  Alice In Chains, hailing from
Washington, began with the 4some: Layne
Staley on lead vocals, Jerry Cantrell on
guitar, Sean Kinney on drums, and Mike Starr
on bass. Alice In Chains found success with
the music scene as 'grunge' music began to
take hold in the early 1990s with many
'Seattle bands' hitting the airwaves. Much of
the lyrics sang by the band would often focus
on death and drugs.
Having signed with Columbia
Records, Alice In Chains released the EP - We
Die Young.
 Alice In Chains released Facelift.
Alice In Chains toured with Iggy
Pop.
Alice In Chains were nominated
for a Grammy Award for Best Heavy Metal
Performance.
Alice In Chains began touring
with Megadeth in Europe.
Alice In Chains toured with the
'Clash of the Titans' package tour along with
Anthrax, Megadeth,
and Slayer.
 The band began touring as Van
Halen's opening act for the remainder
of the year.
Facelift was certified gold.
The video for "Man
In The Box" was nominated for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Heavy Metal/Hard Rock Video.
 Alice In Chains released the EP
- Sap.
Alice In Chains had hits during
the year on rock and alternative radio with
"Man In The Box" and "Sea Of
Sorrow."
Alice In Chains were nominated
for an American Music
Award for Favorite New Heavy Metal/Hard
Rock Artist.
Alice In Chains were nominated
for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance ("Man In The
Box").
Alice In Chains could be heard
on the soundtrack for Singles with
"Would?" The band also appeared in
the Cameron Crowe film.
 Alice In Chains released Dirt and it became the
band's first Top 10 LP.
Alice In Chains began opening
for Ozzy Osbourne's tour. Layne broke
his foot but continued with concert dates.
Dirt was certified
platinum.
Alice In Chains had hits during
the year on rock and alternative radio with
"Would?" and "Them
Bones."
 # 143
Singles Artist of the Year
Mike Inez replaced Mike Starr on
bass.
Alice In Chains were nominated
for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance (Dirt).
 Alice In Chains took part in the
Lollapalooza package tour.
Alice In Chains could be heard
on the soundtrack for The
Last Action Hero with the tracks
"What The Hell Have I" and "A
Little Bitter."
Facelift was certified
platinum.
Alice In Chains won a MTV Video Music Award for Best Video from a Film ("Would?").
Dirt was certified 2x
platinum.
 Alice In Chains had hits during
the year on rock and alternative radio with
"Rooster," "Angry Chair,"
"What The Hell Have I," and
"Down In A Hole."
 # 121
Singles Artist of the Year
Alice In Chains released the EP
- Jar
Of Flies.
Sap was certified gold.
Jar
Of Flies topped the Billboard Pop Albums
chart for a week.
Jar
Of Flies was certified platinum.
Alice In Chains hit the Top 40
with "No Excuses."
Alice In Chains topped
the Billboard Album Rock Tracks chart for 2
weeks with "No Excuses."
Turmoil hit the band when
Cantrell and Kinney quit over Staley's
alleged drug problems. The band is forced to
pull out of touring with Metallica a day before opening
night.
Alice In Chains hit radio
airwaves during the year with "I Stay
Away" and "Don't Follow."
Dirt was certified 3x
platinum.
 Alice In Chains topped the
Billboard Rock Tracks chart with "No Excuses" for 2 weeks.
Staley teamed up with members of
Pearl
Jam (Mike McCready) and Screaming
Trees (John Baker Saunders and
Barrett Martin) to form Mad Season
and released the LP, Above.
Alice In Chains regrouped again
to record new material.
Jar
Of Flies was certified 2x platinum.
 Alice In Chains released Alice
In Chains.
Alice
In Chains topped the Billboard
Pop Albums chart for a week.
Alice In Chains hit radio
airwaves during the year with "Got Me
Wrong" and "Grind."
 # 179
Singles Artist of the Year
Alice
In Chains was certified platinum.
Staley appeared on the cover of Rolling
Stone. He talked in the magazine about
drugs: "I wrote about drugs and I didn't
think I was being unsafe or careless by
writing about them. Here's how my thinking
pattern went: When I tried drugs, they
were... great and they worked for me for
years, and now they're turning against me...
and now I'm walking through hell, and this
sucks."
Alice In Chains were nominated
for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance ("Grind").
Alice In Chains taped their
performance of MTV
Unplugged in New York City.
 Cantrell could be heard
with the track "Leave Me Alone" on
the soundtrack for The
Cable Guy.
Alice In Chains opened for Kiss.
 Alice In Chains released MTV
Unplugged.
MTV
Unplugged was certified platinum.
Alice In Chains were nominated
for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Hard Rock Video ("Again").
Staley's girlfriend died of a
reported drug overdose.
Alice In Chains hit radio
airwaves during the year with "Heaven
Beside You," "Again," and the
unplugged versions of "Over Now"
and "Would?"
