February 4, 1992 - Sap

Happy New Year! It's been a long four months since my last release and a year and a half after their debut album "Facelift", Alice In Chains released an EP titled "Sap" on February 4, 1992. This EP is acoustic for the most part, showing a lighter side to these grunge rockers and it also features several guest vocalists from some pretty famous bands. It also marks the first time guitarist Jerry Cantrell sings lead vocals as he sings one song himself and co-lead vocals with Layne Staley on another track. Let's see what acoustic Alice In Chains sounds like!

The EP begins with "Brother" which has Cantrell singing lead vocals for the first time. Cantrell opens the song with an acoustic guitar riff by himself before Sean Kinney and Michael Starr come in with a light rhythm section and we hear Layne humming before Jerry begins the verse. His voice sounds pretty similar to Layne's actually; not quite as eccentric and unique, but certainly the same vocal style and his low voice matches the mood of the song nicely. Layne joins Jerry to sing the chorus, and so does guest singer Ann Wilson from Heart! She is definitely not who I'd expect to hear on an Alice In Chains song, but her vocals add a little bit of extra feeling to the chorus before they hit reset and start the song up again. After another verse and chorus Cantrell plays an electric guitar solo overtop the acoustic background and he delivers a nice melodic solo that fits the song perfectly. It leads right into another verse and after another solo Layne and Ann hum for a bit longer until the song comes to a close. The next song was a succesful single titled "Got Me Wrong" and Cantrell plays a cool acoustic guitar riff while Layne sings a soft verse that fits nicely overtop. Layne and Jerry sing the chorus loudly together and they sound pretty solid along with some heavier guitars in the chorus. They play another acoustic verse and another loud chorus before segueing nicely into a loud new part with Layne holding some nice long notes. Cantrell plays a short guitar solo/interlude that brings us back to the main riff and after a final verse and chorus they play the new loud part a couple more times before softly finishing things off. Track 3 is called "Right Turn" and it has guest vocals from both Mark Arm from Mudhoney and Chris Cornell from Soundgarden! Cantrell once again starts things off with an acoustic guitar riff and Layne sings another soft verse to match. Despite this EP being much softer than their debut album, Alice in Chains are doing this acoustic style quite well and it sounds very natural for everyone. Cornell takes over for Layne mid-verse and he sounds great as always, singing softly overtop the acoustic and taking us right through the first chorus. Layne takes over for the next verse and chorus and then it's Arm's turn in the spotlight as he sings a verse and chorus in a pretty grunge-y voice that fits the sad style nicely. After his chorus all three singers start singing their own parts simultaneously: Staley and Arm both sing some nice lower vocals while Cornell hits some of his classic high notes and all three together sounds pretty cool as this takes us to the end of this short but interesting song. The final song on this short EP is called "Am I Inside" and Cantrell plays a bit of a haunting acoustic guitar riff and we hear some quiet piano as well played by drummer Kinney that adds to the haunting vibe. Layne sings a nice verse overtop in his one of a kind voice and it Carrie's right into a similar chorus with Cantrell adding some backing vocals. Another verse and chorus later they move into a new verse with Ann Wilson providing some more vocals to nice effect as she and Layne both hold some long notes in this part. They hit reset and play a final verse, final chorus and then the Wilson verse one more time before the song very slowly fades out.

That is the end of "Sap" and I thought it was a decent little EP. It can't compare to their debut album "Facelift" which was much heavier and much better no doubt, but I don't like to compare albums and EPs and this was obviously meant to be a lot slower and lighter since it's mostly acoustic. Acoustic Alice IN Chains still sounded solid to me though and Ann Wilson was a nice addition on both her songs and I of course loved Cornell's appearance. A worthy addition to the library for sure, but I can't wait for a true follow-up to "Facelift" soon!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

July 24, 2001 - Avenged Sevenfold and Sounding The Seventh Trumpet

It's a double release day! On the same day as my last release another new band joins my library when Avenged Sevenfold released their debut album "Sounding The Seventh Trumpet" on July 24, 2001. But who are Avenged Sevenfold? They are a four-piece metalcore band from Huntington Beach, California consisting of Justin Sane (bass, piano), James "The Rev" Sullivan (drums, percussion), Zacky Vengeance (guitars, backing vocals) and M. Shadows (lead vocals, acoustic guitar, keyboards). Avenged play an interesting mix of heavy metalcore with screaming vocals, but also a very accesible style of metal with singing at others. Let's see what Avenged Sevenfold are all about! The album kicks off with a short intro called "To End The Rapture" and Vengeance plays a nice heavy rhythm guitar riff before coming right in with some soloing! He is just shredding it right from the get-go with some really wicked stuff and then we hear Shadows for the first time in his uni...
Read more

November 6, 2001 - As I Lay Dying and Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes

Two weeks after my last release a new band joins my library when As I Lay Dying released their debut album "Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes" on November 6, 2001. But who is As I Lay Dying? They are a four-piece metalcore band from San Diego, California consisting of lead singer Tim Lambesis, guitarist Evan White, bassist Noah Chase and drummer Jordan Mancino. As I Lay Dying are part of the budding metalcore scene and they play a very heavy style of metal and Lambesis does all screaming vocals. Let's see what AILD is all about! The album begins with the title track "Beneath The Encasing Of Ashes" and things start off with a pretty fast pace led by some heavy, chugging guitars and bass. They break things down not long after getting started and most of the song is at this slower, very brutal sounding pace. Chase's bass is super heavy, White plays some cool guitar that ranges from super low, all the way to super high, and Lambesis can hardly be understood he sound...
Read more

August 28, 2001 - Puddle Of Mudd and Come Clean

On the same day as my last release a new band briefly joins my library when Puddle of Mudd released their debut album "Come Clean" on August 28, 2001. But who is Puddle of Mudd? They are a four-piece post-grunge band from Kansas City, Missouri consisting of lead singer/guitarist Wes Scantlin, guitarist Paul Phillips, bassist Doug Ardito and drummer Greg Upchurch. I'm not a huge Puddle of Mudd fan, I only have two songs by them in my library, but they are both off this album and were both succesful singles. The first one is called "Blurry" and it's got a smooth and catchy light guitar riff that drives the song and Scantlin sings in a solid grunge-y voice overtop. They ramp nicely from the verse to the chorus and it's a nice heavy chorus with some louder guitars and a solid chorus sung by Scantlin. It's a little repetitive, but things still sound pretty smooth and solid and I think it's a good but not great song. The only other song I have is ...
Read more