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.
The Real Thing
Alice in Chains Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I grew up, made the blade my new toy
Friends said boy with what you screwin' around I said
Don't concern yourselves and just
Gimme another blast
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Under the hill, with just a few notches on my belt
Even if you say just one more
I won't leave you alone, oh
I grew up, went into rehab
You know the doctors never did me no good
They said son you're gonna be a new man
I said thank you very much and
Can I borrow fifty bucks?
Yeah, yeah. yeah, yeah
Under the hill, with just a few notches on my belt
Take it away, don't want no more
Even if you say just one more
I won't leave you alone
'Cause I'm goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Straight to nowhere
I messed around as a little boy
I grew up, made the blade my new toy
Friends said boy with what you fuckin' around I said
Oh my God and here we go again,
Yeah, yeah. yeah, yeah
Under the hill, with just a few notches on my belt
Take it away, don't want no more, no more
Even if you say just one more
I won't leave you alone
'Cause I'm goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Straight to nowhere
Follow me down
Sexual chocolate baby
The Real Thing by Alice in Chains is a song about addiction and the destructive behavior it can lead to. The lyrics talk about the singer's journey from experimenting with drugs as a young boy to becoming addicted to them as an adult. He made the "blade his new toy" and pushed his friends away, always seeking another hit or fix. Despite going to rehab, the doctors couldn't cure him of his addiction, and he continued to struggle with it. The song's chorus, "Goin' down the steps on a white line, straight to nowhere," is a metaphor for the singer's addiction and how it leads him nowhere, eventually becoming a downward spiral.
The use of the phrase "under the hill" refers to the practice of burying someone who died from a drug overdose under a hill or in a remote area to avoid detection. The repeated line of "even if you say just one more, I won't leave you alone" represents the power and pull of addiction that keeps the singer from breaking free. The ending with "sexual chocolate baby" may be seen as a sarcastic comment on the overindulgence of pleasures that can lead to addiction.
Line by Line Meaning
I messed around as a little boy
I experimented with risky behavior when I was young
I grew up, made the blade my new toy
As I matured, I turned to self-harm as a coping mechanism
Friends said boy with what you screwin' around I said
Don't concern yourselves and just
Gimme another blast
Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
When my friends expressed concern about my behavior, I dismissed them and continued to seek out danger and excitement
Under the hill, with just a few notches on my belt
Take it away, don't want no more
Even if you say just one more
I won't leave you alone, oh
Despite having already experienced negative consequences, I am still seeking out dangerous behavior and refusing to let it go
I grew up, went into rehab
You know the doctors never did me no good
They said son you're gonna be a new man
I said thank you very much and
Can I borrow fifty bucks?
Yeah, yeah. yeah, yeah
I eventually entered rehab, but didn't find much success there. I was more concerned with getting money than truly recovering
'Cause I'm goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Straight to nowhere
I am still on a path of self-destruction and don't see a way out
Oh my God and here we go again,
Yeah, yeah. yeah, yeah
I am stuck in a never-ending cycle of self-destructive behavior
Under the hill, with just a few notches on my belt
Take it away, don't want no more, no more
Even if you say just one more
I won't leave you alone
My addiction is still very present and I won't let it go without a fight
'Cause I'm goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Goin' down the steps on a white line
Straight to nowhere
I can't escape my downward spiral, which is leading me to a place of emptiness and despair
Follow me down
Sexual chocolate baby
This final line is likely sarcastic and implies that the true nature of the situation is much darker and more hopeless than the lighthearted phrase suggests
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., BMG Rights Management
Written by: LAYNE STALEY, SEAN KINNEY, JERRY CANTRELL, MICHAEL STARR
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Josh
on Nutshell
Really would like some prayers guys.