August 21, 1990 - Alice In Chains and Facelift

A month after my last release another new band joins my library when Alice In Chains released their debut album "Facelift" on August 21, 1990. But who are Alice In Chains? They are a four-piece rock band from Seattle, Washington consisting of lead singer Layne Staley, guitarist Jerry Cantrell, bassist Mike Starr and drummer Sean Kinney and like others from the same area, they play a very grunge style of rock. This album would actually be the first from the Seattle grunge scene to go Gold in sales and cemented Alice In Chains as another pioneer band of the genre. Let's check it out!

The first song on the album "We Die Young" is also the first single and it kicks right into a nice heavy main riff led by some cool guitar from Cantrell. We hear Staley's voice for the first time and he has a very unique voice that would become synonymous with grunge music as there is just this dark edginess to his singing that fits the music quite nicely. The band continues to jam out this cool main riff and Layne's singing shifts to longer wails in the chorus. Cantrell gets a chance to solo and while he's not shredding it he plays a slow and decent solo. The song is a short two and half minutes, but it's a great introduction to what seems like another cool band from the Seattle grunge scene. The next song is arguably their biggest single, titled "Man In The Box", and Cantrell plays a very cool and catchy guitar riff with lots of wah effects that make it sound interesting. Layne matches the guitar tone with some wordless vocals and he goes on to lead a great verse as he sounds great in my opinion. Layne sings low in the verse but shows he can hit the high notes as well in a sweet chorus, with Cantrell adding some decent backing vocals as well. This song is somehow very heavy and grunge-y but also undeniably catchy and it's no surprise this would become a flagship song for them. After another cool verse and chorus Cantrell really shows what he can do with a pretty awesome solo. He goes fast for moments and knows justbshen to slow things down or speed them up in a great solo. This leads right into a final verse and chorus to wrap up this one. Track 3 is "Sea Of Sorrow" and it would also end up being a single, though this one seems a less obvious choice with a slower and simpler main riff, that is albeit still pretty hard rock. Layne leads a decent verse but the music is just average and it feels like a long time before they reach the chorus. Once they do Kinney plays a nice drum fill and Layne yells nicely overtop another slow guitar riff. After another verse and chorus Cantrell delivers another solo and he does another excellent job! It's nice and long and he has time to play all kinds of great stuff! They pick it up mid-verse and then jam out the chorus a bunch to end this in a rather predictable fashion. Up next is the final single "Bleed The Freak" and it has Cantrell playing an acoustic guitar and it sounds pretty good! Alice in Chains shows that even when they play softer music it still has this creepy vibe to it that keeps things dark and light at the same time. Layne sings the verse in his one of a kind voice but once they reach the chorus his voice and the music pick up as the guitar goes back to electric. They leave that soft opening behind and roll right into a nice and heavy new verse that also leads back to the chorus. Cantrell plays some nice guitar that I wouldn't quite call a solo and then things quiet right down as they return to the soft opening riff. Cantrell plays a nice slow guitar solo overtop and things switch back to heavy for a final chorus in this cool back-and-forth song. Track 5 is "I Can't Remember" and Cantrell plays a cool lighter guitar riff while Starr plays some nice heavy bass in the background. Layne leads another slightly creepy verse and things sound pretty good as they slowly make their way through this song. Cantrell gets a brief chance to solo and he fits the mood of the song nicely with a slow solo before they finish off this one. The next song is the longest on the album at about six and a half minutes, titled "Love, Hate, Love". Cantrell plays a cool guitar riff that is fairly slow and Kinney does a nice job playing some slow drum fills that make things sound heavy and cool. Layne holds some long notes in his one of a kind voice and like the last song this one has a slightly creepy and haunting vibe to it. It takes them several minutes to slowly make their way through a couple verses before Jerry delivers a slow and pretty epic guitar solo. After the solo they break down into a heavy chorus and Layne sounds pretty good as he yells some long yeah's and "love, hate, love"'s. The song seems like it might be over, only for them to break it down one last time even slower than before in a heavy finish that I really like! Track 7 is called "It Ain't Like That" and it's driven by a simple but very catchy main riff played on both guitar and bass for extra effect. It's still nice and heavy and Layne sings in a good lower voice in the verse before doing his more usual voice in the chorus, which sounds solid as well. After a couple verses and choruses it's solo time and Cantrell does another great job with a sweet solo with some bits of really fast stuff, and it perfectly flows back into the main riff for a final verse before Cantrell solos overtop of the chorus as they jam it out to the end. Up next is "Sunshine" and they kick right into another slow and grunge-y main riff with Cantrell playing some nice guitar and Layne doing his thing overtop. This song slowly and heavily takes it's toll and like most of them Cantrell is leading the way and he plays a pretty epic guitar solo! Alice In Chains are just brimming with cool, heavy songs as the Seattle music scene continues to produce some great bands. Track 9 is "Put You Down" and Cantrell leads the way with an upbeat and pretty cool guitar riff that has a bunch of energy. Layne sings nicely in his unique voice but it's Jerry who carries this song with some great guitar work throughout. Up next is another longer song titled "Confusion" and it has a much slower pace than the last song as Cantrell plays a slow guitar riff and Layne nicely leads the verse in his low and grunge-y voice. The music remains slow in the chorus but gets a bit heavier as they slowly make their way through this song. After another verse and chorus Cantrell plays a slow solo to fit the mood of the song well before they slow it down again for a final verse and chorus. Track 11 is called "I Know Somethin' ('Bout You)" and Cantrell plays cool lighter guitar riff and Starr plays a great groovy bass like in the background of this catchy main riff. Cantrell does a good amount of backup singing in the chorus and while he doesn't sound bad at all, he sounds pretty average. Even when Layne is just oohing along he has way more charisma, but the two singers sounds alright. This is another pretty cool song and these guys don't seem to be making anything tame or average at all as a whole. The album wraps up with "Real Thing" and Cantrell plays a quiet but dark sounding guitar riff as Layne begins to sing the first verse. The guitar eventually shifts to a more typical, heavier sound and Layne starts to nicely yell overtop of this cool new main riff. It's a fittingly rockin' end to this pretty sweet album and for a debut especially, this was great!

That is the end of "Facelift" and I thought it was a great album! Every song has it's own cool riff and even the slower jams are still good as this album has a high floor. "Man In The Box" was an easy favourite for me (and many others) but this whole album is just rock solid and very good for these guys first album. Alice In Chains seem awesome already but there's potential for even more!