Layne Staley’s primal, high-pitched screams between the verses are paramount to setting the apocalyptic atmosphere of that song. It’s perhaps the heaviest song in their entire discography. Is Dirt overrated, underrated or properly rated in Alice in Chains’ legacy? Let’s reexamine this dark, unsettling piece of rock history together.ĭirt’s ferocious opening track Them Bones is a statement of intent, featuring Jerry Cantrell’s walloping guitar riff and hollow, sarcastic lyrics about confronting mortality. It’s often a second favorite, but rarely a first choice. But Dirt bizarrely divides fans into two camps: those who believe Alice in Chains was better without drugs, who enjoy the free flowing Faceliftbetter and those who believe they were better WITH drugs, who enjoy the more somber and elegiac self-titled successor to Dirt. It is their quintessential record, which conveys their brand of sludgy, tormented heavy metal and their themes of frustration, powerlessness and melancholy best. Ask any rock fan to name you an Alice in Chains record and the first answer will most likely be Dirt *.

Alice in chains dirt album photos