lice I n C hains - Alice I n C hains Full Album 1995 HD Remaster

Alice in Chains (occasionally informally referred to as The Dog Album and Tripod) is the third studio album by American rock band Alice in Chains. It was released on November 7, 1995, by Columbia Records, and was the follow-up to the highly successful Dirt (1992). This is the band's first full-length studio album to feature bassist Mike Inez and their last studio album to feature original lead vocalist Layne Staley before his death in 2002. It is also their final studio album to be released through Columbia. As with their previous releases, the album's songs focus on heavy emotional content and subject matter such as drug addiction, depression, religion, broken relationships, and the internal tensions within the band. The album's music relies less on metallic riffs and more on melody and texturally varied arrangements, integrating some of the more delicate acoustic moods of their EPs.[4]

Alice in Chains debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart with first week sales of 189,000 copies,[5] and stayed on the chart for 46 weeks.[6] The tracks "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Again" were released as singles. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance. The album was certified double platinum by the RIAA and has sold over three million copies worldwide

The Nona Tapes
To help promote the album, Columbia asked the band to do an EPK (Electronic Press Kit), a common marketing tool in the '90s in which they should talk about themselves, but they did not want to do that. The band took the money from the label and made the mockumentary The Nona Tapes instead.[22] Directed by Rocky Schenck, it features Jerry Cantrell disguised as a female journalist, Nona Weisbaum, interviewing his bandmates playing fictionalized versions of themselves during a car ride in Seattle. The music video for "Grind" is also featured at the end.[23] Columbia did not like The Nona Tapes at first and told the band they had wasted their money doing it. However, it became a cult hit and Columbia decided to sell it, but the band was against it. The video was eventually released on VHS in December 1995.[22] In 2006, The Nona Tapes was released on DVD and came as a bonus with the compilation The Essential Alice in Chains.[24]

Release and reception
Professional ratings
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic [4]
Entertainment Weekly C link
NME 5/10[26]
People (favorable)[29]
Q [25]
Rolling Stone [27]
Select [28]
Although not as successful as Dirt, the album debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 46 weeks.[6] It has since been certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[30] The band opted not to tour in support of Alice in Chains, adding to the rumors of drug abuse.[9][31] When asked about the frustration of not touring to support the record, Cantrell provided some insight into how Staley's addictions led to repercussive tensions within the band: "Very frustrating, but we stuck it out. We rode the good times together, and we stuck together through the hard times. We never stabbed each other in the back and spilled our guts and do that kind of bullshit that you see happen a lot."[32]

It was noted for being a break away from the externally applied grunge label affixed to the group.[33][27] Rolling Stone described the album as a "musical rebirth",[27] and The New York Times remarked that in contrast to the raw distortions associated with grunge, Alice in Chains' sound was "cleanly delineated and meticulously layered."[33] Jon Wiederhorn of Rolling Stone called the album "liberating and enlightening", noting that the songs "achieve a startling, staggering and palpable impact."[27] In reviewing Alice in Chains's discography, Bill Adams of Ground Control Magazine wrote that, "If indeed Jar of Flies turned out to be the gateway that got so many more people hooked on Alice in Chains, it can only be said that the band's self-titled album implies withdrawals or a sense of significant unease or discomfort. The signs that something is just not right appear everywhere both on and in Alice in Chains; the front cover features a photo of a three-legged dog (one too few) while the back cover presents a picture of a three-legged mandolinist (one too many). The album's liner notes feature images of ghastly, contorted fairies with no flesh on their arms, sinister, personified bottles swimming through black oceans, cartoons of mutant animals standing on trial, synthetic limbs and more. They are images of turmoil, disease and discomfort, and it's difficult to look at them."[34]

Alice in Chains included the singles "Grind", "Heaven Beside You", and "Again", all of which had accompanying music videos. "Grind" and "Again" were nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996 and 1997, respectively.[35][36] The music video for "Again" was nominated for Best Hard Rock Video at the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards.[37]

Track listing
All lyrics are written by Layne Staley, except "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Over Now" by Jerry Cantrell.

No. Title Music Length
1. "Grind" Cantrell 4:44
2. "Brush Away" Cantrell, Mike Inez, Sean Kinney 3:22
3. "Sludge Factory" Cantrell, Kinney 7:12
4. "Heaven Beside You" Cantrell, Inez 5:27
5. "Head Creeps" Staley 6:28
6. "Again" Cantrell 4:05
7. "Shame in You" Cantrell, Inez, Kinney 5:35
8. "God Am" Cantrell, Inez, Kinney 4:08
9. "So Close" Cantrell, Kinney 2:45
10. "Nothin' Song" Cantrell, Kinney 5:40
11. "Frogs" Cantrell, Inez, Kinney 8:18
12. "Over Now" Cantrell, Kinney 7:03
Total length: 64:47
Notes

"Over Now" contains an excerpt of "Good Night" by Ted Lewis.
The Japanese edition of the album features two remixes of "Again" (the "Tattoo of Pain Mix" and the "Jungle Mix", also known as the "Club Mix") as bonus tracks.
Personnel
Alice in Chains

Layne Staley – lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar on "Head Creeps", guitar parts on "Brush Away"
Jerry Cantrell – lead and rhythm guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Grind", "Heaven Beside You" and "Over Now"
Mike Inez – bass
Sean Kinney – drums
Production

Produced by Toby Wright and Alice in Chains
Recorded by Toby Wright and Tom Nellen, assisted by Sam Hofstedt
Mixed by Toby Wright, assisted by John Seymour
Mastered by Stephen Marcussen
Studio coordinator – Kevan Wilkins
Audio technicians – Darrell Peters, Walter Gemienhardt
Artwork guide – Sean Kinney
Art direction – Mary Maurer
Design – Doug Erb
Photography – Rocky Schenck, Rob Bloch
Management – Susan Silver