10 Most Un-Metal Songs By Major Metal Artists

After coming off of Dirt in the early '90s, Alice in Chains were in one of the worst places you could possibly be. As far as sales go, they were on top of the world, and yet they couldn't enjoy it because of Layne Staley's drug addiction having almost complete control over him. Though Jar of Flies looks like an album made out of obligation, these acoustic cuts are some of the most shining moments of Alice's entire career.

While songs like Nutshell and No Excuses are a part of the grunge canon at this point, things get oddly melancholy when you get to Don't Follow. This song actually shows Jerry Cantrell taking the reigns, with almost a country twang to the way the melodies float against the guitar line. Whether or not Layne could actually pull this off is up for debate, but his pained cries in the bridge are still as menacing as they were when he was in his prime.

To add insult to injury, most of this song is about a character who's going down a very dark path, with no real hope for survival. Before they really knew it, this was a portrait of Layne's final days, as he would soon succumb to his demons after Alice went on hiatus a few years later. Though no one should have endure the kind of pain Alice did, it's inconceivable that we got something this beautiful to show for it.