By year's end, Alice In Chains
had broken up.
Alice In Chains were nominated
for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance ("Again.").
 Alice
In Chains and Facelift were certified 2x
platinum.
Cantrell released a solo LP - Boggy
Depot.
 Alice In Chains released Nothing's
Safe: The Best Of The Box.
Nothing's
Safe: The Best Of The Box was certified gold.
Alice In Chains released the box
set with additional enhanced CD - Music
Bank.
 Alice In Chains could be heard
with the tracks "Get Born Again"
and "Fear The Voices."
Alice In Chains
were nominated for a Grammy Awards for Best Hard Rock Performance ("Get Born
Again").
Dirt was certified 4x
platinum.
 Alice In Chains ranked # 34 on VH1: 100
Greatest Artists of Hard Rock.
Alice In Chains released Live - a collection of
tracks recorded in the early 1990s. A live
version of "Man In The Box" hit the
airwaves.
 Alice In Chains released Alice
In Chain's Greatest Hits.
April 19: Layne Staley was
found dead in Seattle at the age of 34. It
was believed that the death was related to a
drug overdose and the day of Staley's death
was unclear. The remaining members of the
group issued a statement a few days after
Staley's death: "On April 19, 2002, our
friend Layne Staley was found dead in his
home. The official cause of death is still
unknown. Yesterday, we all managed to come
together in Seattle; it's good to be with
friends and family as we struggle to deal
with this immense loss … and try to
celebrate this immense life. We are looking
for all the usual things: comfort, purpose,
answers, something to hold on to, a way to
let him go in peace. Mostly, we are feeling
heartbroken over the death of our beautiful
friend. He was a sweet man with a keen sense
of humor and a deep sense of humanity. He was
an amazing musician and an inspiration and
comfort to so many. He made great music and
gifted it to the world. We are proud to have
known him, to be his friend, and to create
music with him. Layne struggled greatly for
the past decade. We can only hope that he has
at last found some peace. We love you, Layne.
Dearly. And we will miss you …
endlessly."
Staley's death was officially
confirmed to be a drug overdose from heroin
and cocaine - injected as what is know as a
'speedball.' Although his body wasn't found
for 2 weeks, Staley's death date was
determined to be April 5th.
 Jerry Cantrell released his 2nd
solo LP - Degradation
Trip.
The book Layne
Staley: Angry Chair - A Look Inside The Heart
And Soul Of An Incredible Musician by Adriana Rubio was
released and included Staley's last interview
along with his sketches and diary entries.
Alice
In Chain's Greatest Hits was certified gold.
 Nothing's
Safe: The Best Of The Box was certified
platinum.
VH1: 100
Greatest Songs of the 90's included "Man In
The Box" at # 50.
Alice In Chains topped the
Billboard Top Rock Songs chart with
"Check My Brain."
Alice In Chains reunited with a
new lead singer, William DuVall, for the LP
Black
Gives Way To Blue.
Alice In Chains was nominated
for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance ("Check My
Brain").
Alice In Chains topped the
Billboard Top Rock Songs chart with
"Your Decision."
Black
Gives Way To Blue was certified gold.
 Alice In Chains were nominated
for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance ("A Looking In
View").
Alice In Chains released The
Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.
Alice In Chains topped the
Billboard Rock Albums chart, Alternative
Albums chart, and Hard Rock Albums chart with
The
Devil Put Dinosaurs Here.
