Group
Alice in Chains
- From
- Seattle, United States
- Since
- 1987–present
- Rating
- ★ 4.25
- Releases
- 140
- grunge
- alternative rock
- alternative metal
- acoustic rock
- heavy metal
- sludge metal
- hard rock
- rock
About
Alice in Chains (often abbreviated as AIC) is an American rock band formed in Seattle in 1987. Since 2006, the band's lineup has consisted of vocalist/guitarists Jerry Cantrell and William DuVall, bassist Mike Inez, and drummer Sean Kinney. Original vocalist Layne Staley died in 2002, and former bassist Mike Starr left in 1993. Often associated with grunge music, Alice in Chains' sound and style is rooted in heavy metal. The band is known for its distinctive vocal style, which often included the harmonized vocals between Staley and Cantrell (and later Cantrell and DuVall).
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Alice in Chains' original lineup consisted of Cantrell, Kinney, Staley, and Starr. They took the name from Staley's previous band, Alice N' Chains. The band 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. They broke through on MTV and mainstream rock radio with the single "Man in the Box" (from their 1990 debut album Facelift). After releasing the EP Sap in early 1992, the band achieved major mainstream and commercial success with their follow-up album Dirt later that same year. Dirt contained the popular singles "Rooster" and "Would?", among others. Starr was replaced on bass by Inez in early 1993. The following two records, 1994's Jar of Flies (which included the popular single "No Excuses") and 1995's Alice in Chains (also contained radio hits such as "Heaven Beside You" and "Grind"), both topped the US Billboard 200 chart and earned the band several Grammy Award nominations.
Alice in Chains was plagued by extended inactivity from 1996 onward, largely due to Staley's substance abuse, which resulted in his death in 2002 and caused the band to go on hiatus. Alice in Chains reunited in 2005, with DuVall joining in 2006 as rhythm guitarist and sharing lead vocal duties; the band has since released three more albums: Black Gives Way to Blue (2009), The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here (2013), and Rainier Fog (2018).
In the US, Alice in Chains has sold over 30 million RIAA-certified records. They have had 18 Top 10 songs on Billboard's Mainstream Rock Tracks chart and five No. 1 hits, and have received 11 Grammy Award nominations. The band has been included in numerous greatest of all time lists, including a position of No. 34 on VH1's "100 Greatest Artists of Hard Rock" special and No. 15 in Hit Parader's "Greatest Live Bands" list.
Heard on the radio
-
I Stay Away
Members
-
Jerry Cantrell background vocals, electric guitar, lead vocals
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Sean Kinney drums (drum set)
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Mike Inez bass guitar
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William DuVall background vocals, electric guitar, lead vocals
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Mike Starr bass guitar
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Layne Staley lead vocals
Discography
Albums
Singles
-
The One You Know Apple Music
-
So Far Under
-
Never Fade
-
Tears
-
Stone
-
Hollow
-
Voices
-
Lesson Learned
-
A Looking in View
-
Check My Brain
-
Your Decision
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Get Born Again
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Live & Unreleased
-
Fear the Voices
-
Again Apple Music
-
Over Now
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Heaven Beside You
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Grind
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No Excuses
-
I Stay Away
-
Down in a Hole
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What the Hell Have I
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Angry Chair
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Them Bones
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Rooster
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Would?
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Man in the Box
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Bleed the Freak / Put You Down
-
Sea of Sorrow
Live
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Praça Da Apoteose, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil, January 22nd, 1993 (Remastered, Live On Broadcasting)
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Los Angeles 1990
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Live at the Palladium Hollywood 1992
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1992‐12‐20: Seattle Center Arena, Seattle, WA, USA
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Sea of Sorrow
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Live on Air Tonight
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Put You Down: Alice in Chains Recordings
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FM Broadcast
-
FM Broadcast: Alice in Chains & Pearl Jam
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Bleed the Freak (American radio broadcast)
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Man in the Box (American radio broadcast)
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It Aint Like That (live)
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Sickman (live)
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We Die Young: Live
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Live in Oakland October 8th 1992
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Freak Show: California Broadcasts 1990 & 1992
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Sea of Sorrow
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1990-09-15: Sheraton La Reina, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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1991-10-06: Hollywood Palladium, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Under the Knife
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2005‐02‐18: K‐ROCK Tsunami Continued Care Relief Concert, Premier, Seattle, WA, USA
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Live Apple Music
-
We Die Young
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MTV Unplugged Apple Music
-
Got Me Wrong
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Would?
