Cantrell and Staley co wrote these three. Songs like Sickman, Junkhead and Godsmack come from an even darker place. I wanted to also perform a deeper dive into the other songs on the record. The band would achieve commercial success from the release of singles such as Them Bones, Would?, Rooster, Down in a Hole and Angry Chair. These lyrics were powerful, meaningful, painful, passionate and real. The lyrics were not about Satan or gathering up large quantities of women and beer. The rock n’ roll was either Hair Metal or Hard Rock, the heavy metal was either Thrash or Punk. It was certainly different from what I was listening to at the time. I had heard about Alice in Chains and was familiar with their previous MTV hit, Man in a Box off their first record, Facelift, but I was not very fond of it. Instead I scoured the racks for about an hour looking only at album cover art to help with my decision. My original plan, I think, was to pick up another Metallica or Guns n’ Roses record. I can remember walking into one of about seven record stores within a 5-mile radius of my house in the fall of 1992. As I previously mentioned, he had an incredible ability to “even out” a loud song, bringing it down to the level where it could be played on the radio. Staley’s vocals once again give many who do not prefer metal or grunge, a reason to keep listening. Dam That River has a wonderful combination of bass mixed with an even stronger guitar riff. It makes me want to run 26.2 miles, climb a mountain and then scream “ Drago” as I reach the top. Written by Cantrell, the song begins with a scream at the exact same time the riff hits you (Ahhh). The album opens with, Them Bones, a track that became a radio and MTV hit in 1992. Staley possessed a singing voice unlike any other in the music world in 1992. Mostly in minor chords, Cantrell has an ability to link dark, less-ear-catching, guitar riffs with lead vocalist, Layne Staley’s raspy but beautiful voice. Lead guitarist, Jerry Cantrell writes some very deep, heavy power riffs for this album. The reason I wanted to review Dirt is because of its fantastic sound, lyrical writing and most importantly, its heavy riffs. Released in September of 1992, Dirt shot up the Billboard Top 100 charts all the way to #6, staying on the Top 200 list until September of 1994. The riots and looting lasted for a total of 6 days, after which the band reentered the studio to complete recording.ĭirt was produced by Dave Jerden, who also engineered and mixed albums for Talking Heads, Frank Zappa and the Rolling Stones, among others. After the acquittal of four police officers who were caught on video tape beating an unarmed African American man named, Rodney King, many people living in Los Angeles began to show their frustration with racial injustice. April 29th was a memorable day for the United States, as it was the same day the Los Angeles riots broke out. On April 29th, 1992, a quartet from Seattle, Washington named Alice in Chains entered the studio in Los Angeles, CA to record their sophomore album titled, Dirt. Grunge to me is defined as the middle ground between aggressive fast metal and slower, softer punk, with vocals being a key proponent. Rap was giving birth to hip-hop, heavy metal and punk were giving birth to “grunge”, which is a term most artists in this genre reject. As the 1980s became the 1990s, music was noticeably changing, in all genres.