Alice in Chains
Despite numerous ups and downs and slow growth of the popularity, today Alice in Chains is considered to be one of the most successful grand bands, respected along with Nirvana and Soundgarden. This group, formed in 1987, launched its career, in rock clubs of Seattle and the beginning was rather successful. It was so successful that in two years after its creation, the band attracted the attention of record companies. In 1989, the guys signed a contract with Columbia Records company.
In summer 1990, Alice in Chains released its debut album titled Facelift. The project turned to be rather promising, and the CD became golden, attracting music admirers by its heavy metal sounding. Although the band's members mocked at classical metalheads, smiling at their style – studs, chains etc, - the group's early work was consistent with the traditional heavy metal.
The metal period in the musician work continued till 1992 when the guys released their second album Dirt, which became three times platinum. At the beginning of the 90s, Alice in Chain had an enormous success. The band's videoclips appeared on MTV channel day and night, the guys' concerts gathered chains of heavy music fans. The drummer of the band Metallica in his interview for Rolling Stones magazine put Alice in Chain into one line with his group.
After some changes in the lineup (a bassist left the band because of a tight concert schedule), Alice in Chains continued to work with a new member of the band and recorded a few songs and soundtracks. After performing at Lollapalooza festival, the group decided to record an acoustic album titled Jar of Flies. It became the first acoustic project in history that topped several charts simultaneously. It seemed that Alice in Chain rose to the peak but everything was not so easy. The band had to refuse from a fateful joint performance with Metallica as the group's members got the problems with drug taking.
The release of Jar of Flies was followed by two-year break, after which the guys united again for recording their next album. It was released under the title Alice in Chain in 1995 and became golden and then – twice platinum. However, next concerts made the audience be doubtful of the well-being of the band's lead singer Layne Staley, who had been suspected in drug abuse earlier.
The band's activity faded because of Staley's drug dependence also. After Alice in Chains gave several concerts, its members did not appear in the public anymore. The guys' studio work also stopped. One of the most successful heavy bands, a nominee for Grammy Awards in the category The Best Heavy Metal Band, a candidate for the award in the nomination The Best Hard Rock Video, Alice in Chains deeply disappointed millions of its fans, ending its career at the beginning of the new millennium. The situation was turned worse by the obvious outcome for Layne Staley, who was found dead in his apartments. The expertise showed that the talented musician died from heroin and cocain overdose. A lot of people suppose that it was a suicide.
Despite all the events, the rest members of the band reunited in 2005 in order to give a charitable concert devoted to the victims of the destroying tsunami that afflicted the islands of South-East Asia. The guys answer the questions about the possible further joint work rather reservedly, stating that Alice in Chains will hardly perform under the previous name one day.
