First of all, God bless Layne Staley, in 1986 Layne Staley formed Alice in Chains and hell came behind them. Alice in Chains was my first taste of what the media dubbed “Grunge”, most fans of the genre never liked the label (or any label for that matter) and today the bands that remain from that time it really doesn’t apply, but I always liked it. It described to the dirty sound that the bands had, the…grungy guitar noise that goes straight into your soul.
Alice in Chains were a lot darker than the other bands that came out of Seattle, which is what attracted me to them. Layne Staley was an enigma, a mystery that no one standing outside looking in would ever be able to solve. Their music was depressing, inspiring and vigorous all rolled up in a musical ball. In 1990 they were everything I wanted a band to be, dark, stoned and with something to say. The album Dirt (along with a few other music oriented incidents) confirmed the way I saw the world, it was a dreary place loss filled place with little to offer anyone.
Obviously I don’t see the world through those eyes, well, not completely anyway. I have since had kids and the unusual thing about kids is, they give you hope. Hope that things can be better. But I still run for the darker things music has to offer. I like songs about murder and addiction and shooting cheating women…they’re fun. Alice in Chains have long since lost Layne Staley’s voice but they’re still here, with a new voice, bringing darkness where there was once light but not completely pushing it out…I think they have hope in something better than what is as well.
