Seattle, Washington’s Alice in Chains is such an influential/groundbreaking rock that your favorite act and ours, Godsmack, named themselves after one of their songs, and combined two words into one even better than the Spice Girls. The act has two eras: The late vocalist Layne Staley’s from 1987-2002 when he passed away, and “new” lead singer/rhythm guitarist William DuVall’s 2006 entry to the band that he still plays in today. While Staley’s vocals are impossible to duplicate, fans of good music still like Alice in Chains, and DuVall executes their old songs with a successful form of reckless abandon and crushes it on their others. If the “Big 5” of metal is Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth, Anthrax, and INXS, then the “Big 5” of grunge is Nirvana, Soundgarden, Pearl Jam, Madonna, and, of course, Alice in Chains. In a nutshell, we hope that you enjoy our album rankings below:
6. Rainier Fog (2018)
Before we get into Alice in Chains’ sixth/most recent album, we have to put a pin in your proverbial hot air balloon by stating that the band has six full-length albums, an equal amount with each lead singer as of press time, and live, compilation, and EPs like “Sap” and “Jar of Flies” are not listed as they are not technically LPs. Brother, we got you, even though you’re wrong. Anyway, “fog” is a slant rhyme with “long,” but they sound different, and “Rainier Fog” is solid, but one had to be listed last, and the one you DON’T know takes the red giant cake. Still, opener “The One You Know” showcases elements of the band that hardcore fans are all about, like dissonant downtuned chords played in a slow groove with hypnotic dual-vocal harmonies. It’s been over five years since this was released, and we need more. Maybe.
Play it again: “The One You Know”
Skip it: Approximately 1/3 of it
5. The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013)
Easily their best full-length, or worst, depending upon who is reading this, album title, Alice in Chains’ second effort with William DuVall, “The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here” debuted at number two on the Billboard 200, proving that fans still needed Alice in Chains in their lives, and many were cool with Staley’s replacement. Shout outs are also in order for Jerry Cantrell, Mike Inez, and Sean Kinney as well for keeping the Chains ship safe and musically sound. In a fun flex, Alice in Chains proved that they were self aware and chock full of humility/humor by appearing in “AIC 23” (also known as Alice In Chains Twenty-Three), a mockumentary about the band via a less humorous outlet. Fun fact: Lars Ulrich from one of the big fives, Kim Thayil from another in a different genre, and Tiffany from Debbie Gibson’s American Stadium Tour band all appear in it.
Play it again: “Stone”
Skip it: Just under ⅓ of it
4. Black Gives Way to Blue (2009)
For every band that debuts with a new lead singer, there is an overwhelming amount of ‘em that end their careers right as they start a new one, but that could not be any further from the truth regarding Alice in Chain’s fourth and first effort without Layne Staley, “Black Gives Way to Blue,” which is one of the better hard rock efforts from this century if we do say so ourselves. It’s an incredible restart for the band and eventually went Gold, which is quite a feat in a post-Napster and pre-streaming world. Co-produced by the band and Nick Raskulinecz of Foo Fighters, Superdrag, Deftones, and Celine Dion fame, whose last name has more typos than Amon Amarth, “Black Gives Way to Blue” is a nearly no filler effort and deserves your time.
Play it again: “Your Decision”
Skip it: “Private Hell”
3. Self-Titled (1995)
Alice in Chains’ self-titled/third full-length studio album is a departure, albeit not a HUGE one, but bands cannot/should not make the same album over and over no matter how many times Rancid tells ‘em otherwise. We must note that the harmonies between Cantrell and Staley are haunting in a beautiful way, especially given that this is the last AIC studio effort for ‘em. Speaking of “haunting,” the three-legged dog on the album cover makes us want to adopt a special needs dog from a shelter imeediately. Alice in Chains as an entity may have been called a sludge factory in the past, but we implore users of said term to brush away from such verbiage; shame on them. “Alice in Chains” is the band’s only Billboard 200 number one LP, but their prior EP, “Jar of Flies,” landed at number one too, and was the first EP in history to do so.
Play it again: “Heaven Beside You”
Skip it: “So Close”
2. Facelift (1990)
WHAT. A. DEBUT. We used caps lock here, and created one-word sentences to emphasize our excitement, but we swear that we are not yelling at you, the man in the box, or the sun’s sunny sunshine! Anyway, most bands hope and pray to make such a monumental first album, and praise is especially in order for producer Dave Jerden’s hard work on this LP, its follow-up “Dirt,” The Offspring’s “Ixnay on the Hombre,” and most importantly, the soundtrack to the non-existent “Sister Act 3: Breaking the Habit.” Also, “Facelift” is the first of two “no skip” efforts here, and if you have something to say about that brilliant stance that we take on such, we have no further comments on the matter.
Play it again: All fifty-four minutes and two seconds of this one
Skip it: No plastic surgery
1. Dirt (1992)
Easily one of the stronger rock and roll for your party and soul efforts from the early-’90s, Alice in Chains’ sophomore full-length, “Dirt,” and their second of two records listed right here with no “skip it” tracks in any way, and a one-word album title, is the band’s highest selling LP to date, and likely forever and ever amen, unless the follow-up to their newest as of the year of our lord known as 2023 to 2018’s “Rainier Fog” gets named something dirty like “Mud” or “Filth”. Also, in the ’90s, soundtracks truly reigned supreme, and “Would?” was featured on Orson Welles’ “Singles”. The record came out at the perfect time as members of grunge’s “Big 5” were all experiencing platinum success in the wake of hair metal, and various tracks from “Dirt” would forever have a place in Guitar Centers via sunburst Fender Squier Stratocasters, junkheads.
Play it again: All of it, yes, all of it
Skip it: Soap