Although widely associated with grunge music, the band's sound incorporates heavy metal elements. Since its formation, Alice in Chains has released five studio albums, three EPs, three live albums, four compilations, two DVDs, 31 music videos and 29 singles. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell (and later between Cantrell and William DuVall). Cantrell started to sing lead vocals on the 1992 acoustic EP Sap, and his role continued to grow in the following albums, making Alice in Chains a two-vocal band.
Alice in Chains rose to international fame as part of the grunge movement of the early 1990s, along with other Seattle bands such as Nirvana, Pearl Jam, and Soundgarden. The band was one of the most successful music acts of the 1990s, selling over 20 million records worldwide, and over 14 million records in the US alone, with two No. 1 albums and six Top 10 albums on the Billboard 200 chart. The band has had 16 Top 10 songs on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, 5 No. 1 hits, and nine Grammy Award nominations. Their debut album, Facelift, featuring the hit single "Man In The Box", was released in 1990 and has been certified double-platinum by the RIAA, selling over two million copies. In 1992, the band's second album, Dirt, was released to critical acclaim and was certified quadruple platinum. Their second acoustic EP, Jar of Flies, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart in 1994, becoming the first ever EP and first Alice in Chains release to top the charts, and it has been certified triple platinum by the RIAA. The band's third album, Alice in Chains debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200 in 1995 and has been certified double platinum.
Although never officially disbanding, Alice in Chains was plagued by extended inactivity from 1996 onwards due to Staley's substance abuse, which resulted in his death in 2002. The band reunited in 2005 for a live benefit show, performing with a number of guest vocalists. They toured in 2006, with William DuVall taking over as lead vocalist full-time. The new line-up released the band's fourth studio album, Black Gives Way to Blue, in 2009, which received gold certification by the RIAA and two Grammy nominations. Their fifth studio album, The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here, was released in 2013 and debuted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200. The band toured extensively and released several videos in support of these albums.
Their sixth studio album, Rainier Fog, would be released in 2018, through BMG records, making it their first big release on the new label. Rainier Fog would end up debuting at No. 12 on the Billboard 200, making it yet another powerful addition to the band's already impressive discography.
Although Alice in Chains has been labeled grunge by the mainstream media, Jerry Cantrell identifies the band as primarily heavy metal. He told Guitar World in 1996, "We're a lot of different things ... I don't quite know what the mixture is, but there's definitely metal, blues, rock and roll, maybe a touch of punk. The metal part will never leave, and I never want it to". The Edmonton Journal has stated, "Living and playing in Seattle might have got them the grunge tag, but they've always pretty much been a classic metal band to the core."
Over the course of their career, the band's sound has also been described as alternative metal, sludge metal, doom metal,drone rock, hard rock, and alternative rock. Regarding the band's constant categorization by the media, Cantrell stated "When we first came out we were metal. Then we started being called alternative metal. Then grunge came out and then we were hard rock. And now, since we've started doing this again I've seen us listed as: hard rock, alternative, alternative metal and just straight metal. I walked into an HMV the other day to check out the placement and see what's on and they've got us relegated back into the metal section. Right back where we started!". Drummer Sean Kinney rejects the grunge label, stating in a 2013 interview "I mean, before we first came out there was no grunge, they hadn’t invented that word. Before they invented the word grunge we were alternative rock and alternative metal and metal and rock, and we didn’t give a shit whatever, we were a rock and roll band!". According to Mike Inez, they were always the metal stepchildren of the Seattle scene.
Jerry Cantrell's guitar style combines "pummeling riffs and expansive guitar textures" to create "slow, brooding minor-key grinds". He is also recognized for his natural ability to blend acoustic and electric guitars. While down-tuned, distorted guitars mixed with Staley's distinctive "snarl-to-a-scream" vocals appealed to heavy metal fans, the band also had "a sense of melody that was undeniable", which introduced Alice in Chains to a much wider audience outside of the heavy metal underground.
According to Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic, Alice in Chains' sound has a "Black Sabbath-style riffing and an unconventional vocal style". The band has been described by Erlewine as "hard enough for metal fans, yet their dark subject matter and punky attack placed them among the front ranks of the Seattle-based grunge bands". Three of the band's releases feature acoustic music, and while the band initially kept these releases separate, Alice in Chains' self-titled album combined the styles to form "a bleak, nihilistic sound that balanced grinding hard rock with subtly textured acoustic numbers".
Alice in Chains is also noted for the unique vocal harmonies of Staley (or DuVall) and Cantrell, which included overlapping passages, dual lead vocals, and trademark harmonies typically separated by a major third. Cantrell said it was Staley who gave him the self-assurance to sing his own songs. Alyssa Burrows said the band's distinctive sound "came from Staley's vocal style and his lyrics dealing with personal struggles and addiction". Staley's songs were often considered "dark", with themes such as drug abuse, depression, and suicide, while Cantrell's lyrics often dealt with personal relationships.
