Alice in Chains

Alice in Chains is the third studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on November 7, 1995, by Columbia Records, and was the follow-up to the highly successful Dirt (1992). This is the band's first full-length studio album to feature bassist Mike Inez and their last studio album to feature original lead vocalist Layne Staley (who died in 2002). As with their previous releases, the album's songs focus on heavy emotional content and subject matter such as drug addiction, depression, religion, broken relationships, and the internal tensions within the band. The album's music relies less on metallic riffs and more on melody and texturally varied arrangements, integrating some of the more delicate acoustic moods of their EPs. Alice in Chains debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 189,000 copies, and stayed on the chart for 46 weeks. The tracks "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Again" were released as singles. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and has sold over three million copies worldwide. Background and recording After the release of Jar of Flies, vocalist Layne Staley entered rehab for heroin addiction. The band had been scheduled to tour during the summer of 1994 with Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies, Danzig and Fight, but while in rehearsal for the tour, Staley began using heroin again. Staley's condition prompted the other band members to cancel all scheduled dates one day before the start of the tour, putting the band on hiatus. They were replaced by Candlebox on the tour. While Alice in Chains was on hiatus, Staley joined the "grunge supergroup" Mad Season, while guitarist Jerry Cantrell worked on material originally intended for a solo album. In January 1995, Cantrell, bassist Mike Inez and drummer Sean Kinney began jamming on Cantrell's material. In the spring of 1995, Staley was invited back to join the band. Staley said that "we started to split apart and went different ways, and we felt like we were betraying each other."