10 Best Metal Ballads Of All Time

For those who weren't in the know, it was absolutely heartbreaking to see Alice in Chains falling apart at the seams in the mid '90s. Despite coming off of a monster album with Dirt, it was clear that Layne Staley was going down a very bad path with drugs, which would eventually claim his life in 2002. Though Alice kept chugging with the Jar of Flies EP, No Excuses is where all of that internal pain gets surprisingly personal.

Instead of being a Staley driven affair, this acts as a duet between Staley and guitarist Jerry Cantrell, who came in with most of this track already finished. Once you look at the lyrics though, it starts to belong clear who he's talking about, as Cantrell writes an open hearted letter to someone going down a dangerous slope. In essence, this acts as a way to reconcile with Staley, both sympathizing with his pain while not condoning the behavior that got him to that state.

While Staley is not really the star of this show, to hear him harmonize with Cantrell talking about loving each other through thick and thin is almost surreal in retrospect. Even though the messages of hope and love don't really sit well in the metal sphere, this still has all the twisted melodicism you really need for a metal ballad.