Look
Alice in Chains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tied up in a cell
Withdrew for you
I cannot love you today
Feeding your lies to repress
Look at me and you will learn
to looooove
to looooove
Forgot love and drown the pain
See your eyes to read the best
Look at me and you will learn
to loooove
Look at me and you will learn
to loooove
Rise and sell shows of you
Found yourself bound and bruised
Words to roundup your dreams
Knock your lies to run away
Look at me and you will learn
to loooove
Look at me and you will learn
to loooove
and I run away
and I run
and I run away
and I run
and I run away
and I run
and I run away
and I away
The lyrics of Alice in Chain's song "Look" seem to depict a painful and tumultuous relationship between two individuals. The first couple of lines suggest that one of them has been brought up in a troubling or difficult environment, possibly leading to their imprisonment or confinement in a cell. The second line, "Withdrew for you," implies that the other person may have withdrawn or retreated from the relationship as a result of this confinement or imprisonment. The line "I cannot love you today" further emphasizes this withdrawal, possibly indicating that the person is unable to emotionally connect with their partner due to the overwhelming pain and stress of the situation.
The following lines paint a picture of lies and repression, with the person feeding them to their partner to manipulate and control them. In the chorus, the singer declares that if their partner looks at them closely enough, they will "learn to love," perhaps suggesting that the singer is hiding their true feelings or identity, and that their partner needs to see beyond the lies and repression to truly love them.
The next verse references forgetting love and drowning in pain, maybe indicating that the singer has suffered and lost in relationships before, leading them to suppress their emotions and feelings. "See your eyes to read the best" suggests that the singer may be testing their partner, trying to gauge their true feelings and intentions towards them. The chorus repeats, with the singer still encouraging their partner to look at them and learn to love them.
The final verse depicts the singer as someone who rises and sells shows of their partner, perhaps revealing them to the world or using them for their own gain. The partner is left feeling bound and bruised, with their dreams rundown and their lies used to escape the situation. The chorus repeats a final time, and the song ends with the singer running away.
Overall, the lyrics of "Look" seem to explore the themes of repression, manipulation, and the painful struggles of relationships. The singer is portrayed as someone who may be hiding their true emotions or identity, and they may use lies and manipulation to control and test their partner. The partner, on the other hand, is left struggling with their own dreams and feelings, being bound and bruised in the process.
Line by Line Meaning
It's brought up without a clue
Raised without understanding or knowledge.
Tied up in a cell
Restrained and confined, unable to escape.
Withdrew for you
Retreated and isolated oneself for your sake.
I cannot love you today
Unable to express love or affection towards you at this moment in time.
Feeding your lies to repress
Believing falsehoods and using them to suppress one's feelings or desires.
Look at me and you will learn to looooove
By observing me, you will understand how to experience love.
Forgot love and drown the pain
Choosing to forget love and instead focus on numbing emotional pain.
See your eyes to read the best
Examining and interpreting someone's eyes to glean insight into their true intentions or feelings.
Rise and sell shows of you
Elevating oneself and portraying a certain image or persona in order to gain attention or admiration.
Found yourself bound and bruised
Discovering oneself restricted and injured in some way.
Words to roundup your dreams
Using language to herd or corral one's aspirations and ambitions.
Knock your lies to run away
Exposing someone's falsehoods to cause them to flee or escape.
and I run away and I run and I run away and I run and I run away and I run and I run away and I away
Repeating the refrain to indicate a desire to escape or distance oneself from an unpleasant situation or person.
Contributed by Natalie E. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@Zer0lla
This is a deep song. The reason for the rooms located next to each other is that they are a family, living in the same house, but the different colored lighting in each room is indicative of their mental distance despite their physical closeness.
The son has locked his feelings away from the outside world, and then internalization frustrates him as he tries to fix himself alone, hence the line "a run-down broke machine". He becomes angry with himself and tears down himself and the world around him, discarding the progress he might have achieved, as the little boy version of himself representing his hopes and dreams cries at the sight of such. I relate to this a great deal.
The daughter has a self-esteem issue connected to her appearance, which may have been the result of bullying by her peers or her parents. Whether or not she is physically drowning is somewhat irrelevant because she most assuredly drowning mentally, constantly trying to find the light of perfection, a land where who she is becomes good enough.
The father in the video is a clearly religious man, and his self-punishment may be the result of infidelity, or molestation as some people have pointed out so far. Or it may simply be sexual immorality of a more superficial kind, such as the very idea of committing such acts. His frustration with himself he takes out not only on himself, but also his children, and the video shows his son taking abuse in particular.
