Er... per Wikipedia, but still...
Blabbermouth.net reported in September 2008 that Alice in Chains would enter the studio that October to begin recording a new album for a summer 2009 release.[45] On October 23, 2008, the band began recording it at the Foo Fighters' Studio 606 in L.A. with producer Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Rush, Stone Sour, Trivium, Shadows Fall, Death Angel).[46] Guitarist Jerry Cantrell recently told Revolver Golden God Awards that Alice in Chains had finished recording the album on March 18th, which happened to be his 43rd birthday, and are in the process of "mixing right now" for a September release.[47] According to the May 2009 issue of Revolver magazine, the band is without a label.[48]
― display names have been changed to protect the innocent (jon /via/ chi 2.0), Wednesday, 15 April 2009 21:48 (fifteen years ago) link
Just don't buy it Herm. I doubt anything on it will be played to an unlistenable extreme on radio.
xpost
― Bill Magill, Wednesday, 15 April 2009 21:49 (fifteen years ago) link
I should have said "unavoidable extreme".
― Bill Magill, Wednesday, 15 April 2009 21:50 (fifteen years ago) link
disgustingxxpost
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 15 April 2009 21:50 (fifteen years ago) link
haha... down in a POLL. i was going to start this a couple of months back.
wow this is one of my all time favourite albums, and a whole bunch of these tracks have been my favourite at some point. i think i probably have to go with 'them bones' due to the explosive start it provides the album with, the devastating guitar solo, and the incredible harmonised vocal line. it's the sort of track that you never really get tired of hearing, and that's only partly due to its brevity.
― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 16 April 2009 07:09 (fifteen years ago) link
http://www.geocities.com/hollywood/cinema/2636/pic-coll1/rooster.jpg
― SORCEROUSES..roll on stage! (Pillbox), Thursday, 16 April 2009 07:21 (fifteen years ago) link
I remember playing "Angry Chair" a lot when I listened to this, but I haven't heard it in well over 10 years. Will go refresh my memory now.
― Johnny Fever, Thursday, 16 April 2009 08:40 (fifteen years ago) link
it holds up very well. One of the best albums of the 90s easily.
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 16 April 2009 10:48 (fifteen years ago) link
I was just going to start a Jar of Flies poll last week...until I realized that "Got Me Wrong" was on Sap...
this album is about the four big singles for me...Them Bones, Down in a Hole, Rooster, Would? (though I like Angry Chair and the title track v. much also)...it amazes me that all four of these songs could be on the same album...choosing between these four is really really difficult...
― jagged-electronically mäandernden underbody (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 16 April 2009 12:31 (fifteen years ago) link
(Rain When I Die is really great too)
Angry Chair was a single in the UK
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 16 April 2009 12:40 (fifteen years ago) link
it prolley was a single here...it just wasnt one of the big four thatre impossible to choose from...
― jagged-electronically mäandernden underbody (Drugs A. Money), Thursday, 16 April 2009 12:45 (fifteen years ago) link
i think we maybe got it as a single instead of rooster
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 20 April 2009 12:31 (fifteen years ago) link
What's really good is the Alice In Chains Unplugged album, which is easily as good as the Nirvana one.
― the next grozart, Monday, 20 April 2009 13:23 (fifteen years ago) link
gotta go with iron gland.
― original bgm, Monday, 20 April 2009 14:03 (fifteen years ago) link
i knew there would be one
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 20 April 2009 14:04 (fifteen years ago) link
IRon Gland??
― the next grozart, Monday, 20 April 2009 14:04 (fifteen years ago) link
;-)
― original bgm, Monday, 20 April 2009 14:10 (fifteen years ago) link
this is pretty tough, tho.
― original bgm, Monday, 20 April 2009 14:13 (fifteen years ago) link
most of the tracks deserve multiple votes.
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Monday, 20 April 2009 14:16 (fifteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll is closing tomorrow.
― System, Tuesday, 21 April 2009 23:01 (fifteen years ago) link
vote!
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 13:36 (fifteen years ago) link
Going to listen to this now then choose. I was a big fan as a teenager, they were all over MTV when I visited the USA as an impressionable 14 year old.
― zero learnt from nero (Neil S), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 14:02 (fifteen years ago) link
Is it me, or do those multi-tracked vocals on this record sound quite a lot like modern autotuned vocals?
― zero learnt from nero (Neil S), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 14:16 (fifteen years ago) link
just you
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 14:20 (fifteen years ago) link
The hidden links between Alice In Chains and T-Pain REVEALED!
― zero learnt from nero (Neil S), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 14:21 (fifteen years ago) link
either "Would?" or "Them Bones" - think I'm going with "Would?"
― Bo, a 6-month-jackson Portuguese overdrive (Curt1s Stephens), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 15:04 (fifteen years ago) link
went with "would?" after much deliberation. but considered "down in a hole" and "angry chair" (two other sentimental, 8 grader favorites) as well.
