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 After listening to this recording often for 4 years,I have concluded that it is indeed one of those extremely rare recordings that I will be listening to still 20 years from now. It is almost meaningless to mention particular attributes of the writing,lyrics or performance.As good as Cantrell and Staley may be,this creation soars past their formidable talents to become something altogether greater. Simply put,this is what we sit down and listen to music for.One hundred years from now,someone will listen to this and still be moved by it.If you don't own this disc, you are NUTS!
Even though the themes of death, depression, and addiction have become cliche in modern music, Alice in Chains still presents these themes in a fresh, intoxicating way, even for someone who's looking back at this album from the modern perspective of look-alike pop-metal bands and their bland, overused subjects and lyrics. One of the most alarming subject matters of this album is drug addict. During this time, and up until is death last year, frontman and co-writer Layne Staley was heavily addicted to heroin. This theme is explored from many angles. "Junkhead" is a view through the eyes of a junkie in denial of the fact that heroin is slowly destroying him. "God Smack" is about the slow descent into addiction and how the drug itself becomes a more powerful and dominating figure in your life than anything else ("...and God's name is smack for some"). Heroin is also mentioned in more subtle references, such as in the lyrics of "Angry Chair" and "Sickman." Another alarming and original song for Alice in Chains is "Rooster." This song, written by guitarist and co-writer Jerry Cantrell, is about his father's experience fighting in Vietnam. For someone who was never even in the military, Cantrell masterfully conveys the feelings of hopelessness, despair, and anger that only a veteran of a war which he knows he's losing can feel. Overall, I think this is the best Alice in Chains album, and was the album that once-and-for-all defined their dark and sinister style (Notice how on the Facelift album, there are still a few 80's hair-band butt-rock songs along with darker ones like "We Die Young," "Love Hate Love," and "Man in the Box" that would become the defining voice of AIC).
Jerry Cantrell is awesome on this CD, just listen to the solo in "Them Bones". But not only does he play some sweet sludgy grunge riffs like on "Dam That River", but also plays the ballad-like "Down in a Hole" with equal dexterity. Layne Staley sounds best on this album compared to the others in my opinion- listen to "Angry Chair", which is a song that's set apart by the awesome vocals. It's a shame there can never be another Alice in Chains song due to Layne's tragic death. By the way, if you already own all the AIC albums and you want some more, give Jerry Cantrell's solo stuff a shot, it's better than it gets credit for.
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