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Heroin
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1993: Come and Save Me: Paris, France
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Nightland
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1994-02-23: Swarm: Osaka-jō Hall, Osaka, Japan
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U.S.A. 1993
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Tie Me Up
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Johnny Steroid’s Last Show
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Live & Unchained
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The World Is in Chains
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1992-11-28: Dirtiest Live: La Brique, Montreal, QC, Canada
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Seattle Connection, Part 1
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Love Hate Live
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Dirty Toy Town
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1992‐11‐29: Concert Hall, Toronto, ON, Canada
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We Die Young
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Rooster
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Dirty Rhythm
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Sunshine
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1990-09-02: Motorized: Seattle Center, Seattle, WA, USA
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Live Facelift
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1990‐11‐05: Marquee, Dallas, TX, USA
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Bad Dream
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1991‐10‐30: The Centrum, Worcester, MA, USA
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1993‐02‐26: Town and Country Club, London, England, UK
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2009‐11‐14: Manchester Academy, Manchester, England, UK
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1991-01: Alice in Wonderland: Dallas Amphitheater, Dallas, TX, USA
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2007‐08‐25: Events Center, Borgata Casino, Atlantic City, NJ, USA
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We Die Young
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1993‐03‐03: Rock City, Nottingham, England, UK
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1993‐10‐13: Hugenottenhalle, Neu Isenburg, Germany
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1992-11-27: The Channel, Boston, MA, USA
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1993-01-08: Aloha Tower, Honolulu, HI, USA
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1991-06-28: Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, USA
Compilations
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We Die Young
-
Greatest Songs
-
Jar of Flies/ Sap
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Original Album Classics
-
Discover Further
-
Discover
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The Full Discover Package
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Discover Beyond
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×2: Facelift / Alice in Chains
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Discover More
-
Dirt / MTV Unplugged
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The Essential Alice in Chains
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Music Bank: The Videos + Nothing Safe: The Best of the Box
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Facelift / Dirt / Alice in Chains
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Jar of Flies / Facelift / Dirt
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Greatest Hits
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The Best of Alice in Chains
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Music Bank: The Videos
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Nothing Safe: The Best of the Box
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Music Bank
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Working Class Heroes
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Jar of Flies / Sap
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Dirt / Facelift
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Chained to the Studio
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…In Blunderland
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Dirt & Sap
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Boot!
Other
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Greatest Hits (Chopped Not Slopped by DJ Lil Steve)
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Black Antenna
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Sap (Chopped Not Slopped by DJ Lil Steve) Apple Music
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Jar of Flies (Chopped Not Slopped by DJ Lil Steve) Apple Music
-
Dirt (Chopped Not Slopped by DJ Lil Steve)
-
Up Close
-
The Nona Tapes
-
Sweet Alice
-
Tasty White Powder
-
The Treehouse Tapes
-
1989 Publisher Demos
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Unchained Demos
Links
Listen
Official
Social
Concerts
Buy
Reference
- AllMusic
- BBC Music
- aic.gsg2007.de
- adbdesign.com
- bacus.net
- Discogs
- IMDb
- Last.fm
- Genius
- muzikum.eu
- musixmatch.com
- jaxsta.com
- id.loc.gov
- catalogue.bnf.fr
- d-nb.info
- id.oclc.org
- imvdb.com
- musicmoz.org
- rateyourmusic.com
- 45cat.com
- idref.fr
- livefans.jp
- metal-archives.com
- metalmusicarchives.com
- musik-sammler.de
- muziekweb.nl
- spirit-of-metal.com
- spirit-of-rock.com
- whosampled.com
- worldcat.org
- purevolume.com
- SecondHandSongs
- VIAF
- Wikidata
Founder
Tribute
Also known as
Alice and Chains · Diamond Lie
Identifiers
- MusicBrainz
- 4bd95eea-b9f6-4d70-a36c-cfea77431553
- ISNI
- 0000000121916454
Data from MusicBrainz, saved 5 Nov 2026. Photo from Wikimedia Commons, covers from the Cover Art Archive and Apple Music.