― original bgm, Wednesday, 22 April 2009 15:21 (fifteen years ago) link
"Would?" it is.
― zero learnt from nero (Neil S), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 15:27 (fifteen years ago) link
the winner is a bit predictable now
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 15:30 (fifteen years ago) link
someone please vote for non singles!
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 20:15 (fifteen years ago) link
i think this is the only one of the big grunge blockbusters of my youth that i haven't listened to since the 90s and might've actually discarded or gave away...i vaguely remember liking "Dam That River" but I still gotta go with one of the singles, "Them Bones"
― Excuse Me While I Pimp My Al Shipley (some dude), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 20:17 (fifteen years ago) link
i would never give dirt away, i gave a mate a loan of it and never got it back so i ended up buying it again on ebay for 99p
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 21:25 (fifteen years ago) link
the excitement...
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 22:52 (fifteen years ago) link
Automatic thread bump. This poll's results are now in.
― System, Wednesday, 22 April 2009 23:01 (fifteen years ago) link
well its nice to see that everything got voted for at least once.
― borntohula, Wednesday, 22 April 2009 23:12 (fifteen years ago) link
the top 4 are about right. i'd put dam that river or the title track at number 5.
― Charlie Howard, Thursday, 23 April 2009 07:07 (fifteen years ago) link
― zero learnt from nero (Neil S), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 15:16 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalinkjust you
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Wednesday, 22 April 2009 15:20 (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
No way - Neil is right! Especially on "Rain When I Die" on those choruses! Very good call.
― Shannon Whirry & the Bad Brains, Thursday, 23 April 2009 08:59 (fifteen years ago) link
Ha ha glad it's not just me! And a good turn-out for this poll...
― zero learnt from nero (Neil S), Thursday, 23 April 2009 09:38 (fifteen years ago) link
wasn't bad. at least some people voted for the non singles :)
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 23 April 2009 12:20 (fifteen years ago) link
what did you vote for?
― original bgm, Thursday, 23 April 2009 13:49 (fifteen years ago) link
this is ILM, we don't have to prove that we've heard more than just the singles
― Bo, a 6-month-jackson Portuguese overdrive (Curt1s Stephens), Thursday, 23 April 2009 15:01 (fifteen years ago) link
"Rain When I Die"
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 23 April 2009 15:03 (fifteen years ago) link
good call. almost voted that myself! but I think the singles are very strong on this one.
― original bgm, Thursday, 23 April 2009 15:59 (fifteen years ago) link
but man, how ugly is that cover???
― original bgm, Thursday, 23 April 2009 16:00 (fifteen years ago) link
photoshop: the dark ages
those first-generation grunge covers were pretty dire
― Bo, a 6-month-jackson Portuguese overdrive (Curt1s Stephens), Thursday, 23 April 2009 16:26 (fifteen years ago) link
lol @ me calling Alice in Chains "first-generation grunge"
did God Smack lose out in votes because of a shitty unoriginal band taking it as their name?
― pfunkboy (Herman G. Neuname), Thursday, 23 April 2009 16:39 (fifteen years ago) link
10. "Iron Gland" – 0:43
totally forgot there was some kind of short placeholder track on this album -- was it a skit? amp noise?
― Excuse Me While I Pimp My Al Shipley (some dude), Thursday, 23 April 2009 16:40 (fifteen years ago) link
you love to feel it
― Party With A Jagger Ban (dog latin), Thursday, 4 February 2021 16:19 (three years ago) link
i'll not hear any dam that river slander.
― a nice controlled drift (Spottie), Thursday, 4 February 2021 22:25 (three years ago) link
I have mad love for the title track on this. it's the slow-burning heart of the album, a centerpiece if you will.
also, this verse always gets under my skin:
You, you are so specialYou have the talent to make me feel like dirtAnd you, you use your talent to dig me underAnd cover me with dirt
― charlie rex, Thursday, 4 February 2021 23:25 (three years ago) link
it's kind of a testament how my darker moodset was already almost in place by high school because I lent this album to a friend and he returned it and I asked him how he liked it and he hated it and said "this shit is way too depressing" and he quoted the title track to me and I was like "oh...that? who among us hasn't felt this w etc etc"
― he said that you son of a bitch (Neanderthal), Thursday, 4 February 2021 23:33 (three years ago) link
truly the most perfect intro
― a nice controlled drift (Spottie), Friday, 5 February 2021 00:06 (three years ago) link
I went through a heavy AiC binge a few weeks ago so this revive is hitting the spot <3
― brimstead, Friday, 5 February 2021 02:23 (three years ago) link
probably gonna spin this later
― he said that you son of a bitch (Neanderthal), Friday, 5 February 2021 02:25 (three years ago) link
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4kIR9dkEA_c
Playing and tempo is pretty loose, but pretty much the better for it, and his bass tone is the sound of grunge.
