10 Rock Albums That No One Was Asking For

In the era when grunge was king, Alice in Chains may have been one of the only bands that would get you a pass from metalheads. There may have been some great alternative songs in their catalog like Man in the Box and Rooster, but the riffs from Jerry Cantrell were just heavy enough to get them a spot on Clash of the Titans, working right alongside heavyweights like Slayer and Anthrax. Just when it looked like their metal fanbase may have been won over though, they gave us a major left turn when they came out with Jar of Flies.

Recorded shortly after the touring for Dirt wrapped up, much of what turns up here is just the result of the band kicking back with some acoustics in the studio, as Layne Staley still tries to kick his deadly heroin addiction. While the last Alice in Chains record had its fair share of darkness, there’s nothing but just raw sadness on here, as if Layne is signing off from this world before he passes away, knowing that the heroin surging through his veins is going to eventually take his life.

Compared to the junkie stories on Dirt, this feels like one prolonged therapy session, from the warnings of the dangers of drugs on Nutshell and I Stay Away to Jerry reaching out to his friend in hopes that he’ll be able to clean up his act some day on No Excuses. The band may have stuck around for a handful of songs for their self-titled record a few years later, but that practically feels like a B-sides collection these days. For most of the true fans, this is where the golden age of Alice comes to a sad end.