated MTV Unplugged set, the group would not get out on the road much in this original incarnation. Mike Starr would exit the band in 1993, replaced by Mike Inez.

But that wouldn’t matter as Dirt cemented a legacy as one of the best albums of the 1990’s. The five singles were in constant rotation on radio and MTV for years after release and are still found out and about today. While grunge was considered a reaction movement to the rock music of the time, Alice In Chains were a bridge act that made it very easy for metalheads to enjoy. AiC perfectly complimented the other alternative metal of the time, bringing in a uniquely creative scene that has yet to be replicated since.

Album Grade: A+

Dirt is a stone cold classic. The real pain of Layne Stayley’s addiction was mined for the most haunting and memorable song material. Jerry Cantrell provided a guitar masterclass in writing compelling riffs that both grab attention and work for the song. The album is harrowing in that both Stayley and Starr would lose their lives to addictions in 2002 and 2011 respectively, but it does not detract from the gift we were given with this masterpiece of a record.

For an explanation of the grading scale, head here.

For questions, comments or concerns, use the comment for below or head to my contact page.