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Facelift
Released: August 24, 1990
US: 3x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 42
Tracks: "We Die
Young" - "Man In The Box"
- "Sea Of Sorrow" - "Bleed
The Freak" - "I Can't
Remember" - "Love, Hate,
Love" - "It Ain't Like
That" - "Sunshine" -
"Put You Down" -
"Confusion" - "I Know
Something (About You)" - "Real
Thing" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Sap (EP)
Released: February, 1992
US: Gold
Tracks:
"Brother" - "Got Me
Wrong" - "Right Turn" -
"Am I Inside" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Dirt
Released: September 25,
1992
US: 4x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 6
Tracks: "Them
Bones" - "Dam That River"
- "Rain When I Die" -
"Down In A Hole" -
"Sikman" - "Rooster"
- "Junkhead" - "Dirt"
- "God Smack" -
"(Untitled)" - "Hate To
Feel" - "Angry Chair" -
"Would?" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Jar Of Flies (EP)
Released: January 14, 1994
US: 4x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 1 (for 1 week)
Rolling Stone
review: 
Tracks: "Rotten
Apple" - "Nutshell" -
"I Stay Away" - "No Excuses" -
"Whale And Wasp" - "Don't
Follow" - "Swing On This" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Alice In Chains
Released: November, 1995
US: 2x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 1 (for 1 week)
Rolling Stone
review:
Tracks: "Grind"
- "Brush Away" - "Sludge
Factory" - "Heaven Beside
You" - "Head Creeps" -
"Again" - "Shame In
You" - "God Am" - "So
Close" - "Nothin' Song" -
"Frogs" - "Over Now" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
MTV Unplugged
Released: July 17, 1996
US: 2x Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 3
Rolling Stone
review: 
Live Tracks:
"Nutshell" -
"Brother" - "No Excuses" -
"Sludge Factory" - "Down
In A Hole" - "Angry Chair"
- "Rooster" - "Got Me
Wrong" - "Heaven Beside
You" - "Would?" -
"Frogs" - "Over Now"
- "Killer Is Me" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Nothing's Safe: The Best
Of The Box
Released: June, 1999
US: Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 20
Tracks: "Get Born
Again" - "We Die Young" -
"Man In The Box" - "Them
Bones" - "Iron Gland" -
"Angry Chair" - "Down In A
Hole" - "Rooster" -
"Got Me Wrong" - "No Excuses" - "I
Stay Away" - "What The Hell
Have I" - "Grind" -
"Again" - "Would?" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Music Bank
Released: October, 1999
Billboard
peak:
# 123
Tracks: "Get Born
Again" - "I Can't Have You
Blues" (Demo) - "Whatcha Gonna
Do" (Demo) - "Social
Parasite" (Demo) - "Queen Of
The Rodeo" (Live) - "Bleed The
Freak" (Demo) - "Killing
Yourself" (Demo) - "We Die
Young" - "Man In The Box"
- "Sea Of Sorrow" (Demo) -
"I Can't Remember" -
"Love, Hate, Love" - "It
Ain't Like That" -
"Confusion" -
"Rooster" (Demo) - "Right
Turn" - "Got Me Wrong" -
"Rain When I Die" - "Fear
The Voices" - "Them Bones"
- "Dam That River" -
"Sickman" - "Rooster"
- "Junkhead" (Demo) -
"Dirt" - "God Smack"
- "Iron Gland" - "Angry
Chair" - "Lying Season" -
"Would?" - "Brother"
- "Am I Inside" - "I Stay
Away" - "No Excuses" - "Down
In A Hole" - "Hate To
Feel" - "What The Hell Have
I" (Remix) - "A Little
Bitter" (Remix) - "Grind"
- "Again" (Tattoo Of Pain Mix)
- "Head Creeps" - "God
Am" - "Frogs" -
"Heaven Beside You" -
"Nutshell" (unplugged) -
"The Killer Is Me" (unplugged)
- "Over Now" (unplugged) -
"Died" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Live
Released: December, 2000
Billboard
peak:
# 142
Live Tracks: "Bleed The
Freak" - "Queen Of The
Rodeo" - "Angry Chair" -
"Man In The Box" - "Love,
Hate, Love" - "Rooster" -
"Would?" - "Junkhead"
- "Dirt" - "Them
Bones" - "God Am" -
"Again" - "A Little
Bitter" - "Dam That River"
|
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Alice In Chain's
Greatest Hits
Released: July, 2001
US: Platinum
Billboard
peak:
# 112
Tracks: "Man In The
Box" - "Them Bones" -
"Rooster" - "Angry
Chair" - "Would?" - "No Excuses" - "I
Stay Away" - "Grind" -
"Heaven Beside You" -
"Again" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
Black Gives Way To Blue
Released: September, 2009
US: Gold
Billboard
peak:
# 5
Rolling Stone: 
Tracks: "All Secrets
Known" - "Check My Brain"
- "Last Of My Kind" -
"Your Decision" - "A
Looking In View" - "When The
Sun Rose Again" - "Acid
Bubble" - "Lesson Learned"
- "Take Her Out" -
"Private Hell" - "Black
Gives Way To Blue" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3 |
The Devil Put Dinosaurs
Here
Released: March 28, 2013
Billboard
peak:
# 2
Tracks:
"Hollow" - "Pretty
Done" - "Stone" -
"Voices" - "The Devil Put
Dinosaurs Here" - "Lab
Monkey" - "Low Ceiling" -
"Breath On A Window" -
"Scalpel" - "Phantom
Limb" - "Hung On A Hook" -
"Choke" |
iTunes
Amazon.mp3
vinyl |
Rainier Fog
Released: August 24, 2018
Billboard
peak:
# 12
Grammy Nominee: Best Rock Album
Tracks: "The One You
Know" - "Rainier Fog" -
"Red Giant" - "Fly" -
"Drone" - "Deaf Ears Blind
Eyes" - "Maybe" - "So
Far Under" - "Never Fade"
- "All I Am" |
| Note: Song title and
position links lead you to the song's Top
40 chart run (from the ARC Weekly Top
40)
and LP links take you to Amazon.com's page for that LP
(often including track listings and sound
samples). |
|
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