The son is shown walking outside his door, and the camera zooms out to reveal a field of identical stone heads making identical, distressed faces. This is to convey the idea that no one can truly see inside your world, and when you don't let anyone in, people only see the outside, and all that conveys is a distressed look. They might suspect that there is more to it, but if you don't respond, they will move on. But you can't move on; you're still stuck in your own personal hell you've either inherited or created. You are afraid to let someone in, because who you are isn't "normal", and they'd just think you were crazy and weird and leave you. "It's why you never tell me, what's on your mind"
So you push it down, and you don't let jt show, and you eventually reach a point where either you have to tell someone, or you decide that the "quick alternative" is a better choice. Or door number three, you engage in behavior that takes you away from reality while simultaneously slowly destroying whatever life you had on earth. The truth, the realness of it all becomes too difficult to bear without the crutch, until you crash and burn. Sound familiar? It should: two men named Layne Staley and Mike Starr took door number three not so long ago. I'm not saying they had any of the issues the people in the video have, but they share an inability to deal with their problems, because they shut people out.
The big closing moment of the video for me is the desert scene. Anyone else think the desert looks familiar? It should. Take a look at the album cover for Dirt, and then look back at the video. See the resemblance? Think about the songs on Dirt. Have you listened to all of them? If you did, you might notice that all of the songs ooze self-loathing, misery, sadness, anger, and fear. Now look what happened to the woman in the video. She embodies the victim of these feelings, and in the video we finally see her pick herself up, and she no longer feels like Dirt, both its literal form and the emotions associated with the album. She no longer drowns in her own desert. We can infer from the ethereal nature of the scenery that she probably succeeded in taking her own life with the mirror shard, thus ending her suffering here on earth.
@MariaM11
Hear footsteps creak the floor
The shadows give away
Someone outside the door
Won't let 'em in
Life damaged, gears to grind
A run down broke machine
That steals your peace of mind
Before you know it's gone
Lay, down, lay
Silence burning, hold your tongue
Keep us separate, sullen, dumb
Hiding in a darkness under
Boiling to the surface, stumble, fall
A looking in view too long on the outside
Desperate plans make sense in a low life
A looking in view too long on the outside
Desperate plans make sense in a low life
These things I hate in you
Also reflect it seems
Distortion laced with spite
Takes you out of me
Lay, down, lay
Hiding in a darkness under
Boiling to the surface something
Crawling on your skin, discomfort
Makes you break and run, stumble, fall
\m/
@sophieblue6289
Hear footsteps creak the floor
The shadows give away
Someone outside the door
Won't let 'em in
Life damaged kids to crime
Rundown broke machine
That steals your peace of mind
Before you know it's gone
Lay
Down
Lay
Silence burning
Hold your tongue
Keep a separate
So they'll know
Hiding in the darkness under
Boiling to the surface
Don't go far
A looking in view too long on the outside
Desperate plans make sense in a low life
A looking in view too long on the outside
Desperate plans make sense in a low life
These things I hate in you
Also reflect it seems
Distortion laced with spikes
Digs you out of me
Lay
Down
Lay
Hiding in the darkness under
Boiling to the surface
Crawling on your skin discomfort
Makes you brake and run, stumble, fall
A looking in view too long on the outside
Desperate plans make sense in a low life
A looking in view too long on the outside
Desperate plans make sense in a low life
It's why you never tell me whatevers on your mind
It's why you never tell me whatevers on your mind
It's why you never tell me whatevers on your mind
It's why you never tell me whatevers on your mind
A looking in view too long on the outside
Desperate plans make sense in a low life
A looking in view too long on the outside
Desperate plans make sense in a low life
It's why you never tell me whatevers on your mind
@lordiblees
The most powerful comeback in the history of metal/rock
@DanQuijote777
indeed. when this came out i just couldnt find any words to express how impressed and overwhelmed i was when i realized this was the new AIC stuff, and noting this was still the essence of the AIC i fell in love in the fisrt time
@sundigest1121
@DanQuijote777 same man
@bobthebear1246
Absolutely 100%
@RyanDMoore
I was geeked when this shit came out. Especially impressed with how well the lead singer can evoke Layne while still sounding like a new singer.
@pipebombhs1412
Rock 4life
@magneteye
Gotta love Jerry Cantrell. He's a fucking riff monster.
@Fuffuster
Way underrated member of that band because everybody still has a boner for Layne. Don't get me wrong, he was amazing, but Jerry is the sound behind Alice in Chains tunes and most of your favorite songs, probably.
@brianintn
Layne was much a force behind the success of Chains as Cantrell was, of course we have a boner for him. having DuVall singing his songs while the band still uses AIC is like Dave and Krist getting a Kurt sound-a-like fronting a reformed Nirvana. no disrespect, just my thoughts and opinions. although their Black gives way to Blue album was modest, i have been disappointed with every release since. Just doesn't sound like Chains anymore, Thank God!
@GrungeVirus
your face when this riff and solo was written and composed by Duvall