― Josh in Chicago, Friday, 5 February 2021 03:25 (three years ago) link
this was one of the albums that i learned how to type withi would just type the lyrics as i heard them and try to keep up with the song
― That's not really my scene (I'm 41) (forksclovetofu), Friday, 5 February 2021 05:23 (three years ago) link
"AHHHHHHH <Enter>AHHHHHHH <Enter>AHHHHHHH <Enter>AHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!"
― he said that you son of a bitch (Neanderthal), Friday, 5 February 2021 05:40 (three years ago) link
lol
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Friday, 5 February 2021 12:37 (three years ago) link
I love Hate to Feel. One of the few weak chinks in the album though is how it is sequenced so close to Angry Chair, which has a very similar structure (I actually prefer Hate to Feel).
And yes the title track is immense.
― chap, Friday, 5 February 2021 13:33 (three years ago) link
middle 8 to “angry chair” is so great.. LOST MY MIND YEAAAAHHH
― brimstead, Friday, 5 February 2021 16:46 (three years ago) link
that was my favorite part of the song growing up
― he said that you son of a bitch (Neanderthal), Friday, 5 February 2021 16:46 (three years ago) link
Layne's voice frightened me on "God Smack" too
― he said that you son of a bitch (Neanderthal), Friday, 5 February 2021 16:47 (three years ago) link
was blasting this shit in the car earlier. it was never exactly my fave back in the day but fuck me
― Party With A Jagger Ban (dog latin), Friday, 5 February 2021 16:51 (three years ago) link
I've not listened to the whole album in a good long while but god it's so beautifully produced. Every slough, every murky corner is lit like an M.R. James story. I don't mind admitting I struggle with Staley's voice over a sustained period but as a document of what he was capable of, this is the album.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Friday, 5 February 2021 23:36 (three years ago) link
Sean Kinney is a motherfucker.
― Vanishing Point (Chinaski), Friday, 5 February 2021 23:37 (three years ago) link
one thing I love about the song "Dirt" is that it's one of the songs that comes to mind when searching for music in the vein of PJ Harvey's Rid Of Me.
― All cars are bad (Euler), Saturday, 6 February 2021 14:41 (three years ago) link
what's everyone's preferred placement of "down in a hole"
i feel corny for preferring it as a penultimate track. wiki says the band wanted it as track four, but the citation for this information is an interview that... doesn't really reflect that claim
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 6 February 2021 18:05 (three years ago) link
i think my reasoning is less about "down in a hole" and more about how "rain when i die" -> "sickman" is sort of a signal that the record will just be a deepening vortex of bad vibes and things will never get better
― mellon collie and the infinite bradness (BradNelson), Saturday, 6 February 2021 18:07 (three years ago) link
The intro to Rain When I Die is gruesome
― Party With A Jagger Ban (dog latin), Saturday, 6 February 2021 18:57 (three years ago) link
yknow brad i kind of like that idea, because as much as i enjoy it as a kind of "breather" after three songs of wonderful sludge, i always thought that having "angry chair" and "would?" back to back made the ending of this album feel really abrupt, like it seems that there should be something in between those two songs..
― brimstead, Saturday, 6 February 2021 20:12 (three years ago) link
it = "down in a hole"
― brimstead, Saturday, 6 February 2021 20:13 (three years ago) link
otoh, the "i don't mind.." and "i'd like to flyyyy" parts are maybe a little too similar to be back to back? but maybe that's not a problem!
― brimstead, Saturday, 6 February 2021 20:14 (three years ago) link
"Junkhead" is my #1
― billstevejim, Sunday, 7 February 2021 07:10 (three years ago) link
Eric Harvey for Pitchfork Sunday
https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/alice-in-chains-dirt/
― Ned Raggett, Sunday, 10 July 2022 16:49 (one year ago) link
someone upthread said that “sickman” was their dazed & confused but it’s clearly “hate to feel”!
― in places all over the world, real stuff be happening (voodoo chili), Saturday, 30 July 2022 01:20 (one year ago) link
the weighting of tracks in this poll is probably about right, but I think I'd bump up the title track a few notches, and Sickman could go down a bit. maybe.
― charlie rex, Thursday, 4 August 2022 05:39 (one year ago) link
there are so many devastating lines on this album, but one that's unfairly overlooked is "ah, what's the difference, I'll die in this sick world of mine". obviously the entire album is focused on how his addiction was killing him and knowing where it all leads to but there's such an eerie fatalism to that one line, one that hints at much more of a desire to escape it than he shows elsewhere on the album, but understanding the odds are stacked against him
― never trust a big book and a simile (Neanderthal), Wednesday, 24 January 2024 17:13 (three months ago) link