10 Greatest Supergroups In Rock History

Not every supergroup is made just because the band looks cool. As much money can be made by just throwing together a bunch of musical friends, you always have to make sure you have a good musical idea before you decide to create the full project. And at a time when Seattle mixed all of their musicians together regularly, Mad Season felt like a moment to try and heal.

Around the same time that Layne Staley signed on to be a part of the project, he was going through one of his first major attempts at sobriety, with songs that detailed the struggles of trying to be on the straight and narrow. With Mike McCready from Pearl Jam delivering some of his signature bluesy licks, their album Above feels more like a cathartic experience for anyone who's dealt with a vice, with Layne sounding like he's in agony as he tries to wipe his slate clean.

Layne is far from the only strength to the album though, like River of Deceit being carried on the watery guitar sounds of McCready or Mark Lanegan from the Screaming Trees dropping some haunting backing vocals on a handful of the songs. Even though Layne would be doomed to an early grave at the hands of his demons, this was one of the few times in Seattle where things seemed to be looking up.