10 More Perfect Grunge Albums With No Bad Songs
6. Alice In Chains: Facelift (1990)
The grunge era was filled with debuts that kicked down the doors of popular perception. Alice In Chains were one such group helping dismantle the status quo. Nirvana's Nevermind is often the cultural landmark used to chronicle grunge as a mainstream phenomenon, but without Facelift, the acceptance of grunge as a popular sub-genre would never have been possible.
Like LA based group Jane's Addiction, Alice In Chains played with funked-out Hendrix inspired guitar work, exhibited masterfully on Man In The Box. The song also contained one of Layne Staley's most powerful vocal performances. After this record the group were adopted by many metal devotees as the new face of the genre. Ozzy Osbourne was such a fan that he invited the group on tour with him, furthering their popularity among the metal community.
Facelift preceeded Nevermind by almost year, setting a dreary tone of self-loathing and social angst as the trade mark theme of grunge. You can't help but feel that Cobain drew inspiration from Staley's vocal outcries of despair. Go listen to Love Hate Love; the conviction with which he wails in pain rivals many of Cobain's performances.