5 Best Metal Albums Of August 2018

Throughout their career, the Seattle heroes Alice in Chains have made a career out of riding the line between alternative metal and grunge. And the end results of this unique fusion stand for themselves as some of the best rock records in recent memory, including the downtrodden debut Facelift and the almighty follow-up Dirt.

Alice in Chains’ legacy and acclaim over the past 25 years had become so strong that they even allowed the quartet to survive a normally band-ending tragedy in the loss of frontman Layne Staley in 2002. After a lengthy hiatus, Jerry Cantrell and co. returned with William DuVall on lead vocal duty, releasing three albums in the twelve years since, of which August’s Rainier Fog is easily the greatest.

While Black Gives Way to Blue and The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here are both fantastic records in their own right, neither can match the tight song-writing and emotional variety of Alice in Chains’ sixth full-length LP.

In an era where grunge’s superstars of yesteryear are disappearing at a haunting rate, it is comforting not only to have Alice in Chains continue, but also to have them continue to pump out material that lives up to the precedent of their indomitable early material.