Staley met and was joined by guitarist and song-writer Jerry Cantrell in
1987, renaming the band "Alice in Chains", and, along with two of Cantrell's
friends, bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinny, they began writing
original material and playing local Seattle clubs.
The group signed with Columbia Records in 1989, and in early 1990 they
issued the "Facelift" promotional EP. The title track became a moderate hit
on metal-oriented radio, setting the stage for the release of the groups
first full LP later that year, Facelift. The album spawned an unexpected hit
with the crunchy and infectious "Man in the Box", the video for which went
into regular rotation on MTV. Supported by a tour that saw the band opening
for Van Halen and Iggy Pop, Facelift would go on to achieve gold status by
the close of the year.
After releasing a small, unexpected collection of purely acoustic
compositions in the form of the Sap EP, the group received more exposure in
1992 when one of their new songs, "Would?", made an appearance on the
soundtrack for Singles, a motion picture by filmmaker Cameron Crowe which
revolved around the lives a number of Seattle singles. This helped build
anticipation for Alice's next LP.
Dirt, packed with the groups patented heavy, distortion-drenched sound, was
released in the fall of 1992, and was both a critical and a commercial
success, going Platinum by the end of the year. However, the lyrical content
of the impenetrably dark record - which dealt mostly with isolation and
addiction - stirred speculation that Layne Staley had fallen far into the
depths of a serious heroin addiction. We now know, beyond a reasonable
doubt, that for the most part these rumors were true.
After seeing them perform at Lollapalooza in 1993, the alternative music
scene braced itself for another hard, angry, loud release from the Seattle
quartette, but when Jar of Flies hit shelves in January, 1994, it stunned
fans and critics alike with its wholly uncharacteristic sound. Released as
an EP, but now widely considered to be of album caliber (and indeed, the
design and length would indicate it as almost being that), Jar of Flies
debuted at No. 1 on album sales charts, making it the first EP release to
ever do so. In striking contrast with Dirt - though still containing similar
(but more understated) lyrics of self-blame and isolation - Jar of Flies
consisted of well-developed acoustic pieces, complete with subtle string
arrangements, fused perfectly with exclamation points of Cantrell's
signature electric-guitar attack. Slowly evolving from the alternative,
progressive sound of the first track to more traditional ballads, the record
seemed to pay respects to Cantrell's musical roots. Despite the EP being
written and recorded in a single miserable and alcohol-laden week, some
critics hailed it as a mini-masterpiece.
The band stayed off the road for the remainder of their run, which once
again fueled speculation about Staley's addiction. Nonetheless, Staley
performed a few shows with Gacy Bunch, a "Grunge-Super-Group" side-project
of his formed in 1995, which included Pearl Jam guitarist Mike McCready and
Screaming Trees drummer Barrett Martin. They later renamed themselves Mad
Season, and released a single LP, Above.
In November of 1995, Alice in Chains returned with the release of a
self-titled album, Alice in Chains, though most fans have taken to referring
to the album as "Tripod", due both to a lack of labeling, and the image of a
forlorn three-legged-dog which appears on the cover. Once again evolving
their sound (as all their releases have), and now relying more on melody and
textured arrangements than their previous releases (some see the album as
the child of Dirt and Jar of Flies), the record debuted at number one on the
charts. The group again didn't support the album with a tour, sparking
further discussion about Staley's heroin addiction. Ultimately, this would
be the last official album that Alice in Chains produced - though they did
write a few new songs after this release, including "Get Born Again", and
"Fear the Voices", which can be located on the various compilations.
The group made one final appearance, their first in three years, giving a
last show in 1996 when they performed on MTV Unplugged. Staley was in
visibly poor health, but nonetheless the group gave an outstanding
performance, including a stunning rendition of "Down in a Hole", and went to
great lengths to rework much of their harder material to suit the acoustic
nature of the show.
Although the band never officially disbanded, Staley spiraled even deeper
into a depression from which he would never recover in 1996, when his
fianc?died of a drug overdose. Rarely leaving his Seattle condo, the
front-man became incredibly reclusive. Although Jerry Cantrell tried to stay
in touch with him, and did want to keep the band together, it eventually
seemed clear that Staley would never return, and Cantrell launched a solo
career.
The possibility of an Alice in Chains reunion finally ended on April 5th,
2002, when Layne Staley died in his condominium from an apparent lethal
overdose/suicide of heroin and cocaine, exactly 8 years after the suicide of
another icon of the grunge era, Nirvana's Kurt Cobain.