10 Times Hard Rock Bands Went Acoustic (And Nailed It)

Out of all the Seattle grunge rockers of the early '90s, Alice in Chains seemed the most in line with the hard rock of old. As opposed to the ramblings of Nirvana or Mudhoney, AOC seemed like the logical next step from hard rock and metal, which gave them credibility amongst fans of both the Melvins and Metallica alike.

Though every song from Alice seemed like a melodic dirge through Hell, the real beauty came when they stripped away every veil of distortion.

Long before MTV Unplugged, AOC had already proven their acoustic chops on their beloved EP Jar of Flies, which gave them their most popular tunes like "No Excuses." However, things got a bit more interesting once the cameras started rolling.

At the time of filming, frontman Layne Staley was in drug limbo, as he clearly was losing his sanity to his demons, but what unfolded on that stage ended up being one of the most raw performances any band has ever pulled off.

Though the songs are fairly straightforward, the aching in Staley's voice as he tears through "Nutshell" and "Rooster" feels like he's pondering his own fate in real time with the rest of the audience.

MTV Unplugged ended up being some of the last performances we got out of Staley before his death in 2002, but even through his drug hell, that wounded beauty found its way to rise all the way up to the surface.