10 Best Supergroups In Hard Rock And Metal

By the time Layne Staley got to the end of the tour cycle for Alice in Chains' album Dirt, he really was not taking care of himself. Slowly chipping away at a heroin addiction that was bound to take his life, Staley tried his best to sober up as Alice took a break, checking himself into rehab and enlisting the help of some friends to aid in his recovery. Though there were friendly faces in the Seattle area, not many expected the full blown supergroup that we had on our hands with Mad Season's Above.

Taking bits and pieces of songs that Staley was writing during his recovery process, most of this album seems to be him detailing the hellscape that he was in on Dirt, only with a subtle glimpse of light at the end of the tunnel. Rounding out the lineup was other rock royalty from the area, with Mike McCready playing his blues-infected leads across everything and Mark Lanegan of the Screaming Trees coming on for a few guest spots.

As much as this album was a late bloomer in the Seattle area, it feels much older than that, with the videos and production sounding like the Sub Pop years, when things were just starting to come into their own. Even though Staley's addiction would ultimately come back with a vengeance, this was at least a good sign that things were starting